my buddy has a powdercoating setup, and im thinking about powdercoating my oem calipers. either flat black or gunmetal, something low-profile, i dont want them red or anything. has anyone done this? I thought I had seen it done but I cant find any pictures or threads about it. My main concern is removing all the seals and rubber parts from the calipers before curing the powdercoat (350 degrees for ~20 min). would this be hard to do? also, do you think i would be able to re-use all the seals (my00 has less than 7,000 miles on it) or would I need to buy a caliper rebuild kit with new seals? any help or direction is greatly appreciated.
thanks

 

i would do a rebuild while you are in there. that rubber is 11 yrs old. would you trust an 11 yr old rubber to save you from having a kid?

what are our calipers made of? ive heard that powder coating some metals messes with their integrity.

 

lmao. good point. the calipers are cast aluminum

 

Cast Iron. Not cast aluminum, where is the world get you get that idea?

You are going to need to break down the calipers, and clean them really good inside and out. The brake fluid can mess up the finish. You need a caliper rebuild kit for each caliper you plan to powder coat.

 

Hey, I was in your same boat. I actually decided to go with a brake caliper spray paint. I didn't want to take the caliper off the car, so I just masked it off really well and followed their instructions. I used some brake caliper cleaner to wipe the caliper down, then used a fine grit sandpaper (think 320 or something) and then more caliper cleaner. Then I just sprayed it two times with 10 mins in between coats. I'll try to upload a pic here.

VHT makes a gloss black and a satin black caliper spray paint. I think satin black would be more of a flat black. I have never seen gunmetal. G2 has a "custom paint" option on their site for $100...you can give them a paint code and they will make you a custom kit. Of course, that is almost as much as powdercoating, just with less work on your end.

 

Hit the nail right on the head.

Also powdercoating is great, if your buddy has the system and will do them take advantage of that. I do my own powdercoating and make quite a bit of money locally from people that want parts done for cheap. Powdercoat will hold up much better on the calipers. I've painted mine before and didn't last to long until they had cracks in them and looked like crap, then like a year later most of it was chipped off since they get pretty dang hot. Powdercoat will not do that and will hold up to the heat and road rash much better.