caliper appearance question

[judgejon]

2003 C4S.

Just came back from a trip up the coast, rinsed off the car, and noticed that one of the red calipers seemed to have a plastic cover on it that was bubbled. Like the plastic protectors on some new appliances for scratch protection prior to purchase. I'm not sure if this is how the Porsche name is put on the caliper as I had thought it was baked into the red paint. Anyone ever notice anything like this....? Seems like a silly question, but I'm curious. Cheers to all...

[Loren]

Each caliper has two bleed screws and each of the bleed screws has a plastic dust protector cap.

If the cap is melted then you could have a stuck caliper piston that is causing overheating and faster wear. Best have a closer look at that caliper.

[judgejon]

Each caliper has two bleed screws and each of the bleed screws has a plastic dust protector cap.

If the cap is melted then you could have a stuck caliper piston that is causing overheating and faster wear. Best have a closer look at that caliper.

Loren, it's more like a very thin plastic film that is on the outside of the caliper. It had bubbled and wrinkled, and now part of the outside of the caliper looks faded and not bright red.

My car was in an outdoor parking lot for about a week, and it had rained and stormed. The discs, particularly the fronts, were very dirty and sort of crusted with gunk. Normally, after washing, a coating of rust will appear on the discs, but it cleans up after first braking. this time the gunk was dried and hard and causing a grinding sound when I first drove the car and used the brakes. I drove for awhile until I could get to a station with water and sprayed water on the discs. this loosened the crap and the discs then smoothed out when I drove the car and used the brakes. I dont think this would have overheated the calipers.

the plastic film is like the protectors on new appliances that protects from scratches and peels off easily once you get home. Ever hear of anything like this on C4S or turbo calipers? Cheers, jl

[j_beede]

Each caliper has two bleed screws and each of the bleed screws has a plastic dust protector cap.

If the cap is melted then you could have a stuck caliper piston that is causing overheating and faster wear. Best have a closer look at that caliper.

Loren, it's more like a very thin plastic film that is on the outside of the caliper. It had bubbled and wrinkled, and now part of the outside of the caliper looks faded and not bright red.

My car was in an outdoor parking lot for about a week, and it had rained and stormed. The discs, particularly the fronts, were very dirty and sort of crusted with gunk. Normally, after washing, a coating of rust will appear on the discs, but it cleans up after first braking. this time the gunk was dried and hard and causing a grinding sound when I first drove the car and used the brakes. I drove for awhile until I could get to a station with water and sprayed water on the discs. this loosened the crap and the discs then smoothed out when I drove the car and used the brakes. I dont think this would have overheated the calipers.

the plastic film is like the protectors on new appliances that protects from scratches and peels off easily once you get home. Ever hear of anything like this on C4S or turbo calipers? Cheers, jl

That would have to be some pretty high temperature plastic film to put up with caliper temperatures. Perhaps someone clear coated your calipers? What sort of material would remain stuck to a rotor after braking--yet rinses off with water? Odd. What did it look like?

[Ahsai]

Post a pic, please. The original cailper should be painted so it should not have any plastic to peel. Maybe the calipers were refniished at some point where the "Porsche" sticker was applied before clear coat?

[Chris_C]

I have the exact same problem on my front driver side (but mine are black) - it appears to be a clear coat that is peeling off. The repair should be pretty simple - remove the rest and respray with high temperature clear coat again

[judgejon]

Each caliper has two bleed screws and each of the bleed screws has a plastic dust protector cap.

If the cap is melted then you could have a stuck caliper piston that is causing overheating and faster wear. Best have a closer look at that caliper.

Loren, it's more like a very thin plastic film that is on the outside of the caliper. It had bubbled and wrinkled, and now part of the outside of the caliper looks faded and not bright red.

