Complete Brembo Caliper Overhaul by Brightside
Feb 12, 2013, 08:36 PM
#1
Complete Brembo Caliper Overhaul by Brightside
**I'd like to start off by saying that I hope this is the appropriate sub-forum for this. If not, please feel free to move it to the proper sub-forum.
I just wanted to share with the community some work I had done on my calipers. I'm more than happy with the results, and I think the amount of work that went into these will speak to the credibility of the guys who made this happen.
I'll start off with a little background to my decision on having this done. I'm a typical EVO owner who suffered from Brembo's notorious flaking/chipping of it's calipers finish. When I bought my car (2003 EVO 8), the previous owner spent an afternoon dressing up the calipers with the popular Duplicolor caliper kit in a box. The results were awful.
I didn't care that much because the rims weren't in the best condition either. There must have been a sale on Duplicolor paint because the rims were also painted. I didn't have much cash left after buying the car, so I let it be.
Fast forward to winter. I put the car away in late October and started the tear down process. I have an extensive list of things I want to get done before Spring, and the calipers were high priority.
I ordered a brand new set of RPF1's and refused to have my calipers sit behind a beautiful set of rims, so I asked my friends Rob and Mike of Brightside Customs in Toronto, Ontario to help me out.
I took my calipers up to the shop and they took care of the rest. Here's a quick run down of their process, complete with pictures and as much detailed information as I have.
Brightside's Brembo Overhaul
This is a picture of how my calipers came off the car.
The process started with Rob assessing my calipers to make sure all the seals were in good shape and could be re-used. If the seals/boots can't be re-used, they keep new ones in stock!
All the paint on the calipers is stripped off, then they are prepped for sandblasting which will remove anything residual paint and give the primer a nice surface to adhere to.
The calipers are masked to protect threads, mating surfaces and the piston bores.
Now that the calipers are prepped, primer is applying to give the powdercoat a nice even surface to adhere to.
The next part of the process is to lay down some powder and bake them! I decided to go with gold instead of the factory red color as it would go a lot better with my color scheme.
The next part of the process includes cleaning up all the hardware, retapping all threads, and prepping the calipers for reassembly. All bolts are sandblasted and the heads are polished.
Next, the calipers are reassembled, minus the boots and seals. Decals are also made IN HOUSE, and applied to the caliper during the reassmbly process.
Decals:
Now that the caliper is reassembled, it's time to lay down the clear coat and bake them to a glossy finish. **The clear coat process is done after the decal is applied.
Calipers after the clear coat has been applied:
After the clear coat is cured, the caliper is fully reassembled; boots/seals are installed and all hardware is put back together.
And after much anticipation, here are the final results of the whole process:
I'm extremely pleased with the results. The time and effort that has gone into these is incredible. I basically have a brand new set of calipers!
When I have a free weekend, I'll post pictures of these installed on the car, as well as some pictures with the new rims on.
I would recommend anyone looking to get this done, or any powdercoat work to contact Mike or Rob at Brightside. Their work is second to none!
Check them out: http://www.brightsidecoatings.com/blog/
I should also mention that they are a GiroDisc Retailer, and have access to seals/boots for ALL Brembo calipers.
I just wanted to share with the community some work I had done on my calipers. I'm more than happy with the results, and I think the amount of work that went into these will speak to the credibility of the guys who made this happen.
I'll start off with a little background to my decision on having this done. I'm a typical EVO owner who suffered from Brembo's notorious flaking/chipping of it's calipers finish. When I bought my car (2003 EVO 8), the previous owner spent an afternoon dressing up the calipers with the popular Duplicolor caliper kit in a box. The results were awful.
I didn't care that much because the rims weren't in the best condition either. There must have been a sale on Duplicolor paint because the rims were also painted. I didn't have much cash left after buying the car, so I let it be.
Fast forward to winter. I put the car away in late October and started the tear down process. I have an extensive list of things I want to get done before Spring, and the calipers were high priority.
I ordered a brand new set of RPF1's and refused to have my calipers sit behind a beautiful set of rims, so I asked my friends Rob and Mike of Brightside Customs in Toronto, Ontario to help me out.
I took my calipers up to the shop and they took care of the rest. Here's a quick run down of their process, complete with pictures and as much detailed information as I have.
Brightside's Brembo Overhaul
This is a picture of how my calipers came off the car.
The process started with Rob assessing my calipers to make sure all the seals were in good shape and could be re-used. If the seals/boots can't be re-used, they keep new ones in stock!
All the paint on the calipers is stripped off, then they are prepped for sandblasting which will remove anything residual paint and give the primer a nice surface to adhere to.
The calipers are masked to protect threads, mating surfaces and the piston bores.
Now that the calipers are prepped, primer is applying to give the powdercoat a nice even surface to adhere to.
The next part of the process is to lay down some powder and bake them! I decided to go with gold instead of the factory red color as it would go a lot better with my color scheme.
The next part of the process includes cleaning up all the hardware, retapping all threads, and prepping the calipers for reassembly. All bolts are sandblasted and the heads are polished.
Next, the calipers are reassembled, minus the boots and seals. Decals are also made IN HOUSE, and applied to the caliper during the reassmbly process.
Decals:
Now that the caliper is reassembled, it's time to lay down the clear coat and bake them to a glossy finish. **The clear coat process is done after the decal is applied.
Calipers after the clear coat has been applied:
After the clear coat is cured, the caliper is fully reassembled; boots/seals are installed and all hardware is put back together.
And after much anticipation, here are the final results of the whole process:
I'm extremely pleased with the results. The time and effort that has gone into these is incredible. I basically have a brand new set of calipers!
When I have a free weekend, I'll post pictures of these installed on the car, as well as some pictures with the new rims on.
I would recommend anyone looking to get this done, or any powdercoat work to contact Mike or Rob at Brightside. Their work is second to none!
Check them out: http://www.brightsidecoatings.com/blog/
I should also mention that they are a GiroDisc Retailer, and have access to seals/boots for ALL Brembo calipers.
Last edited by jay777; Feb 12, 2013 at 08:39 PM.
Feb 12, 2013, 10:39 PM
#5
Quality Process! Thanks for sharing their breakdown and attention to detail. I like how they replace the regular brembo bolts with new Allen wrench bolts.
The only negative I see is that they are located in Canada. I shipped something there once it took two weeks just to clear customs.
The only negative I see is that they are located in Canada. I shipped something there once it took two weeks just to clear customs.
Feb 13, 2013, 07:34 AM
#6
Thanks for the comments guys!
It's hit or miss sometime with customs, but if you don't daily drive the car, or you have it stored for a few months, that's the ideal time to have something like this done.
Those allen head bolts were already on the calipers from factory. They were just meticulously cleaned and polished, so they look brand new!
It's hit or miss sometime with customs, but if you don't daily drive the car, or you have it stored for a few months, that's the ideal time to have something like this done.
Those allen head bolts were already on the calipers from factory. They were just meticulously cleaned and polished, so they look brand new!
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Feb 14, 2013, 05:00 PM
#13
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Looks good! I talked to them about my calipers a few weeks ago and will be bringing my calipers there soon!
Last edited by car_nut15; Feb 14, 2013 at 07:42 PM.
