Restoring Calipers to OEM Look

K

keefer

New member
Hey again gents,

Just a quick question. This past weekend I spent a good deal of my time detailing my vehicle. I took off each wheel to clean the wheel wells, and administer some undercarriage spray. When I took off the front wheels the brake calipers looked a bit dirty. So I cleaned them very lightly with some APC, and then I went at them with a clean toothbrush and some Chemical Guys metal polish. It seemed the toothbrush was next to useless, and I had more luck applying the metal polish and then rubbing it with a microfiber towel.



Now I am not trying to "shine" the calipers by all means. I just want to bring them back to that brand new off the lot oem look. (Just plain clean steel.)



So if anyone has any cleaning tips or product recommendations it would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,

Keith
 
Brake cleaner. It's in an aerosol can and is specifically for cleaning brake parts. Don't breathe the fumes.
 
Buy new ones. Protect them against corrosion. Install them. Never drive the car. JK, Seriously though. I am going to assume that they are cast iron as most are. Iron will corrode. Taking back to like new appearence will be difficult. You could just use some cleaners recommended here or you could paint them. VHT and others have paints designed for calipers that look like cast iron. Then you would have a surface that would be a bit easier to maintain.



Be aware, there are a number of lubricants used in the assembly as well as the seals and other coating that may not react well to some chemicals or could be removed by the cleaning process. This could lead to things from an annoying squeal, to increased service intervals and even premature failure.



If you really want to keep them looking new, best bet would be to paint them and then wipe them down with an APC to keep them looking nice.
 
Sometimes I'm able to clean 'em up incredibly well, the (presumably never cleaned) ones on my '84 RX-7 came out great with the (good) steamer and some stiff brushes. But other times they just *won't* come clean; between black deposits from the pads and corrosion they're just not gonna come back.
 
Clean them, paint them black, be done.

Just wash them down every so often with some APC or degreaser.



DLB
 
DLB_1 said:
Clean them, paint them black, be done...
Click to expand...



That "clean them" part can be a bit of a stumbling block though...the calipers on my '93 Audi beater are SO corroded there'd be no way to do anything that'd be more sensible than just replacing them :(



Oh, Welcome to Autopia!
 
Euh, well thanks for the recommendations.. I think I am going to buy a small wire brush and see how that works. Kind of skeptical on the brake parts cleaner, but perhaps I will give it a try. (As well as the wheel acid. - This is made by Allbright aye?)
 
On second thought I just may get another set off a vehicle at the junk yard if I can, clean them up and get them powder coated, and put them on once spring comes..
 
Brake calipers are cast ductile iron on most production cars (ultra high performance cars excepted, they are usually aluminum), either plated with zinc or painted black (unless you have a new F150, which have black in the front and zinc plated in the back--why I'll never know). If they're black, shoot them with a coat of Eastwood's Chassis Black paint every time you change the pads. It's a great way to turn a simple brake job into a three hour project, but it does the job for me and the paint does last several years without any primer underneath. I use the old formulation in quarts, I don't really care for rattle cans and I've not tried the new 2K (2 component, paint + activator) version.



If you have plated calipers a strong wheel cleaner should clean the dirt off them. However the zinc is a sacrificial anode to protect against the iron rusting; it will wear off, rust will appear, and you'll either have to get new calipers or paint them black. Replating old calipers is not a practical option.
 
djl said:
Wire brush mounted on a drill + brake cleaner, then G2 epoxy paint.
Click to expand...



Second that. I had brown rusted calipers. Just took a wire brush to them. Got the rust off, but they were still brown.



Painted them with silver G2 anyway, and two years later the paint is in great shape. Brake dust comes off just by spraying with hose.
 
itb76- Nice to see some Eastwood stuff getting mentioned :D



I wonder how some of their siver-colored paints would work on calipers that aren't black :think:



Oh, and I got a good chuckle out of your "It's a great way to turn a simple brake job into a three hour project.." :chuckle:





tmg19103 said:
Second that. I had brown rusted calipers. Just took a wire brush to them. Got the rust off, but they were still brown.



Painted them with silver G2 anyway, and two years later the paint is in great shape..
Click to expand...



Thanks for posting that, it *is* encouraging.
 
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