airosey

Just my 2 cents....
A year or two ago I used the spraypaint, which for a while looked ok. A couple nights ago I picked up some of the brush type caliper paint because I was changing out the springs and brakepads. I prepped and got them as clean as I could with the caliper removed and the pads removed. The finish with the brush on paint looks much more professional, almost powdercoated. If I could find my camera I would post a pic.

Chris

Nicole

OK, I ordered the G2 paint and preval sprayer. Let's see how that turns out.

For a moment I considered getting the G2 in purple. But then I remembered that I don't want my car to be flashy...

Andre Hedrick

http://cgi.ebay.de/Porsche-911-964-9...QQcmdZViewItem

There are some sets in Germany!

marton

andre wrote
I think these guys are offering a repaint service rather than sets of calipers.

Marton

Nicole

Yes, and you can get it in a "Wundschfarbe"... A wounded [sch] color???

I guess he meant "Wunschfarbe" - desired color.

marton

Nicole wrote
I assumed he meant Porsche (blood) red caliper colour

Marton

Ron_H

Be sure to have at least four preval sprayers on hand before you begin this job. And keep a jar of an appropriate solvent handy so you can drop the spray heads into it as you go along because they tend to clog. You will also notice that the tube that comes out of the bottom of the sprayer has a screen attachment on the end of it. Discard that. It causes more trouble than it prevents. As you're spraying, you might notice that the sprayer becomes cold in your hand. At that point, drop the spray nozzle into the solvent, pick up another sprayer and attach the paint bottle reservoir to it and continue using the new sprayer. That way you can avoid interrupting your job. Do not tilt the sprayer at an angle of more than a few degrees from vertical. FWIW, I usually have at least ten sprayers available, and about three or four spare glass jars full of paint. If you're using epoxy paint, you should also have eye protection too. It is nasty stuff.

SamGrant951

+1, this is what I used today and it works GREAT.

Nicole

Is there any simpler name for this - maybe something I can find at Home Depot, OSH, or the ACE Hardware store?

They have "delicious" sounding spirits like:

Acetone
MEK (Methyl Ethol Ketone)
Turpentine
...

But which one works with the G2 system?

Or where would I find "Urethane Reducer" - which I did not see at the Hardware store?

Big Dave

Avoid the hassle and just use a brush-on paint. No muss, no fuss.

Kevin in Atlanta

Any Automotive paint supplier would have reducer.

JHowell37

You can probably skip the reducer. It's not like you're painting a lot of stuff.

Nicole

Thanks!

The more I think about it, the more I have a tendency to brush-on.

But what would I use for clean-up? Acetone? Paint Thinner?



I got a really interesting lesson in caliper rebuilding yesterday. A friend of mine who is an engineer and has restored a few European cars, did the front calipers for me.

First, she installed a special fitting (you can see part of it at the bottom of the second image) to pressurize the calipers and push the pistons outward. Then she made special tools to grab the pistons for removal without damage (see attached pictures).

When the pistons were out, we found that the coating had some wear in the pressure seal areas, and there were a few other less than perfect spots. We only had pressure seals and dust boots, so we just cleaned everything up before the reinstall.

Note: When Bill and I did the rear caliper a few weeks ago, the pistons there did not show such wear.

I put the pressure seals in, and she installed the pistons and pressure tested the caliper. It turned out that both calipers had one piston leaking air. These were subsequently disassembled again, and in both cases the new pressure seals had suffered damage from the install (they probably were not seated perfectly). Since we did not have any more pressure seals, we had to reeuse old ones for these two pistons. However, those were in such great condition that we felt it did not matter much. After the reinstall, the calipers were air tight.

We left the pistons poke out and nstalled the dust boots, then pushed the pistons in and did another pressure test, which both calipers passed.

What I learned is that you really have to work very methodical and clean, and that there is a reason why Porsche's rebuild kits include the piston. Maybe, if you are a racer and rebuild your caliper every year, you don't need pistons every time. But for the average driver, who might rebuild every 100k miles, it makes sense. If I ever rebuild (or have rebuilt) a caliper again, I will get the complete kit with pistons.

So, hopefully in the next day or two I can do the painting, then spray-on the PORSCHE logo, and have them ready for install. The brake lines will be replaced at the same time. They are another suspected cause of the strange brake issues I have encountered.

Ron_H

Nicole, you may not need the reducer, but get it anyway, if you plan to spray. I always had it handy and it will help with clean up. Get it at an automotive paint supply store as was mentioned earlier.

JHowell37

I would still opt for spraying as it will provide more even and consistent coverage. Reducer can make clean-up a breeze but lacquer thinner will do.