My car was in an outdoor parking lot for about a week, and it had rained and stormed. The discs, particularly the fronts, were very dirty and sort of crusted with gunk. Normally, after washing, a coating of rust will appear on the discs, but it cleans up after first braking. this time the gunk was dried and hard and causing a grinding sound when I first drove the car and used the brakes. I drove for awhile until I could get to a station with water and sprayed water on the discs. this loosened the crap and the discs then smoothed out when I drove the car and used the brakes. I dont think this would have overheated the calipers.

the plastic film is like the protectors on new appliances that protects from scratches and peels off easily once you get home. Ever hear of anything like this on C4S or turbo calipers? Cheers, jl

That would have to be some pretty high temperature plastic film to put up with caliper temperatures. Perhaps someone clear coated your calipers? What sort of material would remain stuck to a rotor after braking--yet rinses off with water? Odd. What did it look like?

the front wheels and discs had lots of crud after 2 days of rain and then 3 days of just sitting in a parking lot on the campus of Humboldt State. The rears were fine. I'm thinking that the front of the car was at the edge of the parking lot on a little down slope and that water and junk were flowing along the edge of the lot toward a nearby drain. the front wheels and discs were well coated with this crud stuff. the stuff on the discs felt hard and I was surprised that it didnt go away at first braking.

the right side caliper shows more blemishes than the left and at first I thought I'd spilled gas while filling the tank. But the left is also blemished. there was no crap on the rear wheels or discs. Both front discs look and feel fine now. car handled great once the discs were clear of the goop. Maybe the additional pressure on the pads caused the calipers to overheat?

Pics are coming, thanks to all... jl

Edited July 6, 2011 by judgejon

[judgejon]

Each caliper has two bleed screws and each of the bleed screws has a plastic dust protector cap.

If the cap is melted then you could have a stuck caliper piston that is causing overheating and faster wear. Best have a closer look at that caliper.

Loren, it's more like a very thin plastic film that is on the outside of the caliper. It had bubbled and wrinkled, and now part of the outside of the caliper looks faded and not bright red.

My car was in an outdoor parking lot for about a week, and it had rained and stormed. The discs, particularly the fronts, were very dirty and sort of crusted with gunk. Normally, after washing, a coating of rust will appear on the discs, but it cleans up after first braking. this time the gunk was dried and hard and causing a grinding sound when I first drove the car and used the brakes. I drove for awhile until I could get to a station with water and sprayed water on the discs. this loosened the crap and the discs then smoothed out when I drove the car and used the brakes. I dont think this would have overheated the calipers.

the plastic film is like the protectors on new appliances that protects from scratches and peels off easily once you get home. Ever hear of anything like this on C4S or turbo calipers? Cheers, jl

That would have to be some pretty high temperature plastic film to put up with caliper temperatures. Perhaps someone clear coated your calipers? What sort of material would remain stuck to a rotor after braking--yet rinses off with water? Odd. What did it look like?

the front wheels and discs had lots of crud after 2 days of rain and then 3 days of just sitting in a parking lot on the campus of Humboldt State. The rears were fine. I'm thinking that the front of the car was at the edge of the parking lot on a little down slope and that water and junk were flowing along the edge of the lot toward a nearby drain. the front wheels and discs were well coated with this crud stuff. the stuff on the discs felt hard and I was surprised that it didnt go away at first braking.

the right side caliper shows more blemishes than the left and at first I thought I'd spilled gas while filling the tank. But the left is also blemished. there was no crap on the rear wheels or discs. Both front discs look and feel fine now. car handled great once the discs were clear of the goop. Maybe the additional pressure on the pads caused the calipers to overheat?

Pics are coming, thanks to all... jl

here's another... both of right caliper

[Orient Express]

What you have here is the classic "Caliper Clear coat Delamination" that is a chronic Brembo Porsche Caliper problem. Over time the clear coat gets dry, and flakes off. I have had this even happen with new calipers that was so bad, that I got Porsche to make a warranty replacement of the caliper.

I have found that the easiest repair is to feather sand off the clear coat around with blemish with 1600 grit sandpaper and respray the affected area with high-temp engine clear paint. This repair has worked for me.

[judgejon]

What you have here is the classic "Caliper Clear coat Delamination" that is a chronic Brembo Porsche Caliper problem. Over time the clear coat gets dry, and flakes off. I have had this even happen with new calipers that was so bad, that I got Porsche to make a warranty replacement of the caliper.

I have found that the easiest repair is to feather sand off the clear coat around with blemish with 1600 grit sandpaper and respray the affected area with high-temp engine clear paint. This repair has worked for me.

thanks much. must have been brought on by the weather and sticky crap in the draining water. Never noticed any discoloration until last Saturday.

Ps: I've admired that Orient Red car for some time..... still looks great.

Cheers, jl

[Cloudsurfer]

Common problem. You could sand through the clear, and re-clear them. Depending upon how many miles are on the calipers, and how the car's been used, you might consider rebuilding the calipers, at which point you can have the calipers powder coated.