This winter I will be pulling apart and replacing the front and rear suspension with the fast road set up from TTR, and rebuilding the brakes. I have seen lots of different colors on calipers, wishbones, hubs, chapman struts… My question is what is original? On my S4, it looks like no paint, but that could be age. I am not looking to make a statement with my color choice, just to protect from rust. I don’t feel the need to powdercoat as I rarely use the car in the rain, but would like something durable that I can apply myself with no special equipment. Also, what color should I paint the inside of the wheel wells. I’m assuming a flat black. They are currently in a lovely shade of overspray lotus yellow. Thanks, Dan
Dan
Do what I do and spray them with old sump oil twice a year, avoiding the brake discs and pads of course! A pressure washer can remove the crud of thousands of miles very quickly before you do the above.
Cost zero, and apart from chaps wearing anoraks doing 1000 miles a year, who will notice!!
Carry on now!
D
Dan,
When I overhauled my S4, I endeavoured to, rightly or wrongly, leave them as I found them. Calipers: overhauled and left bare. Wishbones front and ‘A’ frames rear: black, smooth Hammerite paint. Hubs and front uprights: bare. Rear struts: aluminium castings allowed to go a nice shade of oxide and the shock tubes black, smooth Hammerite.
The wheel wells need some thought. The inside tops are susceptible to stone damage and can cause star cracking in your paint on the outside. If the wheel wells are smooth you could glue some closed cell foam in the damage prone areas and then spray the whole inner guard with a good quality, impact resistant underbody stone chip protector in black. Haven’t tried it yet, but have purchased a can of U-POL Gravi Gard Stone Chip Protector that has been mentioned here before.
Regards,
Colin.
Dan,
Front arms on the early cars are black, sway is black, calipers natural, castings natural, The early cars used different colors on the strut tubes ( green-gray, gray, black) and lower rear control arms ( black & silverish) - attached are some pictures to give you an idea of what was what plus what repaint looks like.
For paint i use por15 ( gloss) and PPG DP epoxy ( satin) both are pretty durable. I leave the alloy natural ( castings and calipers ) i also leave iron calipers natural or painted silver or clear.
George
Just a note, but I see that you have not installed the sprial protectors to the flexible rear brake pipes on the s1
I have tried most paint treatments but have the best results with powdercoat if you can find a good source with attention to detail during preparation. The same for wishbones, axles, backplates etc. These brakes were exchange items with plated finish but I’m quite satisfied and they look OK.
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