mx22

Hi guys,

I don't know of anyone who does power coating in my area, so I wonder if anyone here can suggest someone who can do a quality job. I would prefer someone in NY/CT/NJ/PA area as its local to me, but will ship calipers if necessary.

Thank You!

James Bailey

you do know that you will need to rebuild them after the powder coating process because of the heat and that the kits are expensive ! One reason why many simply paint them......

acrabtree0536

I've heard these guys are fine, it's pretty simple work.

http://www.brookspowdercoating.com/p...sts/index.html

Brakes take heat pretty well, kinda part of the job. But the powdercoater will know what's gotta be removed if you use one whose done it before like Brooks.

Adam

terry gt

caliper paint , forget powder coating

Nicole

^^^ That looks nice!

BTW: I have stencils for painting the lettering - the proper sizes front and rear. Others have one size that is too large for the rears.

mx22

IMO painted calipers will not look anywhere near as good as powder coated plus there is the whole issue of durability... I've bought a used set of calipers. Idea is to have them powder coated and then rebuild them using parts from the calipers I have on the car now. Then sell calipers that I have on the car now...

That said, no I have never taken calipers apart before so I'm not sure how involved the whole process is. Would I simply need to replace seal and boot for each of the cylinders or is there more to it? I assume cylinders won't be damaged during powder coating and can be reused - that's the most expensive part...

Thanks!

terry gt

Not bad for 18 year old GTS calipers . the lettering was done with a stencil . a little sanding a little cleaning . Very nice paint, easy to put on , drys really hard. You can even clear coat them , I did not . Terry

slate blue

Just as long as you know the calipers are painted and not powder coated originally. I have painted many calipers in the past with excellent results using the exact Brembo colour. However it is no where near as easy to do. The paint will be tougher than the powder coat especially in regards to heat.

Greg

acrabtree0536

It's true, the paint holds up great. I painted my Cobra kit car's calipers back in 1998 and they still look new. 18,000 miles and countless track days. That was VHT if I recall.

Adam
www.sportscarguyspeaks.com

mx22

So what exactly will need to be rebuilt after the powdercoating? Are we talking about the the cylinder seal and boot or the cylinder itself will need to be replaced as well? Or am I missing something and there are more parts that need to be rebuilt/changed besides the above items?

James Bailey

Getting the correct seals can be difficult and they are expensive given that you need four per caliper. you need to use air pressure to blown the pistons out and do NOT take the two halves of the caliper apart the bolts often strip....

Abby Normal

Not to mention it looks just as good...

Bertrand Daoust

It would be A LOT easier to paint them.
Caliper paint will last and look real good if you prep them well - clean and sand.
As there not very big, it is easy to reinstall without scratching them.

I'm in this right now, and will go the painting way for sure.

finally!

I have had 3 or 4 sets powdercoated over the years and the same number painted. ALL the painted ones will in time chip and such. ALL the PC'd ones looked brand new even years later.

Replacing the seals is easy.
- Clean up caliper with brake cleaner
- Remove piston using compressed air
- Clean cylinder with brake cleaner
- remove old seals
- insert new seals
Done..

Quality powdercoating companies know how to keep parts which should not be PC'd from being so.

Benton

Seriously, just paint them. It holds up just as well, will be much less expensive, easier, and looks just as nice. MAKE SURE to use a high-temp clearcoat. The 993TT/GTS calipers on our race car were painted with VHT paint and high-temp clear, and after two track seasons, they have held up better than the factory finish on another set of calipers we have used on the track.

Edit: Just saw the post above. I won't disagree that powdercoating looks great, but paint holds up if done correctly. The calipers on my 993 were painted about 6 years ago and I just got my FIRST chip this past weekend while cleaning them. Why did it chip? I didn't even sand the calipers before painting them (painted them before I knew much about this kind of stuff...I've come a long way since then)! As long as you aren't banging your wheels on the calipers when you install them, it will hold up fine--IF the prep and application is done correctly.