AllanS
02-19-2004, 03:02 PM
I ended up buying Bruno's 850 front brake setup a few weeks ago- I hadn't planned on messing with the brakes on the 535i since I have other projects that need attention (http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/turbo01.jpg), but I just couldn't resist. I also picked up a pair of rear calipers and carriers and hardware from a 540, from Vines automotive down in Alabama, as well as some rotors from that place in PA that someone on this booard mentioned.
Now, Bruno had painted the 850 calipers and carriers red. Besides the fact that I don't like flashy stuff like that, the red paint had started to burn and crack. Obviously, I had to repaint them, and I chose to go with the spray can route. I bought a pair of cans from VHT which are supposedly rated up to 900F, in semi gloss black. The stuff builds a nice hard (albeit, thin) layer of paint on the surface, which is definately a lot less resistant to scratching than the red 2 mixture paint that Bruno used, but hopefully it should hold up against heat better, since, um.... there's less paint to dissipate heat to. That's my theory at least, and I'm sticking to it.
The hard part was actually getting the old red paint off. I used a die grinder (25k rpm) and went through about 8 different wire brush wheels, which were utterly destroyed. The upside, was that it just ripped through the old paint, making it a pretty simple operation, and it didn't harm the surface of the metal. I then cleaned the carriers and calipers with lacquer thinner, taped off what needed taping, and started spraying. As of right now, 1 caliper is completely finished, 1 is 90% done, and the carriers are maybe halfway finished. The rear rotors should arrive by tomorrow, so the plan is to get this all hooked up by sunday.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes01.jpg
A halfway finished caliper.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes04.jpg
Another caliper shot.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes02.jpg
Halfway done carriers.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes07.jpg
Carrier with the old paint.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes08.jpg
Partially stripped caliper.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/540brakes01.jpg
Rear 540 calipers and carriers, waiting to be cleaned.
Now, Bruno had painted the 850 calipers and carriers red. Besides the fact that I don't like flashy stuff like that, the red paint had started to burn and crack. Obviously, I had to repaint them, and I chose to go with the spray can route. I bought a pair of cans from VHT which are supposedly rated up to 900F, in semi gloss black. The stuff builds a nice hard (albeit, thin) layer of paint on the surface, which is definately a lot less resistant to scratching than the red 2 mixture paint that Bruno used, but hopefully it should hold up against heat better, since, um.... there's less paint to dissipate heat to. That's my theory at least, and I'm sticking to it.
The hard part was actually getting the old red paint off. I used a die grinder (25k rpm) and went through about 8 different wire brush wheels, which were utterly destroyed. The upside, was that it just ripped through the old paint, making it a pretty simple operation, and it didn't harm the surface of the metal. I then cleaned the carriers and calipers with lacquer thinner, taped off what needed taping, and started spraying. As of right now, 1 caliper is completely finished, 1 is 90% done, and the carriers are maybe halfway finished. The rear rotors should arrive by tomorrow, so the plan is to get this all hooked up by sunday.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes01.jpg
A halfway finished caliper.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes04.jpg
Another caliper shot.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes02.jpg
Halfway done carriers.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes07.jpg
Carrier with the old paint.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/850brakes08.jpg
Partially stripped caliper.
http://www.oxygenstudio.net/images/540brakes01.jpg
Rear 540 calipers and carriers, waiting to be cleaned.