Making Brake Area Look Like New: HOW?

[myeagleneedmods]

I will be getting some new wheels on my car and my brake area is rusty brown. Is there anything I can do to make the brake calipers/rotors look shiny and/or new? Thanx

 

[VelocitàPaola]

I will be getting some new wheels on my car and my brake area is rusty brown. Is there anything I can do to make the brake pads/discs/rotors look shiny and/or new? Thanx

Re-surface the rotors (rotors = discs).
Paint the calipers.
Who sees the pads?

 

[myeagleneedmods]

How do I resurface the rotors?

 

[DSMcamaro]

How do I resurface the rotors?

take them to a shop that has the machine to do it.

 

[myeagleneedmods]

take them to a shop that has the machine to do it.

Is there a at home way to do it?

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Is there a at home way to do it?

No.

You're rotors shouldn't be all that rusty to begin with though if you've been driving your car semi-regularly. If you're just concerned about looks, you can brush off the rim and the hat with a wire brush attachment for a power drill. Then douse them with brake parts cleaner and paint those areas with caliper paint. Don't worry about over-spray, the heat from the pads will burn it off. It'll at least keep rust off of them, but it won't make the actual braking surface any more efficient or cleaner looking.

Call a few places around where you live for "rotor cutting" or "rotor resurfacing." Most shops won't charge more than $12-$15 per rotor. If you've never changed your brakes before, though, then I recommend getting the help of someone who has.

 

[Scrymerr]

Why would you get your rotors resurfaced just because they are rusted? Be a man and sand it off, then clean them with brake cleaner.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Why would you get your rotors resurfaced just because they are rusted? Be a man and sand it off, then clean them with brake cleaner.

You risk uneven rotors and horrible performance, possibly leading to pre-mature warpage, if you do this.

Do things right; if you want to re-surface your rotors, get a shop with a brake disc lathe to do the job.

 

[Dream On]

Heck, you could buy new rotors for about $20 a piece at autozone.

 

[WMD]

Hey I have a cool tip. I use antiseize on my calipers. It keeps them 100% corrosion free. The benefits are, antiseize is an extremely high temp lube so it will not burn off, dry up or ever flake or crack off (well at least not on calipers, spark plugs, yes), plus an added bonus is your calipers always look brand-new and silvery. Now over time, about every 6 months, you will need to wipe off the old stuff and apply new stuff to keep it look new since over time it turns gray because of the break dust.
Steps I take:
1. Clean off the caliper with wire brush to clean off as much corrosion as possible.
2. When calipers are clean, start to apply the antiseize with the brush. You don't need thick layer to make it work.
3. After applying some antiseize with the brush, take a paper tower and even it out the stuff so the entire caliper is covered.
4. The paper towel will also only allow a certain amount to stay behind and all excess is removed.
5. DO NOT get any antiseize on the brake pad or rotors.
6. Put the wheel on and admire you handy work.

This has worked for me time and time again. It looks really nice and lasts along time. Oh and when you clean it up after 6 months, you don't need to use a wire brush; you only need to wipe the old stuff off.

Hmmmm... maybe I could make a tech article out of this....

 

[c5chris]

Buy new rotors and paint the hub and sides of it (not the friction surface but the vent) with high temp clearcoat or color of your choice.

The friction area (face of rotor) is constantly swept by your pads. The non-friction areas like the hub and vent edges are subject to the elements and they are bare metal - the reason why they corrode and ugly esp after a few days of rain.

While youre at it, use ceramic pads so your wheels and brake equipment will look clean everyday.

 

[JeffTSi924]

dupi color brake caliper paint kit (brush on so you won't have to take off calipers if you're lazy) around $15 at pepboys

other than that, clean with brake cleaner or power wash wheelwell

 

[Scrymerr]

You risk uneven rotors and horrible performance, possibly leading to pre-mature warpage, if you do this.

Do things right; if you want to re-surface your rotors, get a shop with a brake disc lathe to do the job.

Not so much. If the rotors are not warped, just rusted, there is no need to have them turned. If you have ever seen your car sitting outside in the rain for a day or so, the rotors will have lots of rust on them. I don't know what technique you could be thinking of that you would be able to mess up your rotor just sanding the rust off of it.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Not so much. If the rotors are not warped, just rusted, there is no need to have them turned. If you have ever seen your car sitting outside in the rain for a day or so, the rotors will have lots of rust on them. I don't know what technique you could be thinking of that you would be able to mess up your rotor just sanding the rust off of it.

Ever heard of a pneumatic zip-wheel? It'd be ok to use one of those, or just do some really light sanding otherwise. Heavy sanding will remove uneven amounts of the surface, creating the same effect as a warped rotor. I've seen it happen before.

Better yet, why don't you just drive the car? Normal braking should get rid of all of that rust. The only things you'll have problems with are the rim and the hat. For those, like a few people have already said, use caliper paint.

 

[Scrymerr]

Ever heard of a pneumatic zip-wheel? It'd be ok to use one of those, or just do some really light sanding otherwise. Heavy sanding will remove uneven amounts of the surface, creating the same effect as a warped rotor. I've seen it happen before.

Better yet, why don't you just drive the car? Normal braking should get rid of all of that rust. The only things you'll have problems with are the rim and the hat. For those, like a few people have already said, use caliper paint.

I got ya buddy. I know heavy sanding can screw up the rotor, I hope you didnt think I was telling him to use an angle grinder. I just slap some 80grit on an orbital sander and buzz around the rotor a few times. If there is a lot of rust, I wouldn't recommend just driving it off, def. try to clean it first.

 

[WMD]

You could always soak it in penetrating oil to aid in the removal of the rust. Then after cleaning off the built up rust soak it in mineral spirits to remove the oil. Driving should polish it smooth.

But it makes me think about another problem you might have. Where the pad contacts the rotor, there will be no rust, but there will be rust everywhere else. So after removing the built up rust you will have a high spot the exact size of the pad and it might cause breaking to be jerky. Personally I would get them resurfaced or just buy new ones, (depending on the amount of rust).

 

[Attack Eagle]

or if there is a lot of rust on the face it will PIT the rotor...
I bet the poster was concerned about the hat though and not the actual face though.

 

[WMD]

Oh, that easy to fix. The hat should be the least of his worries though if the area is rusted.