Illusion orange would be my vote too

Pretty cool you were able to get some samples to help make the decision.

 

Thanks, Lego. It's feeling like a lock on Illusion Orange. I'll take some macro pics of the sample swatch later. What I really, really like about it is how the color morphs with the angle of the light. And seeing as how there are lots of curved edges on the caliper, it could be an amazing look. But I'm still going to sit on it this weekend to be sure, and examine the swatches against the car.

The samples were free, but I had to pay $15 shipping. Worth it, IMO.

I think I'm going to hold off on buying the decals (the correct decals this time ) until I get the calipers back from the PC. The correct way to do it would be to paint over stencil, then clear coat. The easier way to do it would be to apply high-temp decals, then clear coat. And the easiest way of all would be to just not do anything, and go with un-branded calipers.

 

FWIW, I didn't put clear coat over my hi-temp decals and they've held up fine. The Brembo swap was a pandemic project, so going on close to 4 years now. You could always live with naked calipers, or try decals without clearcoat before going with a more permanent solution..

 

Really? I never would have expected that. There's a lot going on down there, what with road debris and rain and crap. And I'd be nervous about washing the car, particularly blasting the wheels in the winter at the hand-wash.

I suppose if one gets ruined, you just buy a new set of decals on the cheap and reapply, but still... never occurred to me to to just apply decals without clear-coat.

How long have they been on?

 

I clear-coated mine. Still bright and crisp with no lifting or degradation. Albeit, most of the environmental damage mine get is from intense sunlight.

 

I’m sure you are in a much harsher environment than me, and i rarely use self car washes (never use the foaming brush!) but they haven’t been affected by wheel cleaner, debris etc. I always thought I’d just redo them at some point. I installed them 4/5/2020. Just snapped pic in the garage. They’re a bit dirty, but it’ll wipe right off when I wash my car.

 

Four years and no issue. Wow. Well, bare decal application is an option, I suppose.

In a perfect world with all kinds of resources and patience, I could have someone cut the decals as a stencil, and paint INFINITI on the calipers, then clear-coat. It appears that's what Nissan did for the OEM pieces.

I've been watching Brembo rebuild videos lately, because there's not a lot of Akebono videos, and the Brembo's are basically the same design.

 

Dollars to donuts the OEM (likely Akebono rather than Nissan) did a screen-print and then baked it on.

 

Yes, that's probably right.

 

I picked up some 2K clear that listed UV protection in a rattle can (Autozone IIRC) and sprayed over my high-temp vinyl when installing the red powerstops. Still looks great. That was when, 2-3 years ago?

 

I'm dropping the calipers off at the Powder Coater on Monday morning.

Here they are, all laid out in a big "before" photo.

 

This color I've selected has the potential to be really amazing. Depending how the light is reflected, it can be just a nice orange, or it can sparkle like diamonds. Considering all the rounded curves on the caliper body, I'm feeling pretty excited about this choice. It's an expensive powder, relative to the others, but wow... just wow.

Here's a pic in the sunlight, being held by one of my kids. This shot of the color sample really shows the range.

 

note the plastidip on the wheels has degraded with washing and uv/sun exposure. The decals, and red powder, are still bright and nice.

 

100% Illusion Orange. You can stop considering the others.

 

+1 for the "Illusion Orange" as well. That looks almost identical to the "Valencia Orange" on my Zed-4.

The "Nuke Orange" almost resembles the "Sakhir Orange" found on some BMW M's which is more reddish in hue and non-metallic.