I would really appreciate some input here.

Bascially i sanded my front and rear brake calipers and gave them 4 coats of high temp manifold clear coat (dupli-color), 10 minutes apart.

Also, my understanding is only the large portion of the front brakes are aluminum, the rears and front of the caliper assembly in the front are steel?? (cast? - magnet sticks to it)

The aluminum portions have held up fantastic.

The steel parts started turning greenish within two weeks and now there is some rust. All this appears to be happening under the clear.

Other bit of info...I've been using aluminum wheel cleaner (safe for clear coats) on the rims.

See the attached pictures....

What could be causing this? Reaction with the particular clear? Oxidizing (but how?)

Anyone have any experience/advise....it's really depressing and I want to fix it.

Thanks so much!!
Danny

 

The only thing i can think of is that when you sanded them you did not get all the rust off that was possibly within the small nooks and crannies and then when you use the Brakleen or whatever it was you used to clean the sanding residue off that some of the moisture from that got trapped under the clear. Or the clear is simply not compatible with the heat the brake generate.

I now the brake caliper paint kits are two part paints some maybe that single stage clear is just not good for this application.

 

It could be a clearcoat compatiblility issue.

With regards to the moisture suggestion....that would not explain how it seems like only the components of a similar cast steel are rusting and the aluminum is fine??

Has anyone done this successfully? If so, please describe products/steps taken.

 

From the picture it appears as though the caliper itself is extremely smooth, whereas the bracket appears to be very porous in nature. Which could be where moisture is hiding. Not saying that is it but it is a possibility.

 

I used clear on my rotors and it turned a yellowish color,so maybe clearcoat is not good for that area. your rotors look real rusty too.

 

i'm glad I painted mine red

 

Any more suggestions?

 

The only suggestion I have is to remove the clear, and start over. Then heat the calipers up to get rid of whatever water there might be hiding in it. Then hit it again with the clear. What kind of clear did you use?

You will want to switch from cleaning the brackets to clear coating them *very* rapidly. As the iron in the caliper will rust, the zinc in it will turn green, etc, etc, and it doesn't take long if it's humid. You want to get to immediately arresting that, and quickness is the key on that. Also, an airconditioned room with low humidity will help immensely, or an oven, of course... I don't recommend using an aerosol in that, though. I'm talking a paint booth oven.

If it were me... I might go with black or silver high temp for that piece, and then clear that. It'd look good, esp. the black, and would contrast nicely with the aluminum.

 

The only suggestion i ave is strip the clear and paint them silver with the G2 Caliper kit. You can buy it through Eastwood.com

 

yeah just paint silver

 

Agreed, but i would ship the clear to be on the safe side.

 

Thanks Guys, I was thinking the same thing.

It's a shame I can't make it work with the raw metal though....looks great when first done.

 

Yes they do. Mine began to rust too. I just haven't gotten around to painting them. Really like them when they were just polished though.

 

Don't know if this would make a difference or not but different metals heat at different rates so maybe the steel part that is turning color is getting hotter than the aluminum part that is still OK. Aluminum dissipates heat pretty well so maybe it's not getting as hot since the heat could be dissipating faster. Just a thought

 

Robbie, it could be. I've had the same thought. Regardless, I guess painting is the way to go.

Everyone seems to be using G2. I know a guy who has VHT, is that any good?

Also, what can I use to take the clear off the calipers?

(Of course, anyone with any last minute solutions that doesn't involve painting is still more than welcome to chime in).

 

I used the 900 degree VHT clear spray that i mentioned. Go w/ the G2 and be safe. The only thing I can think of to take paint off and do a good job is a dremel w/ a paint removing stainless brush wheel.That will do a thorough job

 

I wonder if you would have had better results had you not sanded the iron caliper brackets. They appear to be cad plated from the factory, so you probably sanded through the cad plating and exposed the bare iron, which then reacted with moisture and rusted.

 

Vermillion,

I think you were right on the mark a few years back.

I am looking at stripping, sanding and painting the calipers with the silver G2 kit.

Anyone have comments on the G2 kit?

Also, what's a good degreaser to use to take off the clearcoat? (Carb cleaner??)

Thanks
Danny

 

Powdercoat those suckers!!! You'll pay ONCE, last you however long the car lasts...

 

Powder coating would be ideal, but I've used the G2 kit twice before, each time with good results.