How do you keep your brake discs clean?

[Fourcircles]

Hi everyone,

I replaced my brake discs and pads last week, and following a few days of heavy rain they are now covered in rust!

So my question is: how do you keep them clean? Is there a protective coating I can apply? Or, what is the best way to clean the rust off afterwards? Brake cleaner?

Cheers

FC

 

[prt57]

On the OEM disc there is a coating that keeps rust at bay for a few months and then it starts to creep in. On your aftermarket discs there appears to be no coating and so the hub section will rust very quickly.
My son has a 16 plate golf R with 19" wheels and the rust really stands out. Tomorrow, he is removing the rust with abrasive paper, adding Kurust and then a high temperature silver paint.
I have told him that the rust will return but he is determined to have a go.

 

[Dubjam]

Paint the edge and hub before fitment with Hammerite, something I always do when fitting new discs.

You can do it with them on the car, and may as well give the caliper a paint as well. Hammerite is cheap but you can also buy proper calliper paint, R Tec stuff is good and comes with wire brush and spray cleaner.

 

[tcardio]

simples...remove rust however you want with whatever you want. apply POR15 and enjoy the show

 

[Mindak]

I apply hammerite around the hub part before fitting discs and works well so far..

 

[Gazwould]

^ Same .

3+ years and no rust just black Hammerite smooth paint .

 

[.-Samuel-.]

For discs to keep them clean i always use a Fallout Remover and then jet wash it off but you have to do it atleast once it a week to keep them clean

 

[Fourcircles]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll buy some rust remover first then try the hammerite to keep it off.

Do hammerite do any clear coat stuff rather than coloured paint? I like the colour of the discs and hubs as they are at the moment (aside from the rust!)

Cheers

 

[Fourcircles]

Hammerite is cheap but you can also buy proper calliper paint, R Tec stuff is good and comes with wire brush and spray cleaner.

I think you mean E Tec? If so I've actually used that on my calipers, it is brilliant stuff and goes on really well so I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to paint their calipers!

 

[Dubjam]

I think you mean E Tec? If so I've actually used that on my calipers, it is brilliant stuff and goes on really well so I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to paint their calipers!

Yes E-Tech, sorry. R/E next to each other, fastest finger first

 

[lfcrule1972]

I used E-Tech paint on my previous car's callipers and it lasted over two years with no issues before I traded it in.

 

[Nessy]

As already mentioned, OEM discs like Pagid ones come with a silver coating that lasts quite a long time to keep the items looking good.
POR15 also do a product that looks like dull steel/bare metal when painted on, I painted the (new) discs and drums on my Beetle in 2007 and they still look as good as the day they were painted.

 

[Gazwould]

No the Pagid coating is rubbish , it's no better than a quick spray of wheel silver on to bare metal .

I sprayed my Pagid before fitting with Hammerite smooth and 3 years later all is perfect .

My brother went to clean his wheels after fitting Pagid .

Pagid silver coating Vs Autoglym Clean Wheels .

 

[HHS3]

Paint the edge and hub before fitment with Hammerite, something I always do when fitting new discs.

You can do it with them on the car, and may as well give the caliper a paint as well. Hammerite is cheap but you can also buy proper calliper paint, R Tec stuff is good and comes with wire brush and spray cleaner.

I've just bought some Hammerite Smooth (Silver) spray, there's already some rust on my hub so am ok removing this with abrasive paper and then apply the Hammerite to the hub with the wheel still on? Shall I apply it to the brake discs as well?

Slightly off topic but I had the brake discs and pads replaced with OEM parts in February of which my front brakes have now started to make a horrible prolonged squeal once they're warm whenever I'm braking from 12-3mph. I've bought some Comma Copper Ease (grease) as well, whereabouts should I apply it? I think it said behind the brake pads but is there anywhere else I should be applying it to as well?

Cheers.

 

[Dubjam]

I've just bought some Hammerite Smooth (Silver) spray, there's already some rust on my hub so am ok removing this with abrasive paper and then apply the Hammerite to the hub with the wheel still on? Shall I apply it to the brake discs as well?

Slightly off topic but I had the brake discs and pads replaced with OEM parts in February of which my front brakes have now started to make a horrible prolonged squeal once they're warm whenever I'm braking from 12-3mph. I've bought some Comma Copper Ease (grease) as well, whereabouts should I apply it? I think it said behind the brake pads but is there anywhere else I should be applying it to as well?

Cheers.

Put a wire brush attachment in your drill, and go to work on that rust. Flat down once finished with wet and dry, then nuke the surface with brake cleaner, then meths (or any pre-paint prep solvents) and paint away.

You cant paint the hub with the wheel on lmao

Also clean your disc with the brake cleaner once there, and add the copper grease to the shims on the callipers = to be honest, I think you should leave well alone with the grease if you dont know what what you are doing, get it on the discs and you could end up with no brakes.

 

[Fourcircles]

I've just bought some Hammerite Smooth (Silver) spray, there's already some rust on my hub so am ok removing this with abrasive paper and then apply the Hammerite to the hub with the wheel still on? Shall I apply it to the brake discs as well?

Let me know how you get on with it mate, I've bought exactly the same stuff today but haven't been able to apply it yet because of the weather!

