Ok, am I going to open up a can of worms?

[TwinTurboGTR]

Now the 4.8is has 106K on the clock and the brakes were done 2 months ago from BMW. Now my calipers look... well.. UGLY. They are rusted all over. The hubs are in good position.

So with that said, I want to spray the calipers. Now I am going to spray them black. I want to spray them with a metallic flake black but they don't have that color in hi-temp paint. So here are my questions:

1. With the current mileage, I want to overhaul the brakes. Since I am going to unbolt everything and clean everything up, it may be a good time to do an overhaul. Only thing, I have never done one before. Am I going to open up a can of worms by doing an over haul? How difficult is it to press the piston back in?

2. There is a debate back and forth about which paint. Some say they swear you can use regular auto paint and some say you HAVE to use Hi-temp paint. Which have you guys used and with what results? I've read in a few places, even here, that the caliper itself doesn't get hot, only the rotor. I don't know about you, but my wheels and caliper get too hot to touch.

3. When I unbolt the caliper from the line, can I just hang the hose right side up so the fluid doesn't cont to run out? Or in theory, if I leave the cap on the reservoir on and let the line hang, yes it will drip, but only for a little while because vacuum pressure will stop letting it run. Now normally, I don't care because I am going to be bleeding this sucker anyways, what I am afraid of it if air is stuck in the ABS unit, I think you needed to hook it up and run tests to the pump to bleed. Pedal pumping won't do it. What are your guys thoughts?

4. Now I know it is easier to get a rebuilt caliper. But from what I see, they are from Cardone, Neugen (or however it is spelled), etc. I don't know how these perform and I would like to keep the factory ATE's on there. It would make life easier because the unit is all set, just need to clean it and paint. But are these Rebuild Manufacturer any good? I've heard of Cardone, but not Neugen.

Thanks in advance guys!

[Ricky Bobby]

g2 caliper paint, brushes on, finishes glossy. most of the work is in the prep though for painting, make sure its cleaned with brake cleaner well and brushed with a wire brush.

i have no input on rebuilt calipers however.

a nice touch would be to get new anti rattle springs as yours are probably as rusted as the calipers and you don't want to paint those.

[papasmurf]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

g2 caliper paint, brushes on, finishes glossy. most of the work is in the prep though for painting, make sure its cleaned with brake cleaner well and brushed with a wire brush.

i have no input on rebuilt calipers however.

a nice touch would be to get new anti rattle springs as yours are probably as rusted as the calipers and you don't want to paint those.

+1, I have it on mine and it's held up great.

[fmugur]

I might be wrong but I think I have seen an option in GT1 that open up the ABS valves for bleeding. When I did the callipers on mine I just use a plug on the hose and let it hang. I didn't want to get to the pain to get air in the abs. I didn't have the GT1 at that time.

[TwinTurboGTR]

Yeah I just took a look on their website. They have a lot of custom colors. My only thought is; is it worth the extra money to get the custom color or just their standard black? I really want metallic black, but would it be enough to show through, or is it not worth it?

There is also a powdercoater near me that can do the caliper for $45 ea with 3 day turn around time. I don;t know if $200 is worth it or not.

I mean I really like the look of multi piston calipers like on the new M6, except they only come in blue. But even so, I would do it if it didn;t require so much fabrication.

[X5SND]

1) Getting the outer seal to pop over the piston is the hardest part. Once you have that just make sure you're lined up and back in the piston goes. When I did mine, the first one was easy, the other 3 ended up being a pain in the rear.

2) I Painted mine a year ago with a high heat paint you find at the local automotive store.....The winter destroyed them. I Ended up pulling them all apart again this summer, got them blasted and powder coated gloss black. The caliper may not get "hot" when speaking in terms of temperature ranges you would generally find in and around a brake assembly.....but I wouldnt go sticking my hand in there!

3)Go to a place like autozone or napa, and get the little brake line clamps. They gently pinch off the line.

4) As for performance, they should be the same. Keep in mind that when you rebuild your calipers, along with the seal kits you should order the slider pins and guide bushings. An already rebuilt unit will have all this. Personally I would just go with a rebuilt if I were you.

That being said, I highly recommend you look into what getting them powder coated would cost. It will last much longer and be more durable than paint.

Edit: For a reference point, the place that does my powder coating has a $150 minimum per color. It has yet to ever cost me more than that.