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FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

This "how to" highlights a great way to keep your brake calipers looking new and clean. It's always a shame when you have a nice set of 18" wheels on your freshly detailed car and you see that old, rusted, dirty brake caliper behind it. But within minutes, you can make that old caliper look like new.

What you will need for this job

  • A piece of Poster Board
  • 2 Cans of High Temp Engine Enamel Spray Paint
  • 4 Plastic Shopping Bags
  • Toothbrush
  • Can of brake cleaner
  • Painters Tape

1) Start the job by loosening the lug nuts on all four wheels. Than, jacking up the front of your car and placing it on jack stands. Once the car is secure you can finish removing the lug nuts and placing the wheels aside. What you will see is a dirty old brake caliper.

2) Take your toothbrush and spray some brake cleaner on it. Scrub the brake caliper down until it is nice and clean.

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3) Once the caliper is clean, remove the retainer clip on the front of your brake caliper and put painters tape around the brake bleeder valve, as well as the fittings to the brake hose. You don't want to get paint on these items.

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4) Grab you piece of poster board and cut out an upside-down L shape in it. Place the poster board in the wheel well, behind the your Volvo's brake rotor and caliper. Next, grab a plastic bag and place it over the rotor. You will need to spin the rotor so that the plastic back gets between the brake pads and the rotor.

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5) Use your can of high temp spray paint and spray down the brake caliper. You want to this slowly with even strokes to make sure the paint is even and there are no drips. Don't worry about paint getting on the back side of the brake pad (side touching the caliper), it will not cause the brake pad to be stuck to the caliper. I changed my brake pads a few months later and they came out without an issue. Just make sure you do not spray the paint in a way that it gets on the pad surface that touches the rotor itself. If you are worried you can always go one step further and remove your caliper and pads entirely.

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6) Now, let the paint dry for a little bit and then remove the plastic bag and the poster board. Save the poster board and move to the next wheel. Repeat all the steps for all four wheels and the end results should look like this.

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Written by :
Andrew Owendoff

Andrew has been working with us at FCP Euro on and off for many years. He brings to the team over a 10 years of automotive experience and has worked on many vehicles from Volvo, Mazda, and Ford. Beside doing normal maintenance, he his also an avid modder and has done everything from exhaust systems and stereos to tuning and turbo swaps. He can be reached at aowendoff@outlook.com


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