CG77VETTE

Does anyone know a quick and effective way to remove rust from rotors. Once removed, what helps keep it from coming back? Thanks for any suggestions.

Bodhi

Yes I would like to know that also.

We went to look at a new car for my wife (BMW X5) and the rotors were COVERED in rust....the car had 36k on it....I asked the salesman why they were so rusty and he told me it was "flash rust" and it was their because the car had not been driven in a week which I think is :bs He said it would be gone after we drove it a few days :rolleyes:

I showed him my "91 Vette with 30K miles on it that does nothing but sit and asked him why my rotors were nice and shiny and the $40K 1 yr old BMW's rotors were rusty.....

So has anybody ever heard of "flash rust"?

konroh

you vette probably sits inside a garage right? I think the rust the poster is taking about would be rust on the hub, which builds up over time. Most cars i have seen that are sitting outside have rusty rotor surfaces, goes away after a few stops...

CG77VETTE

You are correct, I am referring to the rust on the hub not on the stopping surface.

sraft

My rotors (82K miles) had rust on the hats and were really rusty around the edges and into the fins. I sandblasted them at work and they turned out pretty nice. It was easier than I thought to keep the grit from hitting the brake pad swept area - I cleaned them up without any masking and without scouring up the smooth surfaces.

There was a post in a thread several months ago that mentioned boiling the rotors in de-ionized water (I think), which would turn the metal black and prevent further rusting.

rcolling

I have seen people paint them with hitemp paint, usually black, to keep the rust from coming back.

Looks good too.

Eric 96

I may be stupid....but where do I get De-ionized Water? :confused:

LAvetteman

Very good question Eric. I looked at several grocery stores and walmart recently for deionized water, no luck. You would think the parts places would handle the water manufacturers recommend for coolant systems, I haven't seen any.

TA

I cleaned them up and painted them with gloss black Rustoleum over a year ago. I didn't even use high temp paint and they still look great :yesnod:

GS Ragtop

Sounds like just the ticket! Did you use brush-on or spray paint? I was hoping to use a brush to avoid having to mask off everything.

Brad

TA

I used a brush. It was a piece of cake.......took off wheels one at a time, cleaned calipers and rotors and then painted them. Probably took about 20 mins a wheel :cheers:

vader86

Get the rust off with an SOS pad or sand it or whatever, then paint the hub with a thick coat of hi-temp paint.

brdd

Perchance are you thinking about distilled water? :skep:

stillthere

wire wheel on a drill will make it look like new again.

Corvette1996LT1

:iagree:

Sandpaper and Wire wheel worked real well for me. Then use High Temp Paint




[Modified by Corvette1996LT1, 1:01 PM 5/30/2003]

sraft

It very well might have been distilled water, or maybe something weird(er) like vinegar. I just can remember with certaintly - that's why I added the "(I think)" in there. I even went back and did a search on brake rotors to try and find the topic, but had no luck. I remember reading the post and thinking that it would be interesting to try when I get my new rotors.

CentralCoaster

It sounds like your boiling trick is putting a passive oxide layer (black) on the iron. Deionized water can't do that! It has no dissolved minerals or free ions (which cause oxidation). I'll believe it when I see it.

Easy way to keep the rust off... paint em.


I didn't even worry about masking the rotor surface carefully. A few quick stops buzzed the overspray right off. I used BBQ paint, and a hi-temp semigloss coat on top of that. But guys using plain ol rattle can paint don't seem to have durability problems with the paint either.

Jeffvette

Powder coated my hubs black, then again, I've got two piece rotors so it's a bit easier.

rocco16

This sounds bogus to me.
You can buy black oxide kits that will put a durable black finish on ferrous alloys....try http://www.reidtool.com and look for "tool black kit". They run about $60. This makes me think that it would take more than DI water to turn iron black......

Larry
code5coupe
:seeya


[Modified by rocco16, 2:08 AM 5/31/2003]

Alex D

Yeah....I had the same problem...bought four cadmium plated (gold), drilled PowerStop rotors...man, they rock !!! truly looks high peformance