Well ok, it was tried out on my Toyota Supra and not on my 4Runner, but lessons were learned. Firstly is getting the wheels off and hopefully having a big enough floor jack to lift two tires off the ground at once. Next is lacquer thinner. This is great stuff but use solvent gloves if you have them. As you all know it is a very 'hot' solvent and it will not do wonders for your skin. I used an old t-shirt to mask the calipers but tin foil is going to be a little better. I was simply to lazy to go to the store. A t-shirt works fine though, unless you are planning on having your calipers judged at the next Concourse de' 4Runner. Thats about it really.. I did the entire job in right about an hour. Heres how they came out:



I like this little mod. My 4Runner is next.

 

Looks good Mark. What brand of paint and # was it?
I may get around to doing this soon...
Corey

 

Hi Corey, well I just used engine paint because the part store didnt have caliper paint. If the surface prep is good then it shouldnt be a problem. The calipers get hot, yeah, but not for extended periods like an engine does.
Anyway thats about it; there are lots of colors out there. Bronze would be a nice understated color. Red is nice, especially for sporty cars. Or sporty trucks I suppose. Come to think of it I'm not sure my 4Runners wheels even let you see the calipers! So it might be a waste of time to paint them.

 

It looks really cool Mark. I like it, and was thinking about doing it. It is just that I have the stock alloy wheel and I don't even see the caliper, so it will do no good. But if I get new rims, then I probably would do it. But it does look real good! Nice job and goodluck! :beaver:

-Ryan

 

Looks good Mark. I use the Tshirt/rags masking when I wanna protect bigger areas too. Since I was painting my rear links yesterday, I also gave the rear axle, springs and shocks a good cleaning. Sprayed a mist of brand X tire gloss and it looks factory fresh. Got a killer stiff neck this morning though...gettin' too old.
butnut

 

Thanks Brian. And I need to keep on top of my springs and shocks too! In a way similar to doing the calipers, it keeps you in touch with parts of your truck that otherwise go forgotten. Its not like we're here discussing how to make a show car part out of them; its just about a bit of elbow grease and a bit of care. And clean rags