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kevincwelch
Active Member
Rial Lugano gunmetal 19 inch
This looks great. I'm working on painting some new center caps with red and then topping off the calipers with some red paint as well.
kevincwelch
Active Member
Decided to make my own stencil. I've stocked up on some VHT red caliper paint, clearcoat and caliper cleaner. I'll probably wait until late October when I swap out my wheels. Although doing it now may be beneficial to give either some time before it is assaulted with ice, snow and salt.
SteveW25561
Member
Ok. Here are my stencils I made using adhesive vinyl on my Silhouette cutter. It worked really well with sharp lines. When I used standard blue or automotive masking tape as the mask, it absorbed a bit at the edges and the logos came out looking less crisp.
Very happy with the results. Planning to recut more stencils to match the existing Tesla logo size and kerning (spacing of letters).
These are tests on metal or aluminum objects to see what it might look like since paper or plastic may not adhere the paint the same way. Once again, a spare R2D2 part (the blue aluminum) contributed to a Tesla project!
Planning to do silver lettering with the calipers painted a g2 Mustang Vista Blue color caliper (a metallic blue made for Mustangs). I think it'll look good on my Pearl white. Waiting for some free time and cooperative weather to do this.
Very happy with the results. Planning to recut more stencils to match the existing Tesla logo size and kerning (spacing of letters).
These are tests on metal or aluminum objects to see what it might look like since paper or plastic may not adhere the paint the same way. Once again, a spare R2D2 part (the blue aluminum) contributed to a Tesla project!
Planning to do silver lettering with the calipers painted a g2 Mustang Vista Blue color caliper (a metallic blue made for Mustangs). I think it'll look good on my Pearl white. Waiting for some free time and cooperative weather to do this.
kevincwelch
Active Member
AMPUP
Member
SteveW25561
Member
Sure, I'm willing to sell these. Before I do, I want to make sure I have the logos properly sized and spaced for the front and rear brakes. In addition, I want to try an adhesive stencil material which apparently works better than regular vinyl because it does not pull paint off the surface when removing. This is really important to me, because I don't want to wreck the underlying new caliper paint job!
The above samples were achieved by using standard removable adhesive vinyl, painting with two coats of paint about 15 minutes apart, then allowed to dry for about four hours before peeling away the stencil. I am very happy with the results, but wanted to ask if anyone else has specific advice as to how to do this?
The paint sample above is Plastikote brake caliper paint, Hi Gloss Silver (CP-254). Good to 260C.
I've read some people suggesting taking the stencil off while the paint is still wet, but this doesn't really allow you to make two, therefore more durable coats, and I think it risks ruining the image if you scrape the wet part. Others have said to let it dry completely overnight, and yet others say to simply let it dry for a couple of hours before peeling away the stencil. Anyhow I am happy with my first tests.
Gimme another week or so so experiment with the new material, test painting scenarios etc. and I'll update my post.
The above samples were achieved by using standard removable adhesive vinyl, painting with two coats of paint about 15 minutes apart, then allowed to dry for about four hours before peeling away the stencil. I am very happy with the results, but wanted to ask if anyone else has specific advice as to how to do this?
The paint sample above is Plastikote brake caliper paint, Hi Gloss Silver (CP-254). Good to 260C.
I've read some people suggesting taking the stencil off while the paint is still wet, but this doesn't really allow you to make two, therefore more durable coats, and I think it risks ruining the image if you scrape the wet part. Others have said to let it dry completely overnight, and yet others say to simply let it dry for a couple of hours before peeling away the stencil. Anyhow I am happy with my first tests.
Gimme another week or so so experiment with the new material, test painting scenarios etc. and I'll update my post.
kevincwelch
Active Member
SteveW25561
Member
The stuff I'm using is a very thin vinyl material -- same as used with vehicle decals or lettering and logos on windows and cars. You won't need additional adhesive. By having it built into the stencil, you can make sure it has a good seal so when you paint, it won't leak and ruin the lettering -- especially when painting on a vertical surface.
kevincwelch
Active Member
Are you doing silver on green? Perhaps think about the practical side of things: who's going to notice a slight imperfection on a caliper label when it's behind a wheel?
Perhaps other options include hand painting some areas needing touch up or overspray. Sanding with 1500 and 2000 grit paper and Polishing afterwards.
Just ideas if your stencils have adhesive... Caliper paint should be dry within a few hours and possibly faster if you use a heat gun. Use those jackpoint jack stands!
Don't forget you can spray a light coat over the stencil and then spray the whole caliper with high heat clear coat, thus improving the durability of your logos.
Perhaps other options include hand painting some areas needing touch up or overspray. Sanding with 1500 and 2000 grit paper and Polishing afterwards.
Just ideas if your stencils have adhesive... Caliper paint should be dry within a few hours and possibly faster if you use a heat gun. Use those jackpoint jack stands!
Don't forget you can spray a light coat over the stencil and then spray the whole caliper with high heat clear coat, thus improving the durability of your logos.
