[fate_f30]

As I've been doing some research I'm noticing that upgraded brake kits for my car are pretty pricey. At this point I'm just clearly concerned with the cosmetic look and I've been thinking about ordering stock calipers and painting them myself or having them powder coated. My first question is... Would this be dangerous to do? Has anyone done something like this on their car? Anyone know where I can order stock calipers for a good price? Any suggestions or tips would be much appreciated. Thanks

[Aevintiri]

Originally Posted by xbnb1978x

As I've been doing some research I'm noticing that upgraded brake kits for my car are pretty pricey. At this point I'm just clearly concerned with the cosmetic look and I've been thinking about ordering stock calipers and painting them myself or having them powder coated. My first question is... Would this be dangerous to do? Has anyone done something like this on their car? Anyone know where I can order stock calipers for a good price? Any suggestions or tips would be much appreciated. Thanks

I just did my brakes calipers and rotors over the last two days. Deffinently harder than American made cars but time to disassemble and reinstall was roughly 5-6 hours and prep and painting was about 8-10 hours. My front brakes were difficult but the tears were 3x as hard to get off. The only real trouble I had was in the tears because I was using a vacuum bleeder for the fronts and it was fine. However the vacuum bleeder wasn't high enough pressure to bleed the tears so I had to the old fashioned way with a helper. But really the biggest challenge is getting them off the car because mine were decently rusted and the rear carpet bolts were never removed before so it still had thread lock on it. Personally I wouldn't powder coat. It's expensive and to hyped up and not as durable as people say. I did everything with vht caliper paint and high heat primer spray cans. I used metal brush wheels to get as much rush and debris off and then sprayed everything down with brake cleaner, then 3 coats primer, 2-3 coats paint, 2 coats clear. Just follow direction on cans for wait times. The only important thing is down strip and bleeder or brake fluid lines and when painting, use a grocery or trash bag and tape to cover piston and seals so they don't get paint on them and tape off the bleeder but a ear plug or paper towel in the hole where the brake line connects, and tape off the rubber boots for the pins. Here's some pics and before and afters. If you don't have ISTA you can give me your last 7 of your vin and I'll provide you with the torque specs for reassembly.

[John in VA]

You can paint your present calipers fairly easily. You can go "hardcore" and remove & disassemble into pieces for a superb job, or leave them in place & paint after a good cleaning & masking the parts you don't want to paint. This will still give a result that looks great for years, in my experience.

G2 caliper paint system: http://www.g2usa.com/product/G2.html

VHT aerosol caliper paint: http://www.vhtpaint.com/high-heat/vht-caliper-paint

There are many YouTube videos depicting the process - here's one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmEEYTtIfMU

[fate_f30]

Originally Posted by John in VA

You can paint your present calipers fairly easily. You can go "hardcore" and remove & disassemble into pieces for a superb job, or leave them in place & paint after a good cleaning & masking the parts you don't want to paint. This will still give a result that looks great for years, in my experience.

G2 caliper paint system: http://www.g2usa.com/product/G2.html

VHT aerosol caliper paint: http://www.vhtpaint.com/high-heat/vht-caliper-paint

There are many YouTube videos depicting the process - here's one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmEEYTtIfMU

Thank you

[fate_f30]

Does anyone know the part numbers for the OEM front (left, right) and rear (left, right) brake calipers? I can't seem to find them.

[F32Fleet]

IMO painted sliding calipers always look cheap/DIY. It just looks bad.

[John in VA]

Looks like
Front:
Caliper housing left 34116799465
CALIPER HOUSING RIGHT 34116799466

Rear:
Caliper housing left 34216850857
CALIPER HOUSING RIGHT 34216850858

[fate_f30]

Originally Posted by John in VA

Looks like
Front:
Caliper housing left 34116799465
CALIPER HOUSING RIGHT 34116799466

Rear:
Caliper housing left 34216850857
CALIPER HOUSING RIGHT 34216850858

Thank you sir.

[murphius1118]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

IMO painted sliding calipers always look cheap/DIY. It just looks bad.

I have to agree. However, painting an OEM-type silver color would be a good compromise if you don't have the cash to upgrade the calipers.

[fate_f30]

Originally Posted by murphius1118

I have to agree. However, painting an OEM-type silver color would be a good compromise if you don't have the cash to upgrade the calipers.

It's not perfect but it's a good alternative to not having to look at rusty calipers/rotors. The rust bothers me so much I don't even want to drive my car sometimes.

[MSCD]

Powder coated my Brake Calipers http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1382270 not sure if this will work on the app. Roll_the_dice has s good thread on it.

[fate_f30]

Originally Posted by xbnb1978x

It's not perfect but it's a good alternative to not having to look at rusty calipers/rotors. The rust bothers me so much I don't even want to drive my car sometimes.

Project completed this morning. I'm very happy with the results. I ended up buy a 2nd pair of calipers off eBay, painting them, and installed Z Coated Zimmerman rotors.

[Regulator]

I painted mine blue with the duplicolor brush on caliper paint kit and some silver caliper stickers. I masked off my rotor hubs and painted the visible portion (not the mating surface) black with caliper spray paint. Looks stock to me and cost like $50.

