Rebuilding and painting my calipers

[scot850]

I have used caliper paint over the years and find it lasts 2-3 years if the caliper is as clean as it can be. I treat the clean metal with a rust treatment before painting. Caliper paint is like POR-15 and goes straight on.

This is the stuff I have used for years:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/dupl ... p.html#srp

I'm not sure if anything is a good coating against this de-icing agent they use today. It is really aggressive.

Neil.

[abscate]

I have used caliper paint over the years and find it lasts 2-3 years if the caliper is as clean as it can be. I treat the clean metal with a rust treatment before painting. Caliper paint is like POR-15 and goes straight on.

This is the stuff I have used for years:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/dupl ... p.html#srp

I'm not sure if anything is a good coating against this de-icing agent they use today. It is really aggressive.

Neil.

I don’t paint mine, and if they get to the point where rust inhibits function, I FreeCP them…

[scot850]

Problem for me is the core return cost and shipping costs to Canada. With the $ disparity and shipping it is cheaper to buy parts in Canada for all the mileage I do. Even parts from on-line Volvo dealers are cheaper here than buying from FCP.

Neil.

[Nevada1906]

My rear calipers look terribly rusty but they operate almost perfectly. I would like to rebuild them to ensure functionality and repaint their exterior to prevent future rust.

Has anyone repainted their old rusty brake calipers and want to share some tips? I'm currently mining the web for info. I'll post whatever I find here if/when I make a plan.

I would love green calipers to match my green car! G2 epoxy paint comes in a nice dark green!

Back in 2012, I upgraded my brakes to FCP's 302mm brake kit. If I remember correctly, the kit uses the front rotors from the P2 V70R, or at least rotors meant for that application. Technically, it's not supposed to fit the 850 with the 16" Columba wheels that came stock on the Turbo.

However...

Yes, I ground the ribs off the stock calipers to clear the wheels. No, I probably wasn't supposed to do that.

What I can tell you is that this modification's worked for over 60,000 miles with no warping of the calipers. None whatsoever. I'm not nice to my brakes either. The car's always stopped hard and confidently since I did this. The calipers are ridiculously overbuilt and can handle this mod. And I can't speak highly enough of Zimmermann rotors and Akebono pads - those original kit parts are still on this car.

Back to your question. I used VHT high-heat engine primer and high-heat engine paint.

THE PRIMER IS KEY, AS IS SURFACE PREP.

First, use some sort of rust destroyer or naval jelly to get the rust off. Then, buy a cleap plastic scrubber brush and scrub the hell out of the parts with hot water and Palmolive. Next, blast them with brake cleaner to get the moisture off. Let the parts air dry, but make sure you don't touch the freshly-cleaned surfaces with bare fingertips or you'll get skin oil on the parts that'll interfere with the primer adhesion.

Mask things like boots and piston bores so you don't get paint in them.

Finally, go outside and use wire to hang the parts from something, then prime with at least two coats and paint with at least two coats. Use a gloss paint - it's easier to keep clean - and make sure you don't do this while the wind's blowing, or you could get overspray on somebody's car or something.

Then, let it dry and reassemble everything.

Almost forgot to mention - These are reman calipers I bought at AutoZone.

[FireFox31]

The third rear caliper I received had only minimal rust straight from the Volvo contracted rebuilder. One of the Volvo branded front calipers I received also had slight rust. Upon closer inspection, that front caliper's inlet hole and bleed screw hole had been shaved down significantly, probably because of rust. I'm so disappointed in the bad quality of these expensive Volvo branded rebuilt calipers.

I had planned to send my existing rusty front caliper brackets to the powder coating company, letting them do the cleaning. I even pulled a second set from a junkyard to see if they might be better. The ridges which hold the pad ears are less than perfect. I'm going to buy newly rebuilt brackets to maintain the goal of starting with the best possible materials.

FCP currently has a clearance on P80 front caliper brackets part 8251156. They're $43 list, $34 at VPWS, $31 at Tasca, and currently $21 at FCP on clearance. FCP only lists them for 850 but VPWS says they're for all P80 and I believe it based on visual comparison and the fact that 850 uses the same front calipers at V70.

I stripped and disassembled the four calipers today in preparation for the powder coating. Thank goodness all the pistons were free from repaired damage. I was surprised at all the grease in the piston bores. Hopefully that's safe for mixing with brake fluid. I'll research it for reassembly. Also, the bleed screws had copper anti-seize on them which might mix with brake fluid.

