Need4Camaro

I want to powdercoat the Braces Black and the Calipres Red... I have painted my Brakes on previous cars but over time it starts chipping and I heard powdercoating yields better results. I want to know though, is there any thing differently I must do to powdercoat this stuff?

Z28SORR

No.

johnny6

Just do a nice prep job, other than that you don't need to do anything differently.

97FormulaWS-6

Depends... Technically for the best job you should completely disassemble the calipers (remove pistons and seals) and then clean, mask, bead/sandblast everything then powdercoat.

You don't necessiarly need to do it; but that's the "proper" way for the best results.

Need4Camaro

I heard that powder coating requires the parts to be electronically charged before applying. Is this true??? And where do I get power coating material?

johnny6

Yes it's true, the electricity is like a magnet for the powder. I have no clue where purchase the stuff.

yy

First of all, you will need the powdercoating system, such as the spray applicator, special powder coating paint, etc. You will then have to bake the parts.

#2

it would probably be cheaper and yield better results if you had it done somewhere. shop around because powder coating prices can vary greatly.

Z28SORR

One place: http://www.eastwood.com/hotcoat-powder-coating.html

97FormulaWS-6

You need the kit; eastwood has a good one; and an oven of some sorts to bake the finish on. The oven is NOT one I would ever use for food again!!!!

n2omike

I agree and you might want to bake it first to get out any oils etc before you coat them.
I have some to be done by my buddies shop in Orlando.
I can give a link if need be.

Mr.Whitey

Boy this turned into a rambling post - Cliff notes version is to find a good shop and pay the price to have calipers powder coated by a professional shop.
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The calipers have to be totally disassembled...you don't want to cook the seals @ ~400 degrees for roughly 1.5-2hrs and then hope the car will stop when you need it to do so. You're best bet is to buy rebuild kits from GM, NAPA, etc., they aren't very expensive. IIRC, I paid like $25+/- for each caliper.

The parts will need to be baked to remove oils/grease/etc, then blasted(glass/sand/etc), then taped, then reheated to spray hot. Cast aluminum will outgas and leave you with bubbles/pits on the surface of the finish. The best way to get around that is to heat the part at ~400 degrees for 20-40 minutes, depending on size, and spray it hot. When spraying a part cold it's basically impossible to get runs or other similar errors using powder. Spraying a part that is hot is not the same. It will gel as soon as it touches the hot surface. Spraying a part hot is almost like spraying a liquid. It very easy to apply too much powder and while in the oven curing you'll get long strands of powder hanging down that looks like hard but colorful icicles.

You'd need a system to apply the powder. You can buy one of the cheapo kits and get good results, but you can also buy a Yugo and drive from A to B. For most parts they would be OK, but you'll get MUCH better results with a system that can be "tuned" for the particular job. (more air, less air, more current, less current, more powder, less powder, etc.) That's going to run you in the 3-6K range.

Obviously you'll need a rather large oven. As previously stated, you generally don't want to use your kitchen oven for powder coating. You can buy an old junker oven for fairly cheap as long as the oven part still functions. You're very limited in the size of the parts that can hang in a standard oven, but if you're only considering calipers and that's it, a normal size oven will do fine. Once you powder coat something, you'll soon be doing another part...then another...you'll see what I mean. So, you'll need a large oven, walk-in size is best. That'll run ya in the 4-40K range.

You'll also need the powder. Eastwood powder is just not the same as the powders that are available to commercial shops. That doesn't mean the powder a shop uses WILL be top quality, they just have access to it much more so than a very small quantity retail buyer. You'll also need plugs/tapes/etc to prep the calipers. The plugs and tape are expensive. Some of the good tapes can cost in the $40-60 range for a single 1" wide roll. Four calipers could easily use a 1" roll of tape, give or take.

Then there is the electric/gas/etc to power the oven....

I'm sure there is more, but the point of all this rambling is if you want your calipers coated just find a professional to do the job. It's not like using masking tape and painting your calipers in the garage, and the results aren't the same either. If it's done properly, you'll only have to redo if you decide to change the color.

n2omike

This some that I am having done LS1 ... I bought them used
this striped

And after a little wet sanding to get them smooth.
I haven droped them off yet to get coated.

Need4Camaro

Yeah, after reading all this I just went ahead and painted them, much simpler, can repaint when I need to, but hey it still looks proffessional, I pulled the calipres and braces completely off, sanded them down, primed them with engine block primer, and painted...

Brangeta

If you use paint, do you have to use high temperature paint, or is regular paint fine?