[adf83]

Refurbed my Brembos

My brakes were looking a little past their best, especially after having the wheels refurbished recently. One side wasn't too bad but the other had lost most of its lacquer and turned a nice shade of matt pink. The cost to get them powder coated was too expensive to justify at the moment so I looked into sourcing some paint that matched the Brembo red. I came across a company called BCS - Brake Caliper Specialists and they actually sold the Brembo red and also the Alfa red. It is a two part paint (with hardener) and is actually a brushed on application. I had my reservations but spoke to a helpful guy there who assured me that if done properly (following the instructions) there wouldn't be any brush strokes. The kit was under £40 so I thought I'd give it a go.

I jet washed the brakes first and then sanded the callipers back, applied a coat, then sanded back slightly and painted a second coat. No need for lacquer and no evidence of brush strokes. Finally applied some new decals purchased from ebay and have to say, really impressed with the results. I'd say you get 90% of the finish for 10% of the cost. Looks 100 times better than before.

Anyway, a couple of photos for you. For some reason it is rotating them?

 

[whiting]

Good job!?

 

[richardw1992]

Fantastic! This is on my to do list!

 

[Verbout]

Look very nice.

How long?

 

[Chris M]

Good job! I also did mine earlier in the year with a paint kit from Brake Caliper Specialists and was pretty pleased with the results.

 

[Mymatemarmite]

As you have shown you can get a good result with hand painting. I did mine quite a few years back with Halfords high temp paint. It's lasted well and looks as good now as 5 years ago when I did them. However the colour is a brighter red and at some point I'll rub them back and give them a coat in a darker shade more akin to the factory finish.

 

[adf83]

It actually looks better in the flesh than it does in the photos.

You need two coats of paint, so it can be done in a day. Probably took half an hour per side to sand down and clean and half an hour to paint a coat. You can recoat within a couple of hours but I left it longer to be on the safe side and then I put the decals on the next day. The biggest faff is jacking the car up! The benefit of hand painting is not having to mask anything up. (Although I probably should have protected the driveway better!!!)

 

[Almo]

That looks awsome. To be done at the weekend!

 

[Mr_G]

Nice job, they look very smart indeed. Did you paint them whilst they were still on the car?

 

[adf83]

That looks awsome. To be done at the weekend!

Thanks. Good luck!

Nice job, they look very smart indeed. Did you paint them whilst they were still on the car?

Thanks, I'm pleased with them. I just dropped the wheels and painted the callipers in situ - much easier!

 

[peteyg]

They look good. I've just sent all 4 calipers off to BCS for the full rebuild and repaint, they are all really tatty. Deffo a much pricier option but one of the rear calipers was misbehaving so wanted to get that sorted properly. I'll try to rememeber to post pics when I get them back

 

[maxiboy wales]

I stripped mine and had them powder coated then rebuilt them using all new seals bolts nipples etc..

 

[mrpbailey]

They look good. I've just sent all 4 calipers off to BCS for the full rebuild and repaint, they are all really tatty. Deffo a much pricier option but one of the rear calipers was misbehaving so wanted to get that sorted properly. I'll try to rememeber to post pics when I get them back

Here's my calipers 3 months after BCS worked their magic......


Horrible quality of their work, would never use again. Much better places around that do higher quality work at a fraction of the cost

 

[Shimmerydolmeo]

Here's my calipers 3 months after BCS worked their magic......
View attachment 671009

Horrible quality of their work, would never use again. Much better places around that do higher quality work at a fraction of the cost

Have you asked them for a refund or insisted they re-paint and cover the cost of removal/re-fitting?

 

[bobulon]

...Finally applied some new decals purchased from ebay and have to say, really impressed with the results.

You may want to get some aerosol high temp clear coat to put over the top to protect the decals adf. Gunk will wear at the edges of them and if you pressure wash they can get damaged.

 

[Mymatemarmite]

You may want to get some aerosol high temp clear coat to put over the top to protect the decals adf. Gunk will wear at the edges of them and if you pressure wash they can get damaged.

Clear coat is an option, but I never used any on mine. I wash the wheels and calipers carefully with a soft sponge and the decals have stayed in place and don't gather brake dust.

 

[mrpbailey]

Have you asked them for a refund or insisted they re-paint and cover the cost of removal/re-fitting?

They were done twice, this pic is after the 2nd attempt and after my first trackday. They took over 7 weeks in total after me sending them my calipers. And even they I had to turn up at their 'shed' and pick them up myself. Joke of a company

I should also point out this was approx. 2 years ago now so things may have changed.........hopefully!

 

[adf83]

Here's my calipers 3 months after BCS worked their magic......
View attachment 671009

Horrible quality of their work, would never use again. Much better places around that do higher quality work at a fraction of the cost

That's really bad. Hopefully they've improved since then.

You may want to get some aerosol high temp clear coat to put over the top to protect the decals adf. Gunk will wear at the edges of them and if you pressure wash they can get damaged.

I did buy some high temp lacquer prior to refurbishing and was debating applying a few coats. I'm just concerned it might react with the paint I've used which has a gloss finish to it. Also it seems to be the lacquer which goes first and leaves the brakes looking bad. I've got loads of paint left over and spare decals so I think I'll see how I get on and repaint and lacquer if necessary.