Re: Caliper prep

[Jerry Chyo <jerryc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 12:29 AM 12/9/98 -0500, Josh wrote:
>Does anybody have any advice as to treating/cleaning brakes in order to prep
>for painting.
>I have a 90 325is with 16" Hartges, but my rusted (or oxidized if you
>prefer) calipers and hub are detracting from the good looks.  Powder coating
>is a bit to expensive of an option so I think I'm going to paint them with a
>high temp paint.  I just need to know how to prep for the paint.
>Also, if anyone has done this, I would love to hear your experiences and
>possible paint recommendations.

Hey Josh,

I did this about 6 months ago and what I did was wire brush, soap and water
wash, Brakleen, soap and water again and wire brush again (to further rough
up the metal).  This cleened them up pretty good.

I then masked off the parts you don't want painted (on mine the calipers
where two pieces so the slider parts and any parts that came into contact
with each other).  I masked the rubber boot as best as I could but didn't
do a very good job.  If and when I do this again I plan on rebuilding the
pistons and painting before reassembly).  Use wire hangers to hold the
calipers (those suckers get heavy) and hang for drying.  I hung mine from
the garage door tracks (you may not have these).

Then I used a good primer and put a few coats on, then painted with Ford
red (yes, red) engine paint.  Do light coats and hit successive coats when
the paint is still a little tacky.  This helps bond the coats together.

With this job I have been able to clean the brake dust off with a little
brakleen or carb cleaner (this stuff is the same stuff, isn't it?) and a
clean shop rag and it still looks pretty good.  You can get those kits from
Eastwood but they're pretty pricey and you get no color choices.

Hope this helps some.

Jerry Chyo
'88 M5
'72 tii

------------------------------