maximus96
Member
How are you jacking and holding the car? is that jackstand placed at the lift point or somewhere else? thanks
I'm so tempted to buy the quickjacks but wanted the bigger one to go on sale so i can use it on the cybertruck
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DIY: Model Y Painted Calipers
- Thread starter jjs1
- Start date
How are you jacking and holding the car? is that jackstand placed at the lift point or somewhere else? thanks
I'm so tempted to buy the quickjacks but wanted the bigger one to go on sale so i can use it on the cybertruck
As im lifting the rear, the front elevates off the ground. I seized the opportunity by sliding the jackstand in the front where the jack point is before lowering it down in place.
I did the same vice versa to lift the rears on to Jack stand.
DIY was commonly done by Model 3 owners, but so far I haven't seen any posts about Model Y owners doing it. I watched a ton of YouTube videos and decided to take on the challenge. I'm not car savvy at all, but was intent on saving $500-$600 that I was being quoted for painted calipers.
I went to Harbor Freight and bought:
I bought on Amazon ($30 total):
- 3 Ton Low Profile Floor Jack ($100)
- Jack Stands ($40)
- Torque Wrench ($20)
- Breaker Bar ($10)
- 21mm Deep Socket ($4)
And then I got to work.
- VHT Caliper Paint
- Rust Oleum High Heat Primer
- Rust Oleum High Heat Clear Gloss
- Jack Pads
After removing the wheels, I cleaned and sanded the calipers.
I then masked off all the areas.
I did 2 coats of Primer, 3 coats of Red, 2 coats of Clear (all coats 15-20 minutes after the previous). I added the emblem before the clear coat.
Finished Product
Don't be intimidated by this Model Y Family. No need to pay someone if you want painted calipers! The paint materials is less than $50 and the jack and other tools can be used for tire rotations (save $50-$100 every year). I did 1 side per day. Each side took me about 4 hours, start to finish. But, there's a decent amount of down time between coats.
Thank you for the detailed instruction set. I mimicked mostly what you’ve done and I did it.
This is first time I used a Jack and Torque Wrench
Rear calipers are such a pain though!Attachments
maximus96
Member
WTF man, how much work do you expect me to do?
maximus96
Member
its possible, if Tesla determined the paint you applied has caused whatever brake failure you are trying to claim warranty.
If your in the US, look up the magnuson-moss warranty act. Short hand, Tesla would have to prove (in court) that a few layers of paint were the cause of whatever item you were attempting a warranty claim on. So, to answer your question about voiding the entire cars warranty, no; the braking system, again, they would have to prove that painted calipers were the cause of whatever braking component Or components failed. People have been painting calipers for decades, this isn’t something new.
Looks awesome! You have a whole picture? Would love to front and rear calipers in a single picture to how it looks overall. I have a blue MY coming so deciding on caliper colors.
Alankevis
Member
Awesome work. This is what I planned to do when I get mine Blue MY. Will paint it blue. Only drawback is the limit of jack points. It seems no matter what, you can only do one side (2 wheels) at a time since there is a maximum of 4 jack points on the MY.
Any way to get all 4 wheels at the same time using regular floor jack and jack stands?
I had a paint shop mix Porsche Acid Green for me. I added black Tesla decals after the paint set for a few days. Picture is pre-decal and isn't great but gives the idea.
HeyEph
Member
I think if you have enough jacks you can do it. A lot of pros that paint calipers are mobile. They come to your house and do all 4 at the same time. They bring multiple jacks.
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