Nissan 370Z Forum - Painted Calipers

Nissan 370Z Forum (http://www.the370z.com/)

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- - Painted Calipers (http://www.the370z.com/brakes-suspension/2267-painted-calipers.html)

Go powder coat...my guy does it for $20/caliper. real quality work..

Eastwood makes a quality product that I've used before. Here is the link

Powder coating is also a very good option, and it can stand up to some brutal treatment! A lot of guys in the custom truck scene powdercoat their entire suspension, and some even go so far as to do the entire frame!

1) Why in the world would anyone powdercoat pistons?
2) If you do it right, painted calipers can look alright, the problem is that it is very easy to cross the line into tacky, just pick the color carefully...

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ (Post 40785)

1) Why in the world would anyone powdercoat pistons?

Quote:

Why in the world would anyone powdercoat pistons?

I think the pistons shown are ceramic coated on the top and have an ant-friction coating on the skirts. I've had this done before. You need a very good shop to do this if you want the coatings to stick. Possibly the person who posted the piston photos was using this to show the capabilities of the shop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan93rsa (Post 41173)

Wow, I'm surprised you guys haven't heard of this....and yes, I was posting to show that the shop I know is VERY reputable :)

Shamelessly stolen from some powder coating shops website:

Quote:

Power Coating (Thermal Solutions)

Power coatings relate to engines/motors (cars, snowmobiles, motorcycles): almost anything with a combustion engine. Some hold heat where it's needed. Others remove unwanted heat. Some are used to reduce friction on metal-to-metal contact, while others shed lubricants. All of them increase horsepower.

Piston Coatings

Piston Coatings are formulated to provide a thermal barrier for piston domes, for corresponding combustion chambers, and valve faces. This specialized formulation withstands detonation impact while reducing surface temperatures and does not affect tolerances or compression ratios, increasing combustion chamber efficiency while increasing horsepower and part life expectancy.

Its becoming a "must-have" when building an entirely forged bottom end, just because its a fairly cheap way to extend the life of your parts, along with the other nice side effects. Shop I know only charges $25 a piston.

See, I have had coated CP pistons in my last engine build, but you were talking about painting calipers and somehow you made the jump to thermal coating. Its not that we haven't heard about it, its just that no one calls it powdercoating pistons. It just really seemed like they were painting the pistons hehe my bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ (Post 41327)

Oh lol - see, I thought the process was very similar - just what they bake onto the pistons isnt just a paint :). I never said I was a powdercoater sadly :( lol