Subject says it all... has anyone followed this excellent tutorial to paint their rust-bucket rotors?

Scoobymods Rusted Brake Motors Mod

Mine are so damn rusted they are almost entirely orange -- which is pretty odd, considering I live in the driest state in the Union. I'm planning on getting some wheels which show a LOT more rotor than the stock ones do, and that rust is bugging me!

So, has anyone done this mod? What paint did you use? How long did it hold up? Did the paint smell bad when you stop?

Oh yeah, should I do black or silver? (silver 02 WRX, getting light gray/silver wheels)

 

wow i didnt know you could paint right on the brake track like that.

~SGD

 

Just because he did it (you mean the blue example, right?) doesn't mean it is a good idea

edit: thought you meant painting the rotors while they were still on the vehicle, like the second example did -- which doesn't seem wise. If I do this I am going to take the rotors OFF and mask off the actual contact area -- no reason to get paint shavings all over the brake pads and mechanism...

 

I painted mine black.. I didn't take them off the car (I have 4pot calipers that are a ***** to take on and off).. I didn't mask anything. I was just careful. Whatever overspray gets on the braking surface you can wipe off with a rag and some gasoline. Clean the rotors with soap and water when your done (or they'll squeak very loud).

 

Thanks for the advice. How long have the painted rotors lasted you so far? Did you do black, or silver? Or STI Pink?

 

I wouldn't paint the friction surface of the rotors. That can't be very safe for the first few stops.

Gary
Sheehan Motor Racing
www.teamSMR.com

 

Just bumping the thread -- I am curious, what type of paint did you use/would you reccommend? There is high-heat paint, engine block paint, caliper paint -- lots to choose from...

BTW: Gary/Sheehan Racing: AWESOME videos on your site, all Suby fans should check them out. The "foot cam" is GENIUS, I learned more about race driving from that than months of WRC watching.

 

painting on the hat should be ok, but the friction area is not such a good idea. Granted it will come off but you dont' want that stuff staying on the pad or on the sides of it.

 

I would take the rotors off and cover the breaking suface. The paint may come off, but chunks will build near the pads. It might stink for a while. 2cents

 

OK, from someone who actually has done this and isn't just speculating

No need to mask the friction surface. Just paint the hat, not worrying about overspray onto the rotor friction surface.

The paint will be gone.....without a trace on the pads......by the time you bed in the pads (which you SHOULD be doing on a new or reconditioned rotor anyways). And even before it is gone, your brakes will work about as well as they were gonna work pre-bedding anyways (i.e. fine for mild stops, but probably not so great for a 60-0 panic stop....which you shouldn't do until you bed the pads in anyways).

Just use a decent high-temp paint.....Rustoleum actually works well here.....and you'll be fine as far as paint durability.