[fate_f30]

Originally Posted by Regulator

I painted mine blue with the duplicolor brush on caliper paint kit and some silver caliper stickers. I masked off my rotor hubs and painted the visible portion (not the mating surface) black with caliper spray paint. Looks stock to me and cost like $50.

Nice work!

[d_a_m]

Originally Posted by Regulator

I painted mine blue with the duplicolor brush on caliper paint kit and some silver caliper stickers. I masked off my rotor hubs and painted the visible portion (not the mating surface) black with caliper spray paint. Looks stock to me and cost like $50.

Those look sweet! Do you have any close ups or a few tips on how to do them using your technique?

[JaredG_F30]

Looks great!! Where did you get the stickers?

Originally Posted by bmw_bri_328i

Nice work!

[F30RiK]

Originally Posted by Regulator

I painted mine blue with the duplicolor brush on caliper paint kit and some silver caliper stickers. I masked off my rotor hubs and painted the visible portion (not the mating surface) black with caliper spray paint. Looks stock to me and cost like $50.

I like your wheels!!! are they original BMW? If yes what's the style number

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by bmw_bri_328i

As I've been doing some research I'm noticing that upgraded brake kits for my car are pretty pricey. At this point I'm just clearly concerned with the cosmetic look and I've been thinking about ordering stock calipers and painting them myself or having them powder coated. My first question is... Would this be dangerous to do? Has anyone done something like this on their car? Anyone know where I can order stock calipers for a good price? Any suggestions or tips would be much appreciated. Thanks

Very nice car. There are quite a few places where upgraded calipers are available. The difference between the upgraded calipers and base is not well understood. Let's say the M Sport/Brembos, are Aluminium, and a top alloy for its price-point. Secondly, they stay cool and do not rust. The best feature, is their virtual limitless wear resistance. A while ago used to think that Brembos were just well painted. It is more than that- the paint is a specially baked, polymer type, so not far off from a combo including polyurethane. So it is almost a solidified resin/plastic paint. Once baked, it is solid and non-reactive. It will never flake or chip unless taking a hammer to it. Similar process to BBS wheels for example, where no refurbish will ever beat the polymer factory paint. No store industrial spray can will emulate this OEM quality and effect. Once the budget allows, upgrading the front calipers/rotors is one of the best investments in the car's fun factor and safety.

[lonecitizenfour]

I'm planning to paint M-Sport Calipers soon... if I cover up the bold threads and pistons; would I be okay?

I also found some metallic and greasy substance around/in the pistons. Is it some sort of Antiseize compound?

Er... and can I just use brake cleaner inside/outside caliper without taking out the pistons? I'm not sure if something could get lodged in and scrape/damage the piston and piston wall.

Cheers

[d_a_m]

Originally Posted by Kyle_Figueroa

I just did my brakes calipers and rotors over the last two days. Deffinently harder than American made cars but time to disassemble and reinstall was roughly 5-6 hours and prep and painting was about 8-10 hours. My front brakes were difficult but the tears were 3x as hard to get off. The only real trouble I had was in the tears because I was using a vacuum bleeder for the fronts and it was fine. However the vacuum bleeder wasn't high enough pressure to bleed the tears so I had to the old fashioned way with a helper. But really the biggest challenge is getting them off the car because mine were decently rusted and the rear carpet bolts were never removed before so it still had thread lock on it. Personally I wouldn't powder coat. It's expensive and to hyped up and not as durable as people say. I did everything with vht caliper paint and high heat primer spray cans. I used metal brush wheels to get as much rush and debris off and then sprayed everything down with brake cleaner, then 3 coats primer, 2-3 coats paint, 2 coats clear. Just follow direction on cans for wait times. The only important thing is down strip and bleeder or brake fluid lines and when painting, use a grocery or trash bag and tape to cover piston and seals so they don't get paint on them and tape off the bleeder but a ear plug or paper towel in the hole where the brake line connects, and tape off the rubber boots for the pins. Here's some pics and before and afters. If you don't have ISTA you can give me your last 7 of your vin and I'll provide you with the torque specs for reassembly.

Re-bumping an old post: what did you use to paint the rotors?

[Alpine-F80]

I had the gray 4-piston Brembos up front so tried to get the M Sport look with Blue Metalcast and High Temp clearcoat over some cheap ///M decals.

[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/chxfNb6/A09-D9714-4...BD48-C5-ED.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/JyqhRKf/77-B599-D0-...-A8-D01076.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/zFGMWS3/F477-D809-4...371783-D77.jpg[/IMG]

[nmccord30]

Originally Posted by Alpine_F30

I had the gray 4-piston Brembos up front so tried to get the M Sport look with Blue Metalcast and High Temp clearcoat over some cheap ///M decals.

[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/chxfNb6/A09-D9714-4...BD48-C5-ED.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/JyqhRKf/77-B599-D0-...-A8-D01076.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/zFGMWS3/F477-D809-4...371783-D77.jpg[/IMG]

What color code?