Powder coated brake calipers?

[africanpete]

Hi,

Have to do the brakes on my 03 TD5, I have read some horror stories(hint of drama) about people splitting calipers and then not being able to put them back together and having to buy new ones, is there a set way to go about it, are there some instructions I can get hold of that will guide me?

Also while they're in pieces I thought I would powder coat them, before any of you say that I'm only doing it for looks, I just want to say that you'd be right :D  but also to stop them rusting and to make them easier to clean, has this been done? Will it have any affect on the caliper ie. not going back together properly :shock:  

I would also like to replace the pistons with S/Steel pistons, where is the best place to get them from, I only know of Kitek and Zeus Eng. Do you guys know of any other suppliers?

Sorry for dragging this out but just want to make sure I get all the right advice and bits before I start the job so any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Peter

[hairyasswelder]

I dont think powder coat will take the heat of the caliper through road use.
You can buy special heat resistant paint designed for this purpose.
Just double check this as it is what I was told when I had the same idea  
Steve

[africanpete]

good point Steve, didn't think of the heat build up, is there actually any benifit to painting them apart from them looking nice?

[auf_wiedersehen_pet]

I would also like to replace the pistons with S/Steel pistons, where is the best place to get them from, I only know of Kitek and Zeus Eng. Do you guys know of any other suppliers?

Paddocks do 'em. About £8 a time............

[Disco_Stu]

Halfords sell caliper paint. It comes in different colors and costs about £7.

Stu.

[simon15]

Dont pay extra for caliper painting kit...


just use a tin of Hammerite smooth.. works just aswell :)


Better range of colours too :)


Pic of hammerite on my fiances old 2.0 Nova on Vectra V6 Brakes

[Disco-Ron]

Did you paint the discs aswell???!!!!! :lol:

[clbarclay]

How well does the hamerite stand up to the heat? last time i checked hamerite was not suitable for hot surfaces.



Had the calipers for the locost done by a company in worcester called Biggred(.co.uk) which striped, cleanded, rebuilt with new pistons/seals/bolts/bleed screw etc. came back with a choice of suitable coatings and had been tested afterwards. Had mine coated in their polymer coating which is heat/salt/brake fluid resistant and avalible in a choice of 4 colours. not the cheapest option but saved a load of hassel for £99 the pair. Thinking of doing the same for the G wagon calipers.

[africanpete]

Thanks for all the replies fellas, it looks like a bit more investigation is required, the only reason I asked about the powder coating is because I can get it done for next to nothing.

Chris, I gave Biggred.co.uk a call and they will completely refurbish 2 calipers for £108 + VAT, thats for the hole hoo ha, only thing is that they use normal pistons and not S/Steel.

[Evilgoat]

Halfords brake paint works well too. Had to go from Brembos on the audi back to VAG girling ones (wasnt paying £600 for a caliper) and wanted to keep the look so used that stuff. Came off when a caliper seized at 80 though, then again so did every rubber seal on the caliper, most of the padsm the hub cap and a few other bits :)

Still on ther elooking good as are the ones I did on the Paj about 3 years ago.

[lee celtic]

Hi All

powerd coat cures at between 180 and 220 degrees so if the caliper gets hotter than that the paint will soften . (we had  a powder coat plant at work until last year )

but smoothrite is a glass compound suspended in solvent and will get harder the hotter it gets until it eventually burns off . however it does stay on for a very long time I have used it on loads of bike engines and calipers over the years and it works fine.

[Les Henson]

Make sure that any machined surfaces don't get paint or powder coat on. You could be asking for a leak at a later date. I stripped, cleaned, painted, and fitted new pistons and seals on both front calipers on a 90.
How I did it is here:-


http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=2851

Pay particular attention to the bolt tightening post a little further down the thread.


Les.

[lee celtic]

Les wrote

Make sure that any machined surfaces don't get paint or powder coat on

you have to be careful with the areas around bolt holes as well because if the bolt tightens up against paint when the paint heats up and goes soft the bolt is no longer tight :shock:

I had this problem on a drag bike we built a few years age .We powdercoated the clutch casing and the finnish was a bit naff so we flatted it off and sprayed over the top torqued up all the bolts and away we went as soon as the engine got hot there was a fine spray of oil all up the side of the bike  :shock: lucky we spotted it :)

[Range Rover Blues]

Another probelm with painting brakes is that the brake dust is very corrosive and will attact most surfaces.