powdercoating brake calipers

[smitty525]

Anyone know where i could my calipers removed, powdercoated and installed again.
Or alternatively help with removing and prepping since i know a good mate to powdercoat them.
Offers of payment by cartons.

[NMBRPL8]

Where are you located mate? Can do that for ya easy enough.

[JAFA]

Location: Marangaroo

[smitty525]

what he said^^^
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little far from rocko

[smitty525]

noone else. if anyone was keen i could more than likely get theirs coloured for free.

[Rich]

Interested...

I'm back in Perth tomorrow...

It's an easy job to remove and strip the calipers...

You need to think about new seals for when they are reassembled, no point sticking old seals back in...

On a side note how does powder coating react to brake fluid?

[smitty525]

well as far as i know it doesnt harm it too much, as long as your not soakin it in the shit. if anyone else could share some light on the subject.
+what are seal kits worth

[JAFA]

Seal kits are not too bad, but then I've never replaced any seal because they were actually worn out. The times I've replaced them was because they get a bit hard with a lot of heat ( race car front brakes ). Don't think they'd get that hot on a road bike??

As you say, powder coat is fine unless you leave it in a pool of brake fluid for hours.

[Rich]

Seal kits aren't expensive, but buying OEM does make them more expensive than you think a few O rings should cost...

Will hit you up tomorrow Smitty and see what we can do, exchange of services...

[Shady7/8]

Find out O-ring diameter and ID, then hit up a hydraulics mob for seal packs, or even Transeals if it's a funny seal.

[NMBRPL8]

Most of the time they arent a plain O ring, they are usually a double lipped seal. But they arent expensive, shouldnt be more than 40 bucks on ebay or obviously more than that in the shop.

Have you considered pushing the pistons all the way in, taping over the pistons themselves and doing the job yourself with brake caliper paint? Its very easy stuff to apply, follow instructions on can, you do get good results from it. Set you back about $15-20 for a can, one can will do 4 car calipers easy. But you wont need to pull the pistons then, and you wont be scrubbing powdercoat out from the inside of your calipers after. Just tape over the pistons, though it shouldnt matter if they are all the way in. And stick a spare bolt into the banjo fitting, and tape the bleed nipple too. Then paint away, let dry, refit and bleed; done.

[smitty525]

yeh not a bad idea, im sure there is certain tape u get for powder coat as well as an oil or grease thing u apply to anything u dont want the powder to stick to. I will ask my powdercoater tomoro as im there up to 3 times a day some days picking up/dropping off gear for work

[Arwon]

As stated most seals are a square section seal. Not an o ring,
the square flexes and returns when you release the lever , this in part is what pulls the pads back off the disks.

[Shady7/8]

Find out O-ring diameter and ID, then hit up a hydraulics mob for seal packs, or even Transeals if it's a funny seal.

As noted - some people are clarifying that the seal might not be o-ring - Transeals can still supply them if you are near Welshpool/Kewdale during the working week.

[NMBRPL8]

Or just paint your caliper/s like most people do, faster, cheaper, easier, good results, and avoids the entire heat/piston seal/dismantling calipers conundrum your faced with. And before folks get upity about it, yes i know pulling apart brake calipers is no biggie, but if he was up to the job himself this thread wouldnt exist. And with the powdercoat there will be a lot of taping and masking and precaution before even doing the job, then after its done and baked there is more work. Dont forget any threads will need to be protected in the first place, or run a tap through them afterwards to clean out the powdercoat. Same with any holes that the slides may run through, or any of the surfaces the pad sits on. I always find this much less of a drama with ainting them, a q-tip (ear cleany brain poking thingy. You know what i mean) dipped in thinners/petrol/prepsol will clean off unwanted paint before it dries. But paint will be thinner and less of an issue. Powdercoat will add a decnet amount of thickness, hence care will have to be taken where anything slides, rides, threads, screws etc.

[JimmyR]

I'm doing up a 30 yr old Suzuki and got the brake calipers powder coated. It wasn't that hard. First I pulled them off the bike - two bolts. Then I pulled them apart - two bolts. I don't have a compressor so got my friendly Suzuki dealer to pop the pistons out - free. Took all of 30 seconds. I got them to do that while I was there buying the new seals. Then I took the to the powdercoaters and hey presto - 6 weeks later they are done! (actually that would sound better if they had done them on the spot but powdercoaters take ages.)

So once everything is clean and you have gotten all the powder residue and blasting media out of the threads you can reassemble them. I had trouble with the big seal on the piston - the little square section O-ring was easy, but the boot on the top is trickier. Back to my friendly Suzuki parts place and they had the pistons back in for me in about 30 seconds again. Putting 'em back on the bike is easy. New pads and new fluid. It doesn't have to be too messy. I really hate brake fluid but I like being able to stop. And the powder coat looks bloody great. Very tough, too, unlike paint.

So I would suggest that removing the calipers isn't so hard. Just have a container there to catch the fluid and some rags handy. Pulling them apart - no drama. You might just need a hand with the seals and brake bleeding. And you can get that warm feeling of knowing that you almost did it all by yourself.