I need to get some axle stands to help with painting my brake callipers. Should I just pick some up from Halfords ? Or is there anything particular I should look out for ? Are all axle stands pretty much the same ?

try and get hold of the 4 leg ratchet type Steve, as there more stable and a lot better built and not too expensive

EDIT: like these Steve clicky. and if you order them online you get 10% off at halfords at the moment even if you pick it up from the store?

Thanks. I'm trying to figure out whether you get one or two stands for that price from Halfords. The picture shows too but it doesn't make any reference to getting a pair of them ! I've seen those in the store and they do look more solid.

Is it worth me getting a trolley jack at the same time, do you think ? It's not exactly something I'd be planning to use often. Or are the cheap trolley jacks not much cop, and I might as well use the OEM scissor jack ?

definately beter off with a trolly jack, but those stands are good.. i prefer them to the traditional type too.

I have a 3 ton set and its so much better to release them from the car.

Trolley jacks do make life a lot easier ...this one from Halfrauds seems popular and does the job at a reasonable price

or

theres a wider ( & some cheaper) here at Machine Mart

The oem sissor jack is reccomended for emergency use only Steve and not very safe to use while working on a car? go for the trolley jack mate as they are quite stable but try and get one with a wide lifting head.

And if you do use the trolley jack, use the wedge thats in your lexus tool kit mate under the opposite rear wheel to the side your lifting or the opposite front wheel if lifting the rear of the car

I started out with that halfrauds trolly jack about 4 years ago and its still serving me now... although it does now have a bigger brother thats a 3.5 tonne heavy weight one.. but for occasional use it was excellent

Thanks folks. I've seen that trolley jack in Halfords and wondered if it was any good.

Thanks for the Machine Mart link Janey, some of those look interesting, and they've got a store in Twickenham, which is pretty easy for me to get to.

This set (two ratchet axle stands and trolley jack) from MachineMart sounds like a potential bargain at only £32.89, just that it seems to be out of stock.

Thats a good deal...no wonder they are out of stock

Must admit I love Machine Mart, theres one just down the road from the office its one of the best places to loose yourself for 1/2 hour or so...only problem is coming out with way more than you went in for

Know that feeling.. although i finnaly had to tell the MAC tools man to stop coming to my work... did £3k in the past 5 months... bloody tools.. but love them all.. lol

I went to Machine Mart this afternoon, but all the cheaper trolley jacks are out of stock (even at the warehouse). I asked about one specifically and they said the batch had failed their QA tests so they were waiting for more (might be a while), don't know if that applied to all their cheaper ones.

I bought some axle stands from Machine Mart, and then when I came back home I discovered that the Halford's website will give you 10% of their trolley jack even if you're collecting in store. I hadn't realised that, I thought the 10% discount would just be before deliveries at home, and then with a delivery charge that wouldn't be worthwhile. So I reserved their 2 tonne trolley jack & case for just £25.19

I'm going to have even less excuses for not painting my brake callipers now !

I have a trolley jack and a pair of stands, you can get the car up completely on the stands then

Bit colder than when I did mine in the summer so the floor will be very cold , plus the paint might take
a while longer to dry too (poss use a hairdryer to help it dry).

If he uses the foliatech paint from halfrauds then its a 2 part mix so temp not really a factor..

used Hammerite Smooth Red on mine, took 3-4 coats but in the end looks powder coated.

Definately try the Folia tec stuff next time! never comes off! and doesnt dull.. hardens like rock.. and covers super well

my mate used just normal spray paint on his cars and the paint is fine. keeps the glossy shine and doesnt come off. i used heat prrof paint and they look crap. im going to redo mine with normal car paint.

I used the Folia Tech, great stuff.

Interesting about the Folia Tech stuff, I'd not heard that mentioned before here. You can get that from Halfords ? I had a look on their website but couldn't see it.

Edit - just found it

Blimey, that's expensive. Is it really worth the extra money ?

Always found the SAVAGE kit very good as the colours stay very bright and glossy and have a good range of different colours?

I used the hammerite smooth the last time i did mine, but they have gone very dull looking so i'll be using the savage kit again soon

An autoexpress product test link Trolley jacks


Dunno if it'll be useful to you..

Thanks, that's interesting. The had the Clarke one as the best, but that one isn't available at the moment unfortunately. Since the runner-up was the Halfords one, it looks like they're confirming my choice of getting the Halfords one !