I have a 488 with yellow calipers. I would like them to look like new. Bought the car second hand. Would like to repaint them but is powder coating better?
What colour have they gone? Orange/brown from heat, or just dark dirty grime? Yellow paint may go off again, if you're gonna get them very hot (track), otherwise would be easiest and good enough. Powder coat would mean a complete strip down of the calliper, but may ultimately be more durable. Also, do you want the Ferrari writing put back, may be harder on powder coat?
For what it's worth, one of our local 360 owners had freshened his calipers with yellow caliper paint - looked awful a year later, but of course, more brake dusting and abuse on the 360 vs. your CCM equipped 488. I advised him of a powder coating business in Jacksonville that only worked on brake calipers and he had our indie remove the calipers and send them off for powder coating. The result was impressive and looked to be holding up well a year and a half later. The shop in question would also apply brand logos as an option. Although the Jacksonville powder coating business had been operating for quite some time, they apparently went out of business not too long ago, however, I seem to recall a caveat mentioned on their website indicating that powder coating was not recommended if the car was going to be tracked - don't recall specifically why.
Have you tried cleaning them? Get some window cleaner and a toothbrush. That's usually a good place to start. Ray
How about trying polish or using a very light compound? If it's heat related I doubt either of those will work.
Heat is the problem. It was tracked on a event one it was 4 months old. The guy before me had the car for about 3.5 years and no tracking. I will not track the car either.
this happens on other manufactures as well, BMW, Porsche where the calipers discolor from the heat, even with carbon brakes. To do it right you'll want to do a refresh on it - strip, powdercoat, new seals etc. Another option is to buy some used OEM calipers online and just replace.
Be careful about using cleaning products. I would try to mask the carbon ceramic rotors so as to protect them during the cleaning process,
You can absolutely repaint your calipers. Brembo calipers are painted from factory (not powdercoated) so painting is perfectly fine as long as it is a high temp paint. However, caliper painters are filled with garage DIYers who don't know how to give a good paint job. Even reputable and dealer recommended shops still do craptastic jobs. 488 calipers are quite complex, they have a lot of painted and unpainted parts meshed together. I've seen too many non-detail oriented painters just spray the entire caliper, retaining pin and all. A good rule of thumb: if the part wasn't painted from factory, then it shouldn't be painted when it gets a repaint. Don't go to the dealer. Dealers are just outsourcing the work at huge markups. You should look to spend around $1200 for a good paint job.
I am not 100% sure but i doubt Brembo would paint calipers after they were assembled. So your going to have to disconnect them. Take them apart then clean then offer them to be painted. Reassemble , refit and bleed the brake fluid. IMO dont do it. But if you still want to go ahead with it find a PROFESSIONAL shop that will do it all or at least liaise with your Ferrari dealer to take the calipers off and then reassemble and bleed the brakes. I wouldn't do it any other way. You do NOT want this car to fail on the brakes.
I have already tried to clean them. It is only the fronts. I think I will leave them like this. I will just keep the car for the summer and then try to sell so next owner can fix them if he wants.
I don't agree with you. They're removing/attaching breaks and Ferrari is the one guaranteeing now they are installed properly, rather some random shop. I'd rather trust ferrari with a vital component like my breaks.
The guy that paints the calipers for a Ferrari dealership here in Southern California did mine on my F430. He did them on the car and they came out perfect. He did them at a friends detail shop. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
The painter charged me $1000. He used a 2 part epoxy primer, then paint, then clear coat over the new decals. Don’t be afraid to have them painted on the car. You just gotta find the right guy to do the job and tell him that you want it perfect when he’s done. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
You'd be shocked to know how easilly the front calipers come off. Trust me, any mechanic can do it. Loosen the torx that holds the hard line bracket. Unscrew the hose from the hardline. Undo the two caliper bolts using a 10mm allen top. Unscrew the hardline from the caliper when you have it out. Just a regular M10x1.0 fitting Done. The important part is to bleed well after reassembly. Some parts of these cars are incredibly easy to work on. Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app