I finally found some time to complete my Hawk HPS brake pad install.  Since my rotors felt a little warped (car pulsated under braking) I decided to have my rotors turned as well.  While the rotors were off I then decided to paint the calipers.  Before I knew it, my one hour brake job turned into a couple of days. 

HAWK HPS PADS

    The pads felt good.  I honestly can't  tell much of a difference from the stock pads.  The one thing I did notice, however, was the brake dust.  These pads seem to dust a little more than the OEM pads.  Since I did save some money going with the HPS pads, I can deal with a little extra dust.  I paid about $60 for the complete set of pads.  I'm not sure what the OEM's cost, but I know they're more than that.

ROTORS

    I had my rotors turned by Pep Boys for only $6 each.  I did a lot of calling around and this is by far the cheapest price I could find.  Most shops are asking from $10 - $15 per rotor.  Although I'm not too confident in the competence of Pep Boys employees, I can honestly say they did a nice job.

    Many people say that the RX7 rotors are too thin to be turned down and if they are damaged then new ones should be purchased.  Upon further discussion on the RX7 list, I found that many people have had their rotors turned down more than once without any problems.  As long as you stay within specs, the rotors should be fine.

    While the rotors were off I decided to glass bead them paint them natural cast iron so they don't rust.

CALIPERS

    I've always liked the way the Porsche 911 Turbo's big red brake calipers looked, so decided to do the same for my 7.  First I pulled the calipers off the car.  Next I washed the calipers down with mineral spirits and brake parts cleaner.  I used high temperature primer as a base coat, and finished it off with two coats of universal red.  Needless to say it was a very time consuming process, but well worth it in the end.  The worst part was waiting for the paint to dry so I could move on to the next step.  Bleeding the brakes was also a timely process.  It took me a couple of days to get all the air out of the system.  If I could do it all again, I would leave the calipers connected to the car and just tape up the car when it came time to paint.  This would eliminate the need to bleed the brakes and the chance that brake fluid may run down your caliper and strip all the paint off.

After it was all said and done, the brakes worked and looked great.  The red calipers matched the red interior nicely.  The job overall looked very professional and turned out as good as I'd hoped.  Since the calipers are mostly hidden behind the wheels, any small imperfections in the paint are hardly noticeable.