I would agree to wait for the paint to "flash" (time varies with product and environment) which means that the paint STARTS to set up... The top of the paint cures first because it is exposed to air as the solvents evaporate and as the exposed paint sets up and flashes... The reason you untape at that point in time is so that you do not get a hard tape line .... If you wait too long it leaves a jagged edge Jus my $.02
SteveW25561
Member
@kevincwelch: plan is metallic blue (Mustang Vista Blue) with the silver lettering. The samples were just the only painted metal I could play with. The stencil material is used for professional masking in car painting situations.
@linkster: thanks for the tip. Makes sense to wait just ling enough for the pint to set up. Now that you mention it I did notice prior samples did ripple when left for overnight.
@linkster: thanks for the tip. Makes sense to wait just ling enough for the pint to set up. Now that you mention it I did notice prior samples did ripple when left for overnight.
MajesticSound
Up is LOUDER
I painted my calipers and got my hi temp logos from
Custom Brake Caliper Decals Stickers High Temp Vinyl Contact US for Your Needs | eBay
They were great, and I highly recommend him. He has the proper sizes for front and rear
Custom Brake Caliper Decals Stickers High Temp Vinyl Contact US for Your Needs | eBay
They were great, and I highly recommend him. He has the proper sizes for front and rear
SteveW25561
Member
Well, I finally did it! Painted the calipers yesterday using G2 Mustang Vista Blue paint: this is a nice metallic flake blue paint.
I'm pretty happy with the result but if I were to do it again, I'd spray it on rather than brush. The paint is self leveling, but metallic paints tend to show the direction of brush strokes more than a solid color would. I think it still turned out nicely.
In the end, I decided to go with stick on vinyl letters instead of spray painting a mask (I made the stencil but decided it was too much of a pain to cover the car from overspray etc since I hand painted the calipers). If I decide to redo the finish using the same blue but sprayed on, I'll then take the time to use the stencils.
I used Oracal vinyl 951 which is a higher rated vinyl than used by the ebay sellers (the one linked here uses Oracal 751), so I hope it'll hold up well.
It turned out I hastily put the rear lettering a little crooked, so I picked it back off, marring the still soft paint in the process. It's not visible since I cut a new set of decals and covered the blemish but if the streaks bug me in the future, it'll be another excuse to mask off and spray paint the whole thing again.
One tip: I suggest sanding off the factory Tesla text so it doesn't potentially show through the caliper paint, but this may vary depending on your color choice. I was also pleasantly surprised to see how clean the Tesla calipers are regarding brake dust: regen braking really minimizes this!
I obsessed over the lettering and wanted a perfect factory match. As you can see below, it came out pretty well. After laying out the TESLA text, I actually see that the Tesla factory lettering has the "L" moved over to the right by about the width of the upright. I decided perfect spacing of the 5 letters looked better, so I left it as pictured. Anal, I know. If you look at the cardboard proof I made, the factory lettering fills the cutouts close to perfectly, with the exception of how the L is kerned.
In case anyone wants to do the same, the front text measures 7mm tall x 99 mm wide, and the rears measure 6mm x 80mm. I'm willing to share the Silhouette Studio v3 cut file if anyone wants it. I don't know how to export it to a generic cut file.
I'm pretty happy with the result but if I were to do it again, I'd spray it on rather than brush. The paint is self leveling, but metallic paints tend to show the direction of brush strokes more than a solid color would. I think it still turned out nicely.
In the end, I decided to go with stick on vinyl letters instead of spray painting a mask (I made the stencil but decided it was too much of a pain to cover the car from overspray etc since I hand painted the calipers). If I decide to redo the finish using the same blue but sprayed on, I'll then take the time to use the stencils.
I used Oracal vinyl 951 which is a higher rated vinyl than used by the ebay sellers (the one linked here uses Oracal 751), so I hope it'll hold up well.
It turned out I hastily put the rear lettering a little crooked, so I picked it back off, marring the still soft paint in the process. It's not visible since I cut a new set of decals and covered the blemish but if the streaks bug me in the future, it'll be another excuse to mask off and spray paint the whole thing again.
One tip: I suggest sanding off the factory Tesla text so it doesn't potentially show through the caliper paint, but this may vary depending on your color choice. I was also pleasantly surprised to see how clean the Tesla calipers are regarding brake dust: regen braking really minimizes this!
I obsessed over the lettering and wanted a perfect factory match. As you can see below, it came out pretty well. After laying out the TESLA text, I actually see that the Tesla factory lettering has the "L" moved over to the right by about the width of the upright. I decided perfect spacing of the 5 letters looked better, so I left it as pictured. Anal, I know. If you look at the cardboard proof I made, the factory lettering fills the cutouts close to perfectly, with the exception of how the L is kerned.
In case anyone wants to do the same, the front text measures 7mm tall x 99 mm wide, and the rears measure 6mm x 80mm. I'm willing to share the Silhouette Studio v3 cut file if anyone wants it. I don't know how to export it to a generic cut file.
Last edited:
SteveW25561
Member
For those interested, here's a link to the cutfile I used for the logos. It's in the Silhouette Studio v 3 format -- I don't know how to convert it to other formats.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/83492/Forum%20pics/Tesla%20Brake%20Calipers.studio3
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/83492/Forum%20pics/Tesla%20Brake%20Calipers.studio3
kevincwelch
Active Member
Looks very nice. I'm probably going to just go with the red and clear coat them...no labels. I see you used your Jackpoint Jack Stands. 
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