Rejuvenating Powdercoated Brembo's

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gearheadrd

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Hi Mike and experts,

I drive an Mitsu Evo 8, and I noticed the red powdercoat finish on my factory Brembo's are fading. So instead of bright popping red finish when the calipers were new, now they're turning into orange-brown color. So I'm just wondering if it is possible to rejuvenate the powdercoat finish on them, just like how we can rejuvenate car paint.

I don't want to re-powdercoat the calipers, because it's too much work to disassemble them and then to rebuild them after they have been re-powdercoated. And I don't want to spray-bomb the calipers either, because it gets rid of the durable finish of the powder-coat.

If it is indeed possible to rejuvenate the powdercoat, what products/steps would you recommend to restore the caliper finish?

Thanks in advance!!
 
I've never done it, but you might want to try hand polishing them with a polish or compound. I suggest hand polishing because there would be a lot of nooks and crannies that a machine polisher can't get to.
You could also try using a Mother's Powerball (the small one) or their wheel polishing cone. Apply some polish/compound on the Powerball or cone and have at it!
 
From the color you describe, it sounds like a fine brake dust residue might be on them. Make sure they are thoroughly clean, and then you can polish them by hand. I have polished powder coated wheels that were neglected for years, even decades, and gotten them looking almost new again. I used Griot's Garage One Step Sealant on the wheels to polish and protect. It took some elbow grease, but they are nice now, and the sealant keeps them slick so they will stay cleaner. I can't imagine powder coated brake calipers being much different than wheels. To be perfectly honest, I have been told by someone who does powder coating that most of the shine is on the outer surface, like a skin, like enamel paint, and he told me not to polish it, but in my personal experience, it can be done, to make parts look almost new, far better than they were, but honestly not quite as nice as when new. When I did some black wheels neglected for 23 years, I used Poorboy's Spray and rinse to clean them, and although they did turn a bit whitish after the cleaning, I was able to polish them to shiny black again. I don't think I could have gotten them clean without the PB Spray and Rinse. One nice thing about powder coating, it is extremely durable, no rust or corrosion like aluminum or chrome plating, they are far easier to clean than painted wheels, and you can polish them out if need be down the road. A finish neglected for 23 years and no rust or corrosion, and shined to like new again? Very few finishes can do that.

As far as what products to use, I'm guessing about any polish will do, using as fine as possible. The Griot's contains their Fine Hand Polish, which is indeed a fine polish that breaks down to superfine. After you polish, apply the sealant of your choice. I would use a long lasting sealant like Griot's or Zaino, if I liked that look, or a wheel sealant, but not a wax, because they attract too much dust.
One thing I must caution you about is be careful not to get any polish, and especially don't get any sealant on the brake pads/shoes. The polish will contain oils, and well, you don't want slick brake pads from sealant.
 
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Make sure your not using a harsh wheel cleaner, it may be stripping the paint from the caliber. I have a buddy that owns an evo and he uses Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner that he buys from Wal-Mart, and he's said that he's had problems with it dulling the finish on his. I believe the DP's is water based, not sure about the Megs. Not sure if this is the culprit to your issue, but you never know.
 
TWEEDERTWEEK said:
Make sure your not using a harsh wheel cleaner, it may be stripping the paint from the caliber. I have a buddy that owns an evo and he uses Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner that he buys from Wal-Mart, and he's said that he's had problems with it dulling the finish on his. I believe the DP's is water based, not sure about the Megs. Not sure if this is the culprit to your issue, but you never know.
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Powder coating isn't really a paint. It is an electrostatic coating using tiny plastic beads that are sprayed onto a part, with the beads having a positive electrical charge, and the part having a negative electrical charge. Once the part is covered with the beads, the part is put into an oven, to melt all of the beads together to make an even surface, that when done best, looks like porcelain. Powder coating was originally designed for aircraft landing gear, because no paint would last. You are right about strong wheel cleaners dulling powder coating, though, but it can be polished out again, in my experience. But Of course, you don't want to polish if you don't need to, so always using the gentlest cleaner that is effective will prolong the longevity of the finish.
 
:iagree:

I used PC in industry. Like Blackthorne said, it ain't paint, and while it will fade in bright direct sunlight (everything does) it typically does not fade as much or as quickly as paint. If the car's not that old, it's more likely it's brake dust and road film. I'd try a wheel cleaner first - maybe somehting like Sonax which is supposedly pretty darn good. If that doesn't do the trick then I'd use a polish by hand. You'd have to experiment on that. M205? Menz line? We buffed refurbs with a buff wheel and some kind of metal polish in industry - can't recall what it was. A good PC is pretty tough. Just don't go after it with sandpaper, wire brush or steel wool.
 
Blackthornone said:
Powder coating isn't really a paint. It is an electrostatic coating using tiny plastic beads that are sprayed onto a part, with the beads having a positive electrical charge, and the part having a negative electrical charge. Once the part is covered with the beads, the part is put into an oven, to melt all of the beads together to make an even surface, that when done best, looks like porcelain. Powder coating was originally designed for aircraft landing gear, because no paint would last. You are right about strong wheel cleaners dulling powder coating, though, but it can be polished out again, in my experience. But Of course, you don't want to polish if you don't need to, so always using the gentlest cleaner that is effective will prolong the longevity of the finish.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know what powder coating is, just passing on some information that I was told by a fellow evo owner... I did not know that it was designed for aircraft landing gear though, that's cool.
 
The same thing is happening to my evo. It is a known problem with them and they were replacing them when under warranty. Best bed is to clean them and re spray them. You can get the stickers of ebay
 
This is a very common problem with almost all Evo's, from V to IX. It's due to the clear coat not withstanding the high temps that calipers achieve. Put it simply, the incorrect clear was used. Once the clear fails, the red colour fades quickly, like normal paint on panels. Cars that are regularly tracked can exhibit an almost black colour on the calipers.

Unlike the clears used on Nissans fitted with Brembos, they can handle the temps because the correct clear was used.

I've worked with these cars when I was a mechanic in a previous job and my colleagues told me why they failed.
 
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