wanted to get people's input on painting or powdercoating calipers. . .specifically the akebono calipers. . .i saw OMeezy's set up, which looks awesome (orange powdercoat). . .talking to a few different shops, they actually recommended to instead of powdercoating, use high temp paint for calipers. . .use some paint thinner and take off as much as you can on teh calipers, clean off any grease etc. . .than spray on the paint. . .VHT was one of the recommended paint vendors. . .it seems a little ghetto, but wanted to see who's done it before, and maybe its not that bad. . .oh, and i'm going with a red color, with my black G, with titanium/dark grey powdercoated rims. . .

Powdercoat:

- More durable, longer lasting, better looking?
- more tedious process (take out pistons/seals, perhaps get a re-build kit for the seals)
- alot more $$ for everything

Paint:

- hella cheaper
- cheaper looking?
- i haven't seen many out there personally to get a good feeling on the look/quality. . .

let me know what you guys think, thanks

 

+1 I would love some input on this

 

I don't think powder coating is much more expensive than paint. The only extra step required would be to remove your piston seals prior to the PC operation. IMO, powder coating would be the way to go. There's a thread on my37 about this, and a guy named "Mike the Powdercoater" who will disassemble/reassemble your brakes for you (he's done hundreds of sets).

 

powdercoating is def the way to go, as long as you're up to spend the extra time/money to invest in it. . .from my estimate, paint costs no more than $40, and your time to do it. . .powdercoat cost anywhere from $120 to $250, depends on where you go, plus the cost to take out the pistons, and cost to reinstall them, and possibly needing a rebuild kit if you damage your seals. . .i'm still looking at both options. . .i found a caliper paint DIY kit, that is actually a two part epoxy. . . http://www.g2usa.com/Merchant2/merch...roduct_Code=G2 . . . i 'googled' and so far only found great reviews for it on many different car forums. . .i'm gonna call them up, do some more research, but it seems kinda promising. . .

 

^^^ badazz!!!

 

You won't necessarily have to pull the pistons to have the calipers PC. http://www.thepowdercoater.com/faqs.shtml

 

Are you sure that can withstand brake caliper temps which are much hotter than engine components?

 

No input but go here for pictures of those powdercoated Akebono: http://myg37.com/forums/brakes-and-s...d-akebono.html

Those G37 guys make it looks dang good.

 

Powder Coating is nice for show parts, its not quite as "durable" as traditional paint. Once PC starts to chip its done, it wont stop chipping. Its a little more chemical resistant, but a properly heat treat paint system will hold up better in my opinion.

I've used the VHT spray paints with great success, its all in the prep work (light scuff, thorough degreasing). There are more color options in the 500-deg paint series, but the 1200-deg series looks a little nicer in my opinion and it has the basic colors to satisfy most people.

I personally wouldnt go through the hassel and extra cost of powder coating. With some good effort, a rattle can job can be started and finished within a day.

 

I had my calipers powdercoated, they look amzaing.

 

I want mine powercoated so bad. Mike the Powdercoater can actually put the Akebono logo on the calipers.

 

I think if you buy the actual caliper paint kit you'll like the results....
Gary

 

Yup that how I had mine done.