Refinishing Brembo calipers

So I've been researching what it would take to refinish the Brembo calipers I have from a 2014 STI. I've been talking to a LOT of people about this, and no one can really agree on how you should do it. I sent a "contact us" form to Brembo about a week ago with the following query.

Hi. I have some Brembo calipers from a 2014 Subaru STI that I'm looking to have refinished. There's a lot of confusion on how to refinish them, particularly when powder coating them. Many people seem to think that the calipers need to split in half and completely dissembled, but the calipers appear to have been powder coated from the factory completely assembled. Is there any information you could share on how you apply the finish to your calipers? Thanks.

After a few days, I pretty much figured no response was in the cards, until I got one this morning. It appears that someone at Brembo forwarded my request to someone at Race Technologies, LLC. Here's what I got back.

Brembo calipers are painted and Brembo does NOT recommend powder-coating them. Powder-coating does soften the aluminum of the caliper defeating the stiffness engineered into the special aluminum that Brembo uses. Also, when a Brembo caliper is done with the machining at the factory, the caliper gets anodized internally and externally. The anodizing then gets painted. In order to powder-coat the caliper you not only have to remove the paint but the protective anodizing as well. This is when the additional damage can take place as it requires extensive bead/sand blasting to not only remove the paint but the anodizing as well.

 

I recommend you take your calipers to a high quality auto body shop for painting. I have attached painting instructions that our technical department put together for you to give them. FYI, never separate the caliper halves! The two internal seals are very hard to come by and are not readily available. Please do not hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions or if there is anything else I can help you with.

 

Best regards,

 

Rick Sine, Senior Account Manager

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Race Technologies, LLC | Brembo Official Partner

17422 Murphy Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614

Here is the attachment from their technical department.

Brembo caliper painting instructions

 

Parts to remove:

Remove pads, pad pins, pad springs and rubber bleeder caps only. No other parts should be removed.

 

Preparation:

Caliper finish should not be stripped or removed. Only painted surfaces should be lightly sanded and repainted. All other areas that are metal or anodized (silver or black) finish need to be taped off.

 

The following mounting surfaces should not be painted.

 The anodized area under the head of the caliper bolt.

 The anodized area of the caliper that rests against the spindle or caliper adapter bracket.

 The anodized area that the brake line mates to the caliper.

 

Type of paint:

High quality 2 or 3 stage automotive or aircraft paint can be used.

 

Special Notes:

Pistons should not be removed under any circumstances.

Two piece calipers should never be taken apart under any circumstances.

Stiffening bridges, stainless abutment plates or any other parts not listed above should not be removed.

Brake fluid, harsh brake or wheel cleaners can damage any caliper finish.

So, don't powdercoat them folks, and don't disassemble them unless you really, really, have to.

Thanks Ellesedil - this is the first "official" written response I've seen from Race Tech/Brembo on the issue.

For the sole sake as providing a counterpoint to an informative and useful post, it is my reasoned belief that most of their response regarding why you shouldn't separate or powdercoat their brakes is mostly FUD, e.g., for the purposes of protecting their brand and avoiding liability, each of which are perfectly reasonable positions.

>Powder-coating does soften the aluminum of the caliper defeating the stiffness engineered into the special aluminum that Brembo uses.

I am not a metallurgist but I find this highly unlikely that powder coat temps are hot enough to defeat their "stiffness" engineering that went into their "special" aluminum. Folks often cite the fact that calipers often get hotter than powder coat temps when used on the track. So, is RT/Brembo asserting that their calipers "stiffness" may be defeated when used on the track.

>Also, when a Brembo caliper is done with the machining at the factory, the caliper gets anodized internally and externally. The anodizing then gets painted. In order to powder-coat the caliper you not only have to remove the paint but the protective anodizing as well. This is when the additional damage can take place as it requires extensive bead/sand blasting to not only remove the paint but the anodizing as well.

This statement is largely true - the calipers are anodized, which needs to be removed to powder coat. I suspect he is overstating the importance of the "protective" anodizing since, if you are powder coating or painting, the surface is covered. But, their is not dispute, anodizing protects metal surfaces from, e.g., oxidization.

It is also pretty silly to assert that "bead/sand blasting"-oops, I meant "extensive bead/sand blasting"-inherently causes "damage."

>FYI, never separate the caliper halves! The two internal seals are very hard to come by and are not readily available.

That is a pretty weak reason for "never[!]" separating caliper halves. For example, KNS brakes carries them. Further, for example, RockAuto carries them.

Anyways, I clearly digressed a bit. I simply wanted to provide counterpoint information to an informative and useful post.

TL;DR I think Race Technologies/Brembo's reasons for not powder coating or separating your brakes is mostly FUD.

I was less interested in that and more interested in "what does Brembo do?" If you need to rebuild your calipers, then rebuild them. But Brembo doesn't powder their calipers. All sorts of engineering companies work within ranges we would simply consider tolerances, so I understand what they're saying here and why.

Ultimately though, I just want to replicate Brembo's finish in a different color and this is what they do.

I was less interested in that and more interested in "what does Brembo do?" If you need to rebuild your calipers, then rebuild them. But Brembo doesn't powder their calipers. All sorts of engineering companies work within ranges we would simply consider tolerances, so I understand what they're saying here and why.

 

Ultimately though, I just want to replicate Brembo's finish in a different color and this is what they do.

Hey, just to be clear - in no way was my post intended to be, or should be construed, as criticism of your post.

Additionally, make no mistake, I'm pretty pumped to finally see a written official response from RT/Brembo. As you know well (I think), hours can be wasted searching for a similar answer on the innertubes.