Painting the brake calipers  
Basically the whole process of painting the calipers is quite easy, provided you know how to change a wheel! It is strictly a styling modification and does not affect the performance of the brakes. The choice of colour varies with the likes of each person. You can chose a matching colour with the pug's bodywork or a contrasting colour. Common colours are red, black, blue, yellow and silver. There are specific paints on the market which are said to tolerate high temperatures. However their price is more than double than that of a normal paint. You can use 'normal' paint for the calipers however be sure to buy a water proof paint suitable for metal. Though it is strongly recommended to use the high tolerate temperatures paint, like those sold by OMP.

  Tools & Parts
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  • Required paint
  • Thin brush for the paint (or spray can)
  • Suitable sand paper for metal
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  • A small brush to remove any dust from the calipers
  • Tape to cover any other parts from being painted
  • A newspaper or a sheet to cover the floor
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      Step 1
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    Enlarge picture Firstly make sure you choose level ground. Losen up the wheel bolts a bit while the wheels have contact with the ground so that excessive force will not be required while the wheel is off the ground. Putting excessive force while the wheel is completely off the ground can endanger the balance of the car. Lift your car and try to avoid spinning the wheel when the car is off the ground. This prevents endangering the balance of your car. Once you lift up your Peugeot you can remove the wheel bolts and the wheel.


      Step 2
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    Enlarge picture Put a newspaper under the calliper to avoid any stains on the ground. With the use of the brush, remove any dust from the calipers. Get the sand paper and cut it into smaller squares so that you can work better on the difficult areas. Start smoothing the caliper then remove any dust. In this way you will ensure that the paint has good contact with the metal surface and therefore will not peel off.


      Step 3
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    Enlarge picture When your are done with the sand paper, wipe off any dust from the calipers with the brush. After that, start covering any parts other than the caliper with tape to avoid painting them too! This procedure should be much more detailed if you are going to use a spraycan instead of a brush. Once the caliper is clean and the parts surrounding it are covered with tape you can start painting.


      Step 4
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    Enlarge picture The paint applied should be thick for better look. Note: You can put 3-4 layers of paint to achieve the desired look, however, be patient so that each layer can dry before the next one is applied. If you do not wait you will notice that you will not be able to work your brush properly. Be sure to have plenty of time in front of you because you are going to do this only once. Once the last layer of the paint has dryed you can place back the wheel and the bolts. You can also put the wheel back before the paint dries, but there is always the danger of touching the caliper and messing up the result. Of course, this will depend on the size of the caliper and your wheel (i.e. putting a 17'' wheel on a 106 with the standard brakes should be no problem). The bolts should be refitted to the same torque setting, however, most of the strength should be applied once the wheel has contact with the ground to avoid the wheel from spinning around. Note: It may take up to two days for the paint to dry out completely so you shouldn't worry. (i.e. if you press the paint hard you can see your fingerprints on it). This will depend upon the weather conditions and the thickness of the paint.


      Step 5
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    Article written by Constantinos Petrides.