Powder coat Brembos - rebuild, or no?

[chef-beavis]

Hey all,
I want to pull my calipers off this winter and powder coat them. Car only has 7k miles. Would you all rebuild the calipers, disassemble and re-use the seals, or simply powder and bake them with the seals in? Powder bakes at 400°F.

In theory, the rotors and pads get way hotter, and a lot of that transfers to the calipers if run hard, then parked.

Thought and experiences appreciated. Thanks!

[camguynj]

My powder coater said it’s age more than mileage that affects the seals. I needed to have mine rebuilt after 35K mi/8 yrs of ownership and I don’t drive in rain or snow but it’s not garaged. With your low mileage your seals my still be ok depending on weather conditions they been exposed to.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

My powder coat shop that did mine rebuilds all of the ones he does. Regardless.

[SS_Dave]

I did G2 on my Camaro, but on my Cadi, I did powder. On that one, I rebuilt them. If you're going to the trouble to take them off, putting in new piston seals is not a big deal. That said my powder guy took care of splitting them as he said in the middle is another bit he didn't feel comfortable leaving in tact. So he took care of that and then when I got them back I did the piston seals.

[chef-beavis]

Originally Posted by SS_Dave

I did G2 on my Camaro, but on my Cadi, I did powder. On that one, I rebuilt them. If you're going to the trouble to take them off, putting in new piston seals is not a big deal. That said my powder guy took care of splitting them as he said in the middle is another bit he didn't feel comfortable leaving in tact. So he took care of that and then when I got them back I did the piston seals.

Replies appreciated, all! Please explain, as I've not had mine off or apart. What do you mean by "splitting" or "the middle"?

Thanks!

[bannonm]

Originally Posted by chef-beavis

Replies appreciated, all! Please explain, as I've not had mine off or apart. What do you mean by "splitting" or "the middle"?

Thanks!

The calipers are actually two pieces sandwiched together. I'm not sure about the statement that there are seals between the halves. That's the point of the crossover tube to get fluid into the other side that doesn't have the brake line connected to it. I've had multiple sets of Brembos powder coated and never had them split apart. I would be concerned doing that because of the risk of getting paint on the flat surfaces where the halves meet. Same reason you don't powder coat the calipers where they attach to the caliper bracket, and why on wheels you don't powder coat behind the hub where they sit on the rotor hat. I had a buddy with a Corvette that had his wheels coated and they did the back side of the wheel hub. After an hour on the track his wheels started to loosen up because the coating was getting soft and allowing the lug nuts to loosen up.

That said, if anyone has info on some internal seals on the Brembos I would be interested in knowing. I've only ever found rebuild kits that dealt with the seals on the pistons and the dust covers. And I have always removed those before coating as a precaution. Just made sure the coater properly sealed up the piston holes so no paint gets in.

[chef-beavis]

You can mask for powder coat, but it is tougher. I'd be curious to hear how the famous Mike the Powder Coater did them! I appreciate all of your replies, and have learned a good bit. Has anyone had a set coated by someone that did not take them all apart and replace all the seals?

[bannonm]

Originally Posted by chef-beavis

You can mask for powder coat, but it is tougher. I'd be curious to hear how the famous Mike the Powder Coater did them! I appreciate all of your replies, and have learned a good bit. Has anyone had a set coated by someone that did not take them all apart and replace all the seals?

Not sure I understand what you mean it's tougher to mask for power coat. Both sets I had done were masked on the areas that should not be coated, including the piston holes.

Unfortunately Mike retired and his website says business closed. I had considered using him back in '11 when I bought my car, and I thought he had written he removed the pistons/seals before coating.

Seems you're on the fence about whether or not the seals should be pulled. Not sure you're going to get anything but opinions. Just pull the seals, it's easy. I did my CTS-V 6-pot ones before having them coated. They were brand new and painted silver. When I took them apart I noticed that on some of the dust seals there was a slight over-spray on the edges. I can only assume Brembo/GM assembled the caliper completely and painted them. The rebuild kits are not that expensive so if you wind up tearing a seal removing them doesn't matter if you are replacing them. I bought a pick kit just for removing seals from Autozone so I pulled mine with no damage.

[chef-beavis]

Just saying the masking tape sucks to work with compared to regular automotive masking tape. It will not contour, at all. The car is not my daily, so I guess I'll pull them and if I ruin them, I'll order a kit. Definitely not splitting them, after some research.

Thanks!

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Here is a link to the folks who did mine.

https://madisonpowdercoating.com/bra...ers/camaro.asp

[0stones0]

Originally Posted by 1JEWLDSSRS

Here is a link to the folks who did mine.

https://madisonpowdercoating.com/bra...ers/camaro.asp

Got an approximate price? This is in my backyard so to speak so, entertaining the thought.

Thanks

[chef-beavis]

Originally Posted by 1JEWLDSSRS

Here is a link to the folks who did mine.

https://madisonpowdercoating.com/bra...ers/camaro.asp

C4azy close to me. Thanks.

[SSJ2]

Last I checked with Madison Powder Coating a few months back they weren’t doing calipers because of too much commercial work or something. If they started up again I would be interested to know. I was looking into this place though.
https://smgspeed.com/product-category/powder-coating/


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[chef-beavis]

I plan to do my own. I already have the equipment and the powder. I just needed the advice on the process for calipers. Plan to flush the original fluids while I'm at it.