Powder coating calipers: can I just take them off and send them out to get done?

[violametallic-S-]

Ive searched the forum and noticed one guy mentioning about rebuilding the caliper if your going to powder coat them, why?

Can I not just take off the caliper and take whatever parts are not red off and send them out to get them re done red?

Thanks

[Lobo1186]

well keep in mind there are rubber seals and pistons and what not in your brakes. so those will have to be removed so that they can be baked. so i suppose you could take it down to the bare caliper but you just have to make sure the holes are blocked off so they dont paint where paint needs not go.

[seafeye]

I don't think you have to worry too much about melting the rubber bits. The brake calipers get really hot in normal driving. The powder coat temperature to bake is only at 350 degrees.
What i would worry about is making sure you tape off the pistons with heat resistant tape so that you don't get powder inside the caliper. Same with the brake line connections. Find some machine screws to put in to block off the ports.
I did mine in my garage. Seems to last a while but still get banged up when removing and installing wheels.
These i did with two coats of black gloss and 2 coats of clear over a normal sticker i had made.
Sticker has held up really well with no signs of melting.

[headdead]

Wow.
Beautiful design, impecible execution.
Unique but not flashy.
Outrageous but understated.
A symphonie in the era of disco.
And done in your garage.
Impressive.

[Lobo1186]

i thought the process got much hotter. well i guess you wouldnt have to take it out for 350 but still it doesnt hurt. and if you are going down that far to repaint might as well rebuild.

[2TrunkSteve]

Originally Posted by seafeye

I don't think you have to worry too much about melting the rubber bits. The brake calipers get really hot in normal driving. The powder coat temperature to bake is only at 350 degrees.
What i would worry about is making sure you tape off the pistons with heat resistant tape so that you don't get powder inside the caliper. Same with the brake line connections. Find some machine screws to put in to block off the ports.
I did mine in my garage. Seems to last a while but still get banged up when removing and installing wheels.
These i did with two coats of black gloss and 2 coats of clear over a normal sticker i had made.
Sticker has held up really well with no signs of melting.

Those look FANTASTIC. Did you use a special paint? Any help on the source for the sticker? I love the understated and clean look in your wheels. It's very appealing and not so boy-racer looking!

[RandallNeighbour]

Viola,

To answer your original question, YES. You can just take them off the car, drain the brake fluid out of them, and send them off to the guy who powder coats brake calipers.

These guys are smart enough to know what must be removed. If you are wondering about what you should and should not send them, ask them and they'll tell you.

If you have 75k or more on your car, you might as well let them rebuild them for you while they have them. Most caliper powder coating services rebuild too for a little more per corner.

[DamageINC123]

If you would like to save time and money use G2 Caliper Paint. Good stuff!!!
You can order the Porsche decal off ebay.

[seafeye]

Originally Posted by 2TrunkSteve

Those look FANTASTIC. Did you use a special paint? Any help on the source for the sticker? I love the understated and clean look in your wheels. It's very appealing and not so boy-racer looking!

First you need to strip off the old paint. You can do this by sanding it or using some aircraft paint remover (Use gloves). You must remove all traces of the old paint. Then clean the calipers really really really well with acidtone or alcohol. If the part isn't 100% clean you will get dust marks in your finish.

I bought a cheap China Freight powder coating gun to spray the powder. Maybe cheaper on Ebay.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94244

Then bought some black gloss and clear powder from.... http://powderbuythepound.com/?loc=1

Follow the directions on the bag that the powder came in. You shouldn't use your home oven to cook the paint, so i used my neighbours.

The sticker i had made a while back and it isn't anything special so anyone should be able to do it. I tried the Duplicolour before and it worked OK but powder coating is more perminant. Glad you like it.