Iky Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Hi, Hopefully someone can tell me what are the brake calipers made of? The two halfs seems to be slightly different materials. Front half looks to be cast iron ? Kind regards, Iky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Cast aluminium and cast steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iky Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 Cast aluminium and cast steel Cheers Dunk! Do you know if it is a black zinc plating all over on them from factory? I'm currently doing a refurb on mine and want to get the internal bores plated to stop them rusting again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Just get them honed out with a brush hone, don't try and plate them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iky Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 They are gonna be chemically stripped/blasted Chris. I don't want them rusting internally should a dust seal fail. Also will protect them should the paint chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_jza80 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Surely you would be better off selling these and buying brand new calipers by the time you're done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 So what process and material will the plating be, given half is cast iron, half cast aluminium alloy? Piston bore size reduction due to plating thickness? Seal groove reduction in width and depth? Have you considered all these things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iky Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 (edited) Surely you would be better off selling these and buying brand new calipers by the time you're done? It's only the plating I can't do myself. I don't have a clue how much that costs yet. So what process and material will the plating be, given half is cast iron, half cast aluminium alloy? Piston bore size reduction due to plating thickness? Seal groove reduction in width and depth? Have you considered all these things? Of course.. Not! Joking aside, The aim of this thread was to find out if this is something worth doing. From some research I have done it seems there are coatings which do not change the dimensions. Such as chemical blacking. It might only be the iron side that needs doing. If the info is correct- http://www.moss-metal-finishing.co.uk/processes/ And it would seem the factory calipers have some sort of black coating on them. Would It not be a good idea to replicate so they will last another 20 years? I was also thinking, if they are being blasted/ stripped, would this not remove a layer of the metal anyway? I have seen the inside of "refurbed" calipers that have started to rust on the top section of the bore. Back to square one in my opinion. I usually like to do a job once and do it properly. But maybe I'm losing the plot, I've not even taken them off the car yet to inspect. Edited October 8, 2015 by Iky (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethr Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 It is possible to have calipers (and master cylinders) re-sleeved with stainless steel, but I wouldn't have thought there was any point unless the parts are unusable and unavailable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I re-liner master and slave cylinders quite regularly, using stainless steel sleeves, but the trouble with calipers is they need the seal groove in the bore, unless they are weird junk like early Corvette calipers with O ring seals on the pistons. (Only the Yanks could think of that, then, despite appalling reliability and poor performance, continue to use them for bloody years...). Boring most calipers out big enough to take a sleeve thick enough to hold an internal groove is a none starter, not enough meat! Plus, how many people know what's special, and vital, about the seal groove?? POS Corvette caliper: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedrosixfour Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 It is designed in such a way to retract the piston slightly once the pressure has been released from the brake pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Good boy, go and see Matron after classes, she will have a nice surprise for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxns7 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Good info here. I will refurbish mine in the next weeks, but I'm still unsure on how I'm gonna repaint them. Surely a good clean with a brush and some brake cleaner, and then carefully paint using a pencil brush will do the trick? What kind of paint should be used ? Should this be done only when all seals and pistons are off or on the contrary leave those on to protect the seal grooves, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I'd recommend Foliatec caliper/engine lacquer, it's a 2K paint which you mix with a hardener. It's not the cheapest but brushes on very easily and sets to give a very smooth, hard wearing, bright finish. It comes in a small can but should be enough to do all the calipers, it starts to harden after around 20 minutes so only mix a quarter of the tin at a time so you can take your time doing each caliper. If you're refurbishing the calipers, mask and paint them before rebuilding them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxns7 Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Thanks Nic! And how should I put new Supra stickers on? Is there any coat or something to put over them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) There easy enough to mask up with the seals and pistons removed then paint them or powder coat which is what these had, then fit new seals, pistons etc I hand painted the area around the piston bores with high temp paint Edited October 14, 2015 by Dnk (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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