Part Painting Detail Projects / Brian Mikami


Save your neglected parts from a life of boredom

 

Painting calipers and drums.
I used VHT caliper and drum spray. Others have used engine enamel (high heat) with good results too. Remove your tires. Use any Brand X degreaser (Simple Green is OK), scrub with a stiff brush (or hard toothbrush) and rinse with water. When dry, scrub with lacquer thinner and a rag. Wear gloves. This will flash dry and you're ready to paint. Aluminum (tin) foil is the best for masking. It clings and shapes and is a breeze to remove unlike masking tape and paper. Wrap the foil on the rotor exposing the caliper. Old rags can be used behind on the strut/shock to prevent overspray. Put the rags where you feel overspray may reach. The VHT is very thin compared to enamel. Spray light coats and slowly build color, giving a minute between coats to flash off. The rear drums can be prepped the same way. Using tiny pieces of foil, wrap the 6 studs to prevent the paint from gumming up the threads. Masking tape can be used on the plate edge behind the drum. Throw some rags behind to mask from overspray. Spray lightly in a circular pattern, building up coats. Remove the rags and foil and you're done. Use care when puting your tire back on.
If you hit the caliper or drum, you'll chip the paint.
(additional picture courtesy of YotaTech member philly)

 
Since your rear tires are off, you may want to paint your rear links.
A nice color match detail. Prep the same way except use some medium steel wool to degloss the painted links. Wipe off with a thinner rag and you're set to spray. Here is where the foil masking makes it easy. Mask everything wrapping with the foil. It clings and shapes well. The better job you do, the less clean up or respraying black to hide your booboo's. It does take some time, but it's faster and less work than taking apart the links to paint...hardcore wrenchheads may disagree...go for it!

 

 

 

Yeah, you hardly see it,
but I still smile when I do.

My fender wells and suspension parts still look new. I have not repainted them. I just use degreaser, scrub, rinse and spray BrandX tire gloss (the clear shine stuff). I don't off road but it still gets grimey and dirty. I have over 80K and I try hard to maintain that new look. Anal? Yeah. I like taking care of my stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

A small 'detail' I did was
to color match my center caps.

Clean the embossed logo with a Qtip and alcohol. Using the factory color touch-up with the 'nail polish' brush, paint the logo. It's OK to get a little sloppy. You need to 'fill' the logo coloring the edges too. When dry, (after all 4 caps are done) wrap a small rag tightly around a flat stick (I used a popsicle stick). Put some lacquer thinner on the rag/stick and lightly 'float' the soaked rag/stick over the logo. Keep the rag tight, you want the thinner only to touch the sloppy parts painted over the edges. Don't let the stick go into the logo. It should leave only the paint in the recessed logo. These caps are painted. Don't rub too hard or you'll remove silver. You're only trying to remove the color you just put in. It should clean up nicely. You can wax it after a week.

 

I like the Toyota logo..
all the intersecting ovals spell Toyota.

Now how many of ya knew that? As for the grille emblem, it was boring. I got this idea from some friends who's grilles caught my eye. Their's was red and white...Japan's colors. You have to remove the grille to get to the emblem. 2 screws hold it on. The chrome part will separate from the grey backing. Using 'sign shop' vinyl (non fading and weather proof) I put the blue on first. Using a sharp Exacto knife, trace the shape and push in the vinyl. Oh yeah, clean it with alcohol and a Qtip first. Make sure no specs of dirt are there or it will telegraph right through the vinyl sticker. I placed the white right over the 'half point' of the blue and trimmed. Put the chrome trim on and presto. The vinyl sticker shown is over 2 years old and is still shiney. An occasional cleaning with alcohol and Qtip keeps it fresh. These things don't cost much, are simple to do and make my Runner look a little different from the ton of Runners here. I enjoy keeping it clean (had a detail business) been painting almost my whole life and don't keep anything stock. Hope I gave ya some good ideas, or at least a good laugh...oh yeah, use a spray mask (paint respirator) even when using rattle cans. I figure I've been playing with paints over 35 years now, so now, even spray paint really hurts my chest. Have fun.

 

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