Painting the Brake Rotors: Possible?
 

Alright, this is kind of random, but I just thought of it.

The brake rotors (note... the rotors not the calipers) tend to rust where the pads don't touch. If I had new or turned rotors that were clean, would I be able to paint that part to prevent the rust?

Also, could I just paint the whole thing and have the brake pads rub off where they touch with no ill effects?

Yes, you can paint the rest of the rotor but, DO NOT paint the surface where the pads touch! That would not be good... I would expect you can use any high temp paint that you would use for calipers.

I believe you can get the rotors pad surface zinc plated which prevents rust over. As far as painting them, I don't think that would be ideal, as regular paint would just come off after a few stops, and powder and/or ceramic coating the rotors may be a bit more durable but would probably increase braking distance. I'll let some of the elder gods chime in on this one.

Thanks :)

I wouldn't care that the part where the brakes touch would come off. That part stays pretty rust free as long as I drive the car. It's the rest of the rotor that gets crusty.

As for the zinc plating, that sounds interesting. I'd prefer to have my rotors the same color as my calipers. But, any idea on the price of the zinc plating?

It is possible that you can paint the rotors, but I myself wouldn't recommend it unless you are sure that you won't get paint anywhere on or near the pads. Obviously if you get paint on the pads it's going to decrease your stopping power. You're obviously going to need something pretty high temp otherwise the paint is going to just flake back off.

for the price to get them plated, you might as well go get new rotor that are already plated. You can use POR-15 around the hub of the disc....

I pretty sure they use zinc plating for rotors! Most ebay rotors are already zinc plated and they sell all 4 of them in a package deal.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...ors&category0=

Yeah, paint away. Don't worry about getting it where the pads seat, thats the whole idea. Paint the whole rotor and let the pads clear away the paint....that way there's no exposed bare metal (that won't be shiny from the pads after 2 minutes of driving that is)

Most any KVR or brembo rotor you buy plated with zinc has the whole rotor plated....brake pads clear away what they clear away....enamel paint won't hurt them :)

Ok, I was thinking the pads would just rub off the excess paint without any ill effects but just wanted to make sure. Thanks. :icon_tup:

I wouldnt recommend this. I tried it once and it looked like shit. The outside rim is fine but any of the machined surface will eventually look like ass. Where the brake pads make contact, it would gradualy grab the end of the paint and break chunks off and smear it into the metal. So my rotors ended up having colorful streaks all over it and it just overall looks very ricey. Do it if you must but I will never do it again and will laugh anytime I see it done.

So on the non pad touching part you're saying having it painted (black probably) looks worse than having it rusting...?

I didnt think you could buy paint that could withstand the temperature that the rotors get up to and that just engine or high temp paint will not work. I think they will look like crap after a couple hundred miles

If the paint ripped off the non-friciton surface you didn't prep it properly, or applied too much.

I'd take something like masking tape or wax and put it on the area that isn't cristy normally, then paint the rest with caliper paint.

I'm thinking of doing a generalized tape/wax/whatever cover up on the pad area. I'll probably leave some room so some paint gets on the pad area but try to keep it to a minimum while still making sure I'll cover the whole non-friction surface. Sound like a good plan?

How would you prep it?

Lets step back and think about this.

You paint the whole rotor and then...scrape off the rest with the pads? Not a good idea. The paint will be imbedded into the brake pad, thus deteriorating the quality of braking from those pads. The paint you add will be thicker than the amount of brake pad material you go through in 2-3 months.

Just buy new cadmuim plated rotors and if you want paint the top piece where the vanes are. other than that...leave it. Plus it will look like a orange/green/ whatever color you want "Life Saver" is sitting on your brake rotors.

Make sure its 100% clean of grease/grit/grime (silicone wax remover or lacquer thinner will do the trick)

Then scuff with about a 240 grit, wipe again and spray. Using a coarser grit (pretty much anythign up to 120) will be fine since paper will only gouge steel so deep, but don't go much finer since it won't provide much adhesion.

Also, be sure to read the can :lol: some types of high temp enamels requrie a primer/adhesion promoter, but it'll tell you on the can.

If you're really worrying about it, clean the brake pads off.

I've done this on 4 of my vehicles in the past. No ill affects that I've found. You people worry too much.

Ok, no more suggestions about buying new rotors. I don't have the money...

How does it turn out and how well does it last?

Only problem I ever noticed was a *slight* balling up of the paint around where it meets the friction surface of the rotor. And that was after much much driving. It may have even been partially related to the wear on the rotor itself.

Oh and one set I did on my old DD that I tracked had some of it start bubbling after a track session in mid summer, only the portions on the outer surface of the rotor. But to be fair the rotors were pretty trasy when I painted them anyways.....On my regular street car (non rx-7) it lasted until I had to replace the rotors (two years) and then I sold that car. No complaints here.

But I mostly did it because I hate that rusty looking hat. Especially if you have nice wheels on your car....

But overall no complaints here.

Thanks for the info. :) I also hate the rusty look.

POR-15 is only good to about 350 degrees as I recall, which is far too low of a temperature for use on a brake disc.

POR-20 high-temp paint would be my choice as it gives an aluminum look and is good to 1400F. Once the stuff is baked, it's not coming off. Prep for this paint ideally is media blasting but if the metal is perfectly clean and has "tooth" for the paint to bite then no other prep is necessary.

People worry a bit too much about getting a little paint on the brake pads. It will burn off very quickly after a few hard stops. If you are worried about it, just run with an old set of pads for a few days and then switch back to your good pads...

I found some Por-20 directions: http://www.imperialrestoration.com/p...directions.pdf

That stuff is expensive. :squint:

Most of RestoMotive/POR-15's products are expensive, but they work.

like no other foreign debris ever gets into your brake pads....