Caliper rebuild/painting question

[Guest]

Just tore apart the front and rear calipers to rebuild and paint them for my 1000G. Two questions:

1. Any suggestions for getting the gunk out around the seal area? I washed them as thoroughly as possible with degreaser but there is still some clumpy gooey sticky residue that needs to come out. Acetone?

2. Any issues with a little leftover paint on the calipers since I am repainting? I was able to get most of the paint off with aircraft remover and some more with a wire brush on the dremel, but some of it just doesn't want to come off. I would assume that if it doesn't come off after all of that it's probably on there pretty good but is it safe to paint over after I used the paint remover? I'm guessing it's ok since it is neutralized with water but I wanted to make sure.

[greg78gs750]

i like to use a bamboo skewer to get into the nooks and crannies of the seal area. well, "like" is too strong a term, probably, but i use one all the same.

greg

[Nessism]

A piece of scotchbrite pad and a wooden stick should help you clean out those grooves.

Sanding down the old paint and degreasing with something like Simple Green should be fine to prep the calipers for refinishing.

[BluePlateSpecial]

I did use a skewer to get into the tight areas. Some of that paint is ON THERE.

So it is ok if there is some residual paint that has been exposed to paint remover as long as everything has been sanded and cleaned?

[GateKeeper]

yes you can leave some paint on.....

before





and after

[BluePlateSpecial]

Thanks Gatekeeper....those look great! I was just worried about there being any potential for the aircraft stripper to have an effect on the new paint but I guess as long as it is neutralized and the paint that remains sticks good.....

I am still on the fence about the color. The bike is black with gold trim so I was thinking I will keep the caliper brackets black and do the calipers in gold. If I don't like it I'll just shoot them with black before I put everything back together.

[GateKeeper]

Thanks

prep is key, make sure all is good and clean, feather out the old paint so you don't end up with ridges....

easy way to clean and strip off the old paint, is a wire wheel on an electric motor, same as what you would use when buffing your parts but then use buffing wheels.....it's what I used to get most of my painted parts paint free.....

then cleaned air dried and then painted....

[Kiwi Canuck]

VHT Paint

I used VHT caliper paint satin black, and cured the paint in an oven, 1 hr at 200F. which makes the paint more resistant to brake fluid.

Here's a picture showing mine finished.

I also did not remove all the old paint, simple green worked well for me as a degreaser.

I used packing foam cut to size to prevent paint from getting into the working parts, easy to cut and saves a lot of time with masking tape.

[BluePlateSpecial]

easy way to clean and strip off the old paint, is a wire wheel on an electric motor, same as what you would use when buffing your parts but then use buffing wheels.....it's what I used to get most of my painted parts paint free.....

I used a stainless steel wire brush wheel on a dremel to make sure all the loose paint was off after using the paint remover.

I think I will pick up a can of the VHT caliper paint in gold tonight and shoot the smaller piece off the rear caliper to see if I like it. That black does look clean though.....

[Pete's GS]

I sent mine out for powder coating. It's quite a bit more resistant than paint to the ravages of brake fluid.

[BluePlateSpecial]

I sent mine out for powder coating. It's quite a bit more resistant than paint to the ravages of brake fluid.

That would be ideal and if I ever decide to fully restore this thing I would probably go that direction but for now it's a budget build. Especially 'till I hear it run!

I painted the back part of the rear caliper with gold VHT engine paint and it looks fantastic. Now I have my work cut out for me sanding the rest, nooks and crannies and all. Fun fun fun.....

[scrapper]

nice pictures...