OEM Disc Brake Restoration
n the meantime, here is the process of restoring 3 sets of front
disc brakes simultaneously. Since these parts all had 35+
years of grease etc on them, there first step was to pressure
wash them to get most of the sludge off them. Then came
the disassembly (after soaking all of the joints with
penetrating oil for an hour or two - make sure you are in a
patient mood for this step). All of the old control arms,
ball joints etc are not really good for anything with all of the
rust and pitting on them.
After that, all the parts are bead blasted to give a
good rust free base for powdercoating. Once all of the
parts are done, they are cleaned thoroughly using lacquer
thinner and left to dry.
Next step come the masking for powdercoating. Any parts
with a machined critical surface (spindle, bolts holes etc.) are
masked off so they remain natural, otherwise the holes will need
to be tapped out. After this
step, they are ready for powdercoating with Eastwood's HotCoat
system. Since the parts
are made of cast iron, an epoxy "primer" powdercoat is used to
seal and protect. After this point they are ready for the
final color coat. Note the complex setup using a lawnmower
handle as a hanger and a Wendy's box as a table top. The
final color used is cast iron which looks exactly like a cast
iron part as expected. After this, the parts are put in
the oven for their final 25 minute heat/cure cycle. As you
can see the finish is excellent and is very durable on top of
that. The results looks just as good or better from any
professional shop. As soon as they cool down, they are
ready to bolt onto the car - easy as that.
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