DMR

I have a 997 C2 with roughly 9000 miles on it and I've noticed that all four of my stock brake calipers have faded in color from the original black to an irregular grayish color. I am concerned that I may be overheating the brakes, but I have not tracked the car yet and I don't tend to ride the brakes during daily driving. Is this typical, or should I be concerned?

Thanks,

Dave

ohsixx

Mine are red!

MJones

I have a feeling that you use an automatic car wash.....
And whatever caustic compound they use has etched the paint on the calipers.
I have seen what you describe

It's not from overhating the brakes

500

To match you fingernails??? Just kidding, the S's get red calipers and non S's are black.

DMR

The car is washed by hand, but not by me. It is possible that the solvent used to clean the rims is affecting the caliper paint. Time to do it myself. Thanks for the input.

CJC

My car is 8 months old and I have 9000k + miles and mine are red as well. After at least 50 wheel cleanings the calipers look the same as the day I brought it home. Do your calipers still have a glossy finish? What wheel cleaner are you using? My 996 had black calipers and after 4 years and hundreds of wheel cleanings the clear coat started to peel and where it did the caliper had a grayish hue. I was told that different wheel cleaners I used over the years could have been the culprit. From your description it sounds life the clear coat on the caliper has clouded or peeled off which would give a grayish appearance. This may be a warranty issue but you'll probably have to convince your dealer you didn't use anything to harsh when you cleaned your wheels.

SrfCity

I'll bet this is it. Ask the guy what he's using?

dstrimbu

I'd recommend getting the wheels really clean, then hitting them with a coat of Rejex... that way, you can wash with soap and water and reduce contact with potentially nasty wheel cleaners.

Have you tried Simple Green to clean wheels? It- works almost as well as some of the more agressive cleaners...

I'm assuming that the black calipers are wearing a high temp paint like the red ones... it may be an epoxy, I don't know the formulation - regardless, they should not "go grey" on their own.

Just MHO.

-don

SilverSteel

Strange. Have them looked at. I have red ones and they look brand damn new.

Bob in NY

I had the same issue, the dealer had the body shop paint the calipers black and stencil on the PORSCHE logo. I was driving a new Cayanne (sp?) with 2k miles and it had the same problem. My guess is this is a defective issue

DMR

Was it covered under the warranty?

Bob in NY

My selling dealer did it as a favor, I don't think the factory would pay for it.

TheOldMan

This happens on all of our cars that we drive in the winter. The salt appears to cause the paint on the calipers to 'grey'. This is one reason the 911 is parked inside during the winter months.

Crazy Canuck

My red ones are covered with brake dust. I wipe 'em off when I swap rims.

SilverSteel

This might be a stretch, but take the wheels off and compound them with polish and wax them. If they still look like sht I'd be surprised.