Shaving Nissan Logo Off Brake Calipers

[Hanaldo]

Hey all.

I'm after a more clean look for my brake calipers (not having issues with wheel fitment or anything like that) so I want to shave the Nissan logo off the side. Wouldn't go any further than that, I just want the flat face. Any suggestions as to how I could do that myself or would I have to take it to an engineer and get them to mill it off? Had thought of using a flapper disk but will that go through the metal?

Cheers,

Martin.

[Daleo]

Hey all.

I'm after a more clean look for my brake calipers (not having issues with wheel fitment or anything like that) so I want to shave the Nissan logo off the side. Wouldn't go any further than that, I just want the flat face. Any suggestions as to how I could do that myself or would I have to take it to an engineer and get them to mill it off? Had thought of using a flapper disk but will that go through the metal?

Cheers,

Martin.

Milling will definitely acheive what you're after, and you'll end up with a flat surface afterwards; something that will be very hard to get with a flap disc.

Also think about a belt linisher; would be nice to smooth out your machining marks after milling, but would easily do the job from start to finish if you've got a steady hand. Use a coarse grit belt to start, then finish with a 3M belt to smooth off for painting.

[StevenCJR31]

a file should do a nice job, starting with a coarse one and finishing with a fine one

[Hanaldo]

Thanks for the replies.

Yeh I figured milling is probably the best way to go about it. But I'm not sure who near me would do it or how much it would cost.

Problem with a belt linisher is... I do not have one lol. What about a hand held belt sander, do the same job? Would that do a better job than a flapper? A file would do the job but that's a hell of a lot of work and probably wouldn't get a nice finish.

Edited June 15, 2011 by Hanaldo

[KiwiRS4T]

Bench grinder and finish off with a range of files. No one's going to be examining them.

[Risking]

Were are you located?

[Marlin]

a file should do a nice job, starting with a coarse one and finishing with a fine one

This

[Hanaldo]

Were are you located?

Perth, WA...

[lammy426]

4" grinder did mine and then wet and dry (but i never got to the wet and dry) millings a waste of time and money,don't take any more than the letters off

[Hanaldo]

4" grinder did mine and then wet and dry (but i never got to the wet and dry) millings a waste of time and money,don't take any more than the letters off

Yeh that's all I want.

Thanks for the reply mate, that's what I was looking for

[Legionnaire]

It'd be interesting to see the result of your work.  

Post some pics when you're done with this "mod" as I'm still not sure whether calipers look better with or without logo. Are you gonna paint/coat them afterwards?

[Hanaldo]

It'd be interesting to see the result of your work.

Post some pics when you're done with this "mod" as I'm still not sure whether calipers look better with or without logo. Are you gonna paint/coat them afterwards?

Yeh will do mate.

I'll definitely paint them. Not sure what colour yet though. Currently they are very dark blue to suit the GT logo. But I just got new bronze wheels and I want to get some blue wheel nuts. Haven't found any the same shade of blue, so I'm not sure if I should repaint them the blue they are now or a similar blue to the nuts. Decisions...

[Hanaldo]

Ok, so pics as promised...

I decided to use a 120 grit flapper disc on a 400w power drill instead of the angle grinder, as angle grinders and dye grinders are a bit too aggressive and end to take large bites out, making it difficult to get a nice finish. The flapper disc worked like a charm, albeit taking about 20 minutes of solid grinding to do each caliper. When the letters were gone I just hit the calipers with some 400 grit sandpapers to smooth them out, and the paint came out as you can see in the photo.

This is just after I started, I remembered to take a picture before I took anything more than paint off:

And this is the finished product:

This is the exact look I was going for so I'm very happy with it.

[nobby]

What brand of paint?.

and tell us how the fininsh looks in a couple of months will ya please.

[Hanaldo]

VHT mate. I actually repainted them with the exact same paint I had before, the finish doesn't change much. Obviously it loses a bit of shine, but if you do it right then it lasts.

[lachlanw]

dont ever put alloy in the bench grinder who ever said that

[mystery_kid]

meh don't see the point, doesn't make it look better

[Hanaldo]

Does to me. I didn't like the embossed logo, I prefer the cleaner look. Much like shaving badges, etc.

[bubba]

Martin, we media blasted my calipers then clear coated them, looks good

[Hanaldo]

Martin, we media blasted my calipers then clear coated them, looks good

*insert lame paparazzi joke here*

Excuse me one second while I google media blasting...