salukijac

I'm thinking about getting my calipers restored at PMB Performance. http://www.pmbperformance.com/calipers.html

Anyone had this done at PMB or any other place? I want to return the calipers to the original color. The previous owner had them painted red and I'm not crazy about it.
Attachment 495272

Edgy01

I would simply mask off some areas and media blast them back to their original look.

Ed Hughes

I think that is an excellent idea. There are also numerous VHT paint colors-I did mine black a few years ago-that hold up extremely well.

ricster

I hate when people try and make those calipers look like big reds. I like it original, just like some people try to hard to make it look like something it's not. IMO

rusnak

I like the early 911 caliper cad plating, but would never add cad plating to my impact bumper 911 calipers.

Of course, the ultimate would be some scrumdelilicious RSR calipers from the guys at Zuffenhaus, but I digress.

KNS

Anyone used PMB? I wonder what their turn-around time is.

Nevermind.... I saw their website... 2-3 weeks.

Astroman

Brake calipers have to be one of the dirtiest parts on the car. IMO, that's too much money for a non-concours car.

Get a can of brake cleaner and a can of silver caliper paint. After 500 miles there will be essentially no difference between your caliper and a PMB "restored" one.

ivangene

DOH - too much $$$$

I will post another place, my indy uses them and I have seen the work...its amazing and IIRC no where near that steep!

Adams

If you wanted to keep driving your car while getting your calipers rebuilt, I have a rear set that came off my 42k mile car, including a complete rebuild kit from Performance Products.

You can have the whole thing, both caliper and the rb kit for 100. PM if this is attractive to you (or anyone for that matter) . I'm just cleaning out the garage (new toys coming for Christmas!)

salukijac

Thanks for the offer but I will probably get all four calipers done at the same time.

Haven't decided yet which way to proceed but I'm considering other options. I have access to a Bead Blaster and I can give it a try and maybe put a clear coat afterwards. Or if Ivangene come through with another place for a better price, I can go that route as well.

One thing is for sure...the red paint has to go!

500

I ended up powder-coating mine when I rebuilt them. I have a smaller powder kit and an old toaster oven that is large enough for the calipers. I used a silver-grey powder, mainly because I had some lying around, but also partly because it is not TOO far from a stock look.

The original calipers were plated (the type of plating seems to have varied over the years). Bead blasting them only will leave them open to corrosion, although the cast steels and irons used for calipers don't seem to get much beyond surface rust.

Adding a clear will help, but will this be an activated product or just a spray can product? I've seen pretty decent results from VHT et al type products, but their durability seems to be years (i.e. a few) rather than decades - depending what kind of conditions you live in.

A big part of the rebuild will be assessing the pistons. If you have nice, un-pitted surfaces, then you are good-to-go with a OE seal kit (which is not too expensive). If you have pitting, then you will likely need new pistons. Fronts are available in SS from a few vendors (such as Zims as well as PMB too), but pistons for the rear Carrera brakes do not seem to be available. Although they are for the SC.

I can't tell you anything about PMB, but it certainly looks like the job is done right, and everything appears to be re-plated to OE appearance. Definitely nice looking work, but it is quite a price.

My powder kit was ~$150 and I use it all the time. That, plus the cost of the new OE seal kit as well as bleed screws has enabled me to get results that are pretty good at a fraction of the cost.

My powder coated calipers:



The pistons - I was lucky, they were all in great shape:



I also did the brakes for my 944 project, look as good as anything I've seen done by a pro:

GTgears

I use PMB. Here's what they look like when they come back to you:

Eric does excellent work, turns them around quickly and you're supporting/doing business with a one man show. As a small business in the industry, that last part matters to me. I'd rather send my work to a Porsche enthusiast who takes pride in his work than some brake specialist that may charge a little less but is pretty much a factory just churning out rebuilt parts. Eric does concours quality work.

ivangene

PM Sent

salukijac

So you guys think $250 per pair is too much? I thought it was a good price considering new calipers will run around $1100 (vs. $500 for PMB) for front and rears. Am I looking at the price correctly?

500

I would not say it is too much... Certainly vs. brand-new. What I posted was just another take on it where one does the work themself. I think you can get pretty good results for less money on your own, but I would not say sending them to PMB sounds outrageously expensive either. It will be an individual preference ultimately.