I plan to apply Cerakote to the piston heads to prevent them from rusting. My goal is to paint them down to the bottom of the dust boot indent. I will research proper prep, prime, and paint techniques.

What I can tell you is that this modification's worked for over 60,000 miles with no warping of the calipers.

Your brakes look great. How did rust affect the calipers and the pistons over the years? Your Virginia roads get snow and use road salt, right?

[abscate]

Here’s why it’s ok to antiseize bleeders on calipers.

Even the bit you get on the angled tapered sealing surface is ok, because you push 250 ml of fresh fluid through each caliper!

Drawn with a fat finger at 0343 after a bottle of Glenfidfich and a night of debauchery, Aye!

[foggydogg]

FCP currently has a clearance on P80 front caliper brackets part 8251156. They're $43 list, $34 at VPWS, $31 at Tasca, and currently $21 at FCP on clearance. FCP only lists them for 850 but VPWS says they're for all P80 and I believe it based on visual comparison and the fact that 850 uses the same front calipers at V70.

You must've gotten the last one, they're up to $40 plus $25 core.

[BlackBart]

Drawn with a fat finger at 0343 after a bottle of Glenfidfich and a night of debauchery, Aye!

Wow, the spouse and kids are out of town and look at you!

(but nice drawing!)

[Nevada1906]

The third rear caliper I received had only minimal rust straight from the Volvo contracted rebuilder. One of the Volvo branded front calipers I received also had slight rust. Upon closer inspection, that front caliper's inlet hole and bleed screw hole had been shaved down significantly, probably because of rust. I'm so disappointed in the bad quality of these expensive Volvo branded rebuilt calipers.

I had planned to send my existing rusty front caliper brackets to the powder coating company, letting them do the cleaning. I even pulled a second set from a junkyard to see if they might be better. The ridges which hold the pad ears are less than perfect. I'm going to buy newly rebuilt brackets to maintain the goal of starting with the best possible materials.

FCP currently has a clearance on P80 front caliper brackets part 8251156. They're $43 list, $34 at VPWS, $31 at Tasca, and currently $21 at FCP on clearance. FCP only lists them for 850 but VPWS says they're for all P80 and I believe it based on visual comparison and the fact that 850 uses the same front calipers at V70.

I stripped and disassembled the four calipers today in preparation for the powder coating. Thank goodness all the pistons were free from repaired damage. I was surprised at all the grease in the piston bores. Hopefully that's safe for mixing with brake fluid. I'll research it for reassembly. Also, the bleed screws had copper anti-seize on them which might mix with brake fluid.

I plan to apply Cerakote to the piston heads to prevent them from rusting. My goal is to paint them down to the bottom of the dust boot indent. I will research proper prep, prime, and paint techniques.

What I can tell you is that this modification's worked for over 60,000 miles with no warping of the calipers.

Your brakes look great. How did rust affect the calipers and the pistons over the years? Your Virginia roads get snow and use road salt, right?

Thanks. There's not much rust because the car spent most of it's life after the brake upgrade in Florida, and for the year or so that it was on the road in Virginia, it was in a part where it doesn't really snow, so no salt.

[FireFox31]

My brake parts have been at the powder coating company for a long time and I'm eager to see how they look when I finally get them. The scope of the project kept expanding as I found more parts which Volvo gave poor rust protection.

Front and rear dust shields were added to the powder coating job. In 2000, dust shields were bare silvery metal which rusts away to nothing. This is how they come today when you buy new Volvo branded replacements. In 1999, dust shields had a nice black coating which seriously inhibited rust. I'm not sure if these black ones are available new. Here's my 2000 rusty dust shield and the 1999 I pulled from a junkyard car which sat for the last seven years. I am having the used black fronts and new silvery rears stripped and powder coated.

The new front and rear pistons were added to the job. The company will apply Cerakote to their exposed heads and boot lips. I feel this is the weakest link in the entire braking system. The piston heads rust in four years making them expand, stick in the caliper bore, and fail to press on the pads. I can not find official ATE replacement caliper pistons for sale anywhere and am skeptical of the aftermarket stainless rear ones I found (heat transfer isn't the same with stainless, providing a different rate of expansion which may hurt performance). Since pistons can't be replaced, they must be protected. I'm hoping the Cerakote will prevent their heads from rusting.

New front caliper brackets were added to the job. It's important to ensure the pads slide reliably, so these will get the same powder coating as everything else.