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fix up brake rotors

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Old 07-26-2006, 08:07 AM
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Default fix up brake rotors

Is there some way to take old rusted brake rotors and remove the rust and clear coat them to make them look new. Can new rotors be clear coated to keep them from rusting. I was trying to save my money for other things on my car and did not want to spend alot on the rotors but they might have to be replaced. I was trying to find a way to make the old ones look decent.
Old 07-26-2006, 08:29 AM
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When I cleaned mine up to get them ready for polishing/painting, I got a 3" wire brush wheel and used a drill to clean them up. It worked REALLY well for cleaning off the rust. If you have a Dremel, the small wire brush wheels are good for getting into the smaller spots. As for protecting them, you can buy high temperature clearcoat, but if you're going to do that, you might as well polish or paint them first.


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Old 07-26-2006, 11:45 AM
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Also, I'm assuming you mean to clearcoat/paint just the "hat" portion, and not the actual braking surface, right?


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Old 07-26-2006, 11:47 AM
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Wouldnt a brake pad immediately dig up your clearcoat to non existance? I guess on the usual rusty non-pad-contact areas you would be fine, and the part where the pad touches kinda self polishes itself under hard braking. As long as clearcoat doesn't cause a slick surface that will prevent braking power.
Old 07-26-2006, 04:38 PM
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How do you polish the brake rotors? Do you polish up the sides and the part where the studs go through? I have some high temp clearcoat. I guess I would need to tape up the flat part where the brake pads touch before I used it. If I polished them would they just rust again?
Old 07-26-2006, 05:25 PM
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The surface of the rotors that contact the brake pads can be machined by many auto parts stores or shops like Midas. That would clean up the rotors and give it an even surface for brake pad contact. As for the hat you can get away with sanding the rust off them, but dont expect clear coat to last very long due to enviroment and heat. Dont clear coat the contact area of the rotor. Another option is to buy high quality rotors that dont rust...
Old 07-26-2006, 05:41 PM
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Any opinions on the best rotors to not have to do any mods?
Old 07-26-2006, 07:04 PM
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Any rotor that is zinc washed shouldn't rust on the non friction portion of the rotor.



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