Cleaning brake calipers

[TJM]

I have a spare set of calipers from a donor T4R that I'd like to rebuild, and later on want to do the Tundra upgrade. The Tundra 13WL's will likely come from a salvage yard and need to be cleaned up, as do my donor calipers.

I was going to use an angle grinder with a wire wheel and some brushes, but a friend has a sand blaster that he says will work a lot faster and get them far cleaner.

I'm concerned about getting sand in the cylinder where the pistons are since you don't want those to get scratched up.

Does anyone have some advice on whether I should use the wire wheel, or is the sand blaster okay? How would I go about keeping grit out of the cylinders (painters or duct tape maybe)?

 

[TJM]

Well, no one answered here, but I did get some info.

A little background, if you're interested, is that I watched a youtube video from Speedy's Garage (outstanding channel if you haven't checked it out) on how to rebuild and repaint your calipers, specifically being done on the 231mm Tundras.

So I posted this question on another forum when, lo and behold, Speedy himself pops in and answers me.

He did not recommend sand blasting, just because the stuff will get everywhere. The safest route, should you decide to undertake this project yourself, is to use a wire wheel on an angle grinder and some wire brushes for the spots the wheel won't reach.

Oh, and G2 Caliper Paint to finish it off. It looks great and holds a solid finish for years.

 

[pillguy]

I cleaned mine with a wire wheel and elbow grease. Painted with caliper paint and rebuilt. Agree with sand blasring too much risk of sand

 

[ArmedBear]

Well, no one answered here, but I did get some info.

A little background, if you're interested, is that I watched a youtube video from Speedy's Garage (outstanding channel if you haven't checked it out) on how to rebuild and repaint your calipers, specifically being done on the 231mm Tundras.

So I posted this question on another forum when, lo and behold, Speedy himself pops in and answers me.

He did not recommend sand blasting, just because the stuff will get everywhere. The safest route, should you decide to undertake this project yourself, is to use a wire wheel on an angle grinder and some wire brushes for the spots the wheel won't reach.

Oh, and G2 Caliper Paint to finish it off. It looks great and holds a solid finish for years.

BTW, thanks for doing a follow-up post when you were able to answer your own question. It really does help a bunch.

It is such a bummer when someone responds to their own post with "Never mind, I figured it out." Ends up being a cliffhanger like the end of a chapter in Game of Thrones.