Brake caliper cleaning

[glyndawn]

Whats best thing to clean these up

 

[glyndawn]

 

[glyndawn]

 

[W1ghty]

Probably going to be wire brush and new paint , but try a strong wheel cleaner and apc (all purpose cleaner) first .

 

[mercmancdi]

I done mine with a we wire brush fitted in my drill to remove the rough and finished off with very course sand paper etc. Not hard to do just wear a mask if using the brush on the drill and don’t hit any wires or pipes with it.

 

[breeze247]

I have exactly the same issue on a W213 with the Sport calipers / the same finish as yours. They are almost designed to look bad after a few years. Chipsaway guy suggested painting them.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[V6GBJ]

A clean up as above

I have exactly the same issue on a W213 with the Sport calipers / the same finish as yours. They are almost designed to look bad after a few years. Chipsaway guy suggested painting them.

Let us know how you get on.

A clean up as above and then a coat of Hammerite silver then makes them easier to clean in the future.

 

[AndrewOl]

Caliper paint works well. It is thin enough for the engraved bit to still look nice. Prep is standard stuff, bit of a rub down and a bit of a spray. It is available in some funky colours too if that’s your thing. Will last a couple of years depending on how hard you clean them. This won’t give you the enamel look of the fancy AMG ones but will smarten them up no end.

 

[SmartAmg]

Halfords Engine paint, not there Caliper paint, is much better, it's thicker goes on well, 2 coats should be enough.

 

[breeze247]

Update from me on this. The car belongs to my wife and normally I wash it using a number of different products (including fallout remover) and two buckets.

Recently she had the car cleaned by a serviced car wash and the calipers came back looking much, much better. I think it is because they used a pressure washer directed at the calipers.

Although I am not keen at all on that kind of wash, I do wonder whether once every few months would be the worst thing in the world. Not keen on buying a pressure washer.

 

[breeze247]

I took the car back to the same car wash and got a further improvement on the improvement before. I’d definitely recommend pressure washing.

I think the issue is that the surface of the caliper is not smooth but instead is lightly pitted, maybe even porous.

Washing with a sponge doesn’t get into the pits and a conventional wash brush will never be stiff enough. For me at least, pressure washing is the answer.

 

[colinallcars]

I took the car back to the same car wash and got a further improvement on the improvement before. I’d definitely recommend pressure washing.

I think the issue is that the surface of the caliper is not smooth but instead is lightly pitted, maybe even porous.

Washing with a sponge doesn’t get into the pits and a conventional wash brush will never be stiff enough. For me at least, pressure washing is the answer.

A porous caliper - I somehow doubt it!

 

[Gbrowncls55]

I have exactly the same issue on a W213 with the Sport calipers / the same finish as yours. They are almost designed to look bad after a few years. Chipsaway guy suggested painting them.

Let us know how you get on.

Wire brush or drill, then sandpaper, then lots of brake cleaner, then calliper paint in colour of your choice (spay or brush) Won't be as good as professional refinishing but will be a lot better than standard plus a few years like yours. And you don't lose your car for a week or so. Mercedes and AMG transfers or stickers from Ebay to finish

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Fallout remover works well to get them clean. Then im a big fan of hammerite smooth. Ive found a good method is to roughly mask the caliper then brush paint the first coat to get into all the fiddly bits. Then if you're careful and generally good with a spray can you can dust a thin coat on the more visible part of the caliper to get a better finish. Ive got it down to a fine art now and looks as good as powder coat. Old towels can be wrapped over the bits you don't want any overspray on. Then you can apply the decals when touch dry.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Fallout remover works well to get them clean. Then im a big fan of hammerite smooth. Ive found a good method is to roughly mask the caliper then brush paint the first coat to get into all the fiddly bits. Then if you're careful and generally good with a spray can you can dust a thin coat on the more visible part of the caliper to get a better finish. Ive got it down to a fine art now and looks as good as powder coat. Old towels can be wrapped over the bits you don't want any overspray on. Then you can apply the decals when touch dry.

Shall we form an orderly queue?

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Shall we form an orderly queue?

Ha ha - well i have to finish restoring my vintage lawnmower first. Im sure there must be a hole in the ozone layer above Guildford with the amount of aerosols im getting though!

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Ha ha - well i have to finish restoring my vintage lawnmower first. Im sure there must be a hole in the ozone layer above Guildford with the amount of aerosols im getting though!

Actually on that note id be tempted to try Paragon paints enamel on any other calipers i do. Ive been using their hammered paints on my mower (its a 1966 ride on contraption). Their paint is superb and the enamel i think should be good enough with the heat. The hammered effect is very subtle from an aerosol and i think it would work great.

Superior High Temperature Enamel Paints

 

[Reflection]

I took the car back to the same car wash and got a further improvement on the improvement before. I’d definitely recommend pressure washing.

I think the issue is that the surface of the caliper is not smooth but instead is lightly pitted, maybe even porous.

Washing with a sponge doesn’t get into the pits and a conventional wash brush will never be stiff enough. For me at least, pressure washing is the answer.

Understanding What the contaminant is will speed things up.......

At a microscopic level everything has pores/pits and in this case the majority of the contaminants will be brake dust, basically ferrous fillings, individual particles are very small and will fill up pores/pits/right angles etc, oxidize (rust) expand and become locked in the pore, this then allows further brake dust particles to bond to the last and start to build.

so my approach is to use a iron remover, the ammonia thioglycolate actually shrinks the iron particles and then can be blasted with water or agitated to remove.

Power Wash rinse
First degrease with quality APC i agitate with detailing brush.
Apply a quality iron remover, leave for a few minutes, do not allow to dry.
power wash/wire brush/wire wool all work at this point and can be used to agitate the contaminant and then rinse.
repeat if necessary
degrease once more
Power wash rinse
ideally finish with a alcohol prep or brake cleaner for superior paint bond.

 

[mercmancdi]

I done cleaned mine and done with hamerite smooth finish 2 coats and put stickers on for show and laquared 3 coats. Dirty today but took we photo just now.
Ps I know every has own idea of colour etc but this is to give idea of what they look like painted.

 

[alabbasi]

Whats best thing to clean these up