RBC

I'd like to paint my calipers, but they're coated with rust, and I really don't want to remove them and deal with bleeding the brakes, etc.

Has anyone used the kits that are available? Do they include something to remove the rust?

Thanks!

Paul H

I think you need to clean them completely and have them powder coated if you want a permanent solution.

Don Plumley

Tom Sharpes has a nice site that details how he painted his calipers: Sharpes - Painting Brake Calipers

There is also information about this in the archive section of the board.

I'm preparing to do this myself in the next few weeks. I went ahead and bought the kit from Performance (love a 20% off sale). Basically the kit has a can of brake cleaner and two-part high-temperature lacquer paint. You can definitely get this stuff independently. I figured if I were going to spend x hours cleaning the calipers to prep them, $20 extra bucks was not a big deal to me and took a variable out of my ineptitude. Or in other words, if it didn't work out and I had to do it over, I'd kick myself for not spending the extra $20 bucks.

If my calipers were in really bad shape, I'd probably use the opportunity to take them off, really inspect/clean them, paint them off the vehicle, then do a bleed. But I know that sounds like a lot of work.

I'll let you know how the painting goes..

Don

Ed Bighi

One thing to keep in mind when messing with brake lines. Use only a flare nut wrench or line wrench as they are sometimes called on those. I have seen too many stripped line nuts on cars. Less than 10 bucks and will save you a ton of hassle since a stripped line nut requires replacing the line.

Dial 911

I have seen a few cars with painted calipers.
You better do a real good job...if you don't it looks like hell, and it's a PITA to get the paint off. The only way to really do this properly, is to dismantle the caliper and have it powdercoated. Paint will not stand up to the heat and corrosive brake dust for very long.
BTW, Brembo uses powdercoating on their calipers.

RBC

Well, it's final.....I was afraid that if I asked the question here, I'd get good information that would cause me extra work!

I'm going to pull the calipers and have them powdercoated. It won't hurt the brake system to have another tranfusion of fluid, so I'll strike several things off the to-do list at once.

Dial 911

RBC,
A bit of powdercoating advice FWIW....
1)- You must remove all the internal components (ie: seals, pistons, bleeder, etc.) before the caliper can be p-coated.
2)- Make sure the shop you use to do this work knows what the hell they are doing! If they are only used to coating patio furniture, find another shop. Look for shops that specialize in doing m/c and auto parts for customizers.
3)- See above, then make double sure the shop preps the parts correctly. For instance, you don't want any coating where it is not supposed to be (ie: inside the bores or fluid passages). A qualified shop will know the proper procedures to protect your parts.

RBC

Good advice!

2qwik4u

I did not take calipers off to paint. I cleaned them very very good with Gunk brake cleaner and a wire brush. Masked everything off and spayed with Duplicolor(red)3 coats, 1/2hr in between each. They came out stunning.

Hope this helps.
leo

Tom Sharpes

Hi Everyone !

Thanks for the plug Don !

Unless you have to disassemble the calipers, I wouldn't bother. I used 1500 degree Hi Temp paint I got at Pep Boys,masked everything off with newspaper and just sprayed them.

I did this on my 74 which you can see at http://members.rennlist.com/5150targa .

I also did this on mt 90 C2 and I have driven it in AX's, regular street driving and some serious mountain road driving with no deterioration in the look at all.

Here's a picture after 9 months of usage.

Hope this helps !



[ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: Tom Sharpes ]

3liter6

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dial 911:
<STRONG>RBC,
A bit of powdercoating advice FWIW....
1)- You must remove all the internal components (ie: seals, pistons, bleeder, etc.) before the caliper can be p-coated.
</STRONG>

I don't think this is really necessary, I know of shops that do not disassemble a caliper, and people who have had their calipers coated fully assembled with no problems. If the powdercoated sufficiently masks off the interior of the caliper I see no need for concern, the components will get no hotter than a hard session out on the track. These seals and other components are very resistant to heat.

Adam

Dial 911

There is a lot more to the powdercoating process than applying the powder and throwing the parts in an oven!

Unless the parts in question are spotlessly clean, virgin metal, the prep will include at least 2 hot chemical dips to clean and passivate the metal. There is no way the inner parts of a brake caliper are going to survive the chemical baths. If these steps are ignored, the p-coat will last about as long as shoe polish!