So, the time has come for me to rebuild my 996's brakes. The calipers look nice, but the paint has definitely seen better days. I'd love to make them look like Brembo's gorgeous GT-R calipers. Before I start hassling local plating companies, is there anything I should know to specify or ask about? Am I better off looking at gun refinishers than industrial places? What should I expect to spend?
Relevant to my future projects, interested.
Seems like the plating companies would be the first people to ask. No idea how hard it is plating aluminium vs iron/steel.
Seems like you would need to be careful to seal the bores and bleeders. You olny want the outside plated.
We actually do this all the time . Our method is to completely tear down the caliper, sandblast then tumble it. A raw sandblasted finish will plate up dull. Tumbling in green pyramid media puts a nice sheen on the calipers. Do not worry about plugging the holes or threads. The nickel plating is mere microns thick. It won't affect the threads and on a steel caliper it is a great way to ensure the bores won't rust later.
I use a local industrial plater . The batches are quite affordable and less than paying a powder coater to do a set of calipers.
Note: most players will tell you they don't do automotive. Car guys usually drop off a pile of greasy crap and expect to pick up better than new. If you deliver fully cleaned and prepped parts no one will turn you down.
I just googled the nickel brembos. I doubt you will be able to reproduce that freshly machined then plated look after removing the existing finish. I still think they would look fantastic though.
In reply to Jumper K Balls (Trent) :
Great info! Do you use regular or electroless nickel plating? Does even a very thin finish hold up over time? If I don't have my own tumbler, where might I get that done? If I want the shiny look do I need to have the calipers basically polished beforehand?
Aww bugger. Just hit me that your calipers are alloy. IIRC aluminum needs to be copper plated before it can be nickel plated. I will ask my vendor tomorrow to clarify but I'm pretty sure it would be a job for a chrome shop which equals big money.
In reply to Jumper K Balls (Trent) :
Wouldn't the Brembo calipers be an alloy as well? I guess that doesn't necessarily mean they don't copper plate them first.
Yes, aluminum would need copper before nickel.
Why not just powdercoat? Seems easier and much more durable. Just needs a blast finish to stick.
In reply to 84FSP :
Powder coat won’t hold up the way plating does and it costs more every place I’ve checked.
I have nickel Baer's. No idea on process.
[URL=http://s240.photobucket.com/user/NOTATA/media/The%2014%20Car%20Performance%20Therapy/014.jpg.html]
[/URL]
As far as I know, the only way to do this to the base metal would be using an Electroless Nickel plating process. It will similar thickness to a typical hard anodize, chemical resistant, but keep in mind that any surface damage will open pores and pits in the nickel plating that will lead to accelerated corrosion of the aluminum underneath. Doubtful that will be an issue affecting the appearance for a long time, and in a brake caliper shouldn't ever be a strength issue.
In reply to sobe_death :
Just to confirm, electroless nickel could be done directly to an aluminum alloy?
frenchyd said:In reply to 84FSP :
Powder coat won’t hold up the way plating does and it costs more every place I’ve checked.
It really does not hold up and any, I mean any brake fluid will strip it real fast.
Clearly powder is not as good as plated. Versus painted I’ve seen it be much more durable. Granted I haven’t let fluid lay on the calipers it has been spilled and wiped off multiple times without issue on my powdered calipers. I’ll be redoing mine in powder due to the previous owner scraping them up, in the near future. Unless there happens to be a cost effective answer on plating that comes out of this discussion.
white_fly said:In reply to sobe_death :
Just to confirm, electroless nickel could be done directly to an aluminum alloy?
Yep! There are various grades, as with most platings, but it can be done directly on aluminum. Here is an example of a more automotive-type application. As mentioned above, if you send clean and stripped parts to your local plater, it will likely cost a good bit less than powder coating when all is finished.
sobe_death said:white_fly said:In reply to sobe_death :
Just to confirm, electroless nickel could be done directly to an aluminum alloy?
Yep! There are various grades, as with most platings, but it can be done directly on aluminum. Here is an example of a more automotive-type application. As mentioned above, if you send clean and stripped parts to your local plater, it will likely cost a good bit less than powder coating when all is finished.
I'll add to this that the Baer calipers look like electroless nickle to me and that the smoother the surface of the parts the smoother and shinier they'll be after plating.
If the calipers are alloy, why plate them? Just clean them up and leave them bare aluminum.
In reply to stuart in mn :
Oxidation
What about anodization?
996 Brembo pistons have some kind of coating that is prone to flaking off. If you disassemble them and the coating is intact, you might want to keep the pistons soaked in brake fluid while you refinish the calipers.
In reply to white_fly :
If it’s time to rebuild and plate or powder coat shouldn’t you look at replacement calipers like Wilwood?
You’d be amazed at how often they are both cheaper and better!
Seals, pads and rotors add up to about $400 for all four corners. Coating would be extra, but still not even close to an upgraded package.
You'll need to log in to post.
