Brake Caliper finish

[Bwana]

I'm getting my new-to-you 72 3.0CSi back on the road and Step One is to overhaul the brakes. The car has apparently sat for most of it's life and so has fallen victim to the dreaded corrosion in the brake piston area. Same thing happens to my Roadster.

I've finally gotten most of the pistons out and am cleaning up all the parts. I actually got the rebuild kits from my local BMW dealer!

The calipers appear to have had some sort of silver paint on them, probably from the factory. However, some rust is seaping thru. I'll post pictures later tonight.

Has anybody sandblasted their calipers (taping off the bores first of course) and if so, what did you use to re-finish them?

Edit: OK, here's the pictures of the front and rear calipers. The rear is totally rusty, looks like a must blast. I meant bead blast, not sand blast.

Front:

Rear

Also, I remember from somewhere to NEVER split the calipers. I can't remember why, seems like it's just an o-ring to seal the two halves. And it would be a lot easier to get the corrosion out of the upper bores.

Any thoughts?
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh295/BwanaDik/BMW Brakes/CIMG2677.jpg

 

[Bertocchi]

Most of the ATE calipers I have restored had a silver Zinc plating on them. Zinc is more of a wash than an actual plating process. I have had mixed results though. Cast iron tends to be porous and can retain grease and oil making it impossible for the zinc to bond. Zinc does not last very long either.
I have never used any spray caliper paint although they seem to be popular. Eastwood sells a zinc spray, I don't know how good it is?

David

 

[bmwmadman]

I have heard the same about splitting the caliper.

As for painting the calipers, I believe factory color was gold. I bought some paint from Tire Rack and after a year, it still looks good. Rather than blasting them, I soaked and then scrubber them for a few weeks.
have fun.

 

[MMercury]

Also, I remember from somewhere to NEVER split the calipers. I can't remember why, seems like it's just an o-ring to seal the two halves. And it would be a lot easier to get the corrosion out of the upper bores.
Any thoughts?

The subject of caliper finish has been discussed before: http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1490

Splitting calipers is not necessarily a no-no - provided you have the (often difficult to locate) 0-rings and torque-to-yield fasteners.

 

[Bryce]

Yes the cadmium plating looks awesome, but as i still haven't finished the car i still can't let you know if i got the brakes back together to work as well as they look.... maybe in a few more months???

 

[Bwana]

Something like this? Photo came from theultimategarage.com as original brakes for a 2002. I'm thinking the grey would look better