 

[Dubjam]

I also wouldnt use the spray, personally, will go everywhere as of the distance you need to keep when spraying, youll need to mask so much up.

Just use the paint pot, do it with a good brush, and you wont get brush strokes.

If they are off the car, then spray will be ok.

 

[IanP19]

A lot of people I know seem to use ACF50 on the swing arms of their bikes.

I've never tried it personally but I also see it mentioned a lot on a few of the biker forums as well.

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[DJ_26]

When I changed all my discs and pads, I had some Brembo replacements put on. The hub side of the disc rusted almost immediately and so did the outer edges of the disc itself. The standard calipers weren't too bad mind you. I had all the relevant bits painted up when I had my wheels refurbished.

The rear backplates were terrible, very rusty. We wirebrushed the backplates down, the outer edges of the disc and the calipers. The hub faces were rubbed down using an abrasive scotch pad. Then the caliper and hub faces were treated to etch primer. The back plates and calipers had bllack paint (similar to hammerite) brushed on. The hub faces had some silver VHT sprayed on. For the disc edges, a small thin paint brush was used to apply silver VHT (painting this part of the disc makes a huge difference, it's worth taking the time to do this!). As you can see a little bit of aerosol paint landed on the disc, but this can be sanded off easily and the brake pads will remove the paint when you brake also.

Nice and tidy!

It's holding up well, I'd say that dirt sticks well to the hub part of the disc, so try clean this as much as you can and/or use the fallout remover as someone had suggested. Hope this helps!

 

[Fourcircles]

When I changed all my discs and pads, I had some Brembo replacements put on. The hub side of the disc rusted almost immediately and so did the outer edges of the disc itself. The standard calipers weren't too bad mind you. I had all the relevant bits painted up when I had my wheels refurbished.

The rear backplates were terrible, very rusty. We wirebrushed the backplates down, the outer edges of the disc and the calipers. The hub faces were rubbed down using an abrasive scotch pad. Then the caliper and hub faces were treated to etch primer. The back plates and calipers had bllack paint (similar to hammerite) brushed on. The hub faces had some silver VHT sprayed on. For the disc edges, a small thin paint brush was used to apply silver VHT (painting this part of the disc makes a huge difference, it's worth taking the time to do this!). As you can see a little bit of aerosol paint landed on the disc, but this can be sanded off easily and the brake pads will remove the paint when you brake also.

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Nice and tidy!

It's holding up well, I'd say that dirt sticks well to the hub part of the disc, so try clean this as much as you can and/or use the fallout remover as someone had suggested. Hope this helps!

Good job and thanks for the tips! I've done a similar job with mine today, I used Hammerite smooth silver as recommended above and it went on quite well, although the aerosol can get quite messy. I used a couple of bin bags to cover up the back plate and caliper, and then used cardboard/masking tape to protect the disc itself before spraying. Preparation and patience is key! I used some paint remover and cotton wool to clean the paint splatters, then washed everything down with a generous amount of brake cleaner. As you say the brake pads have sorted the rest out. This makes a huge difference to the look of the car - just wish I'd have known before I put the discs on!

Cheers

FC

 

[Gazwould]

Black is the colour to do it like the caliper in above pics .

If it's not nice to look at don't highlight it .

There's nothing show stopping about brake disc hubs , the show stopper is the alloy wheel .

 

[Fourcircles]

Black is the colour to do it like the caliper in above pics .

If it's not nice to look at don't highlight it .

There's nothing show stopping about brake disc hubs , the show stopper is the alloy wheel .

Agreed that black looks decent but it's all down to personal preference. I've done mine red on a white a3 and I think it looks great.

I'm not trying to draw attention to my hubs, I'd much rather paint them silver than have them covered in rust!!

 

[Dubjam]

Agreed that black looks decent but it's all down to personal preference. I've done mine red on a white a3 and I think it looks great.

I'm not trying to draw attention to my hubs, I'd much rather paint them silver than have them covered in rust!!

You painted your teeny weeny oem calipers red? or have you a nice brake upgrade to show off?

 

[Fourcircles]

Ouch! Well, yes. But I like them, and that's all that matter isn't it? ;-)

 

[AU11 ALS]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll buy some rust remover first then try the hammerite to keep it off.

Do hammerite do any clear coat stuff rather than coloured paint? I like the colour of the discs and hubs as they are at the moment (aside from the rust!)

Cheers

Make sure it's hammerite smoothrite!


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[Fourcircles]

Make sure it's hammerite smoothrite!

Thanks mate I have sorted it now, I did use the Hammerite smooth silver and it's done a very good job, really pleased with it.

It has been mentioned above, but if anyone is thinking of doing the same, I would probably use the paint rather than the aerosol because it does take a while to prep and it can get messy, particularly if you leave the disc on. I had already bought the aerosol before I read this suggestion!

Thanks all for the guidance, much appreciated


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[Dubjam]

Ouch! Well, yes. But I like them, and that's all that matter isn't it? ;-)

There is that way of thinking, but then again, this owner probably thinks this looks ace as well..

 

[Gazwould]

Wow , I'm in love

 

[Ben2487]

I've fitted ebc usr on the rear and although the black last two seconds where the pad meets it the rest of the disc remains black around the hub and the edge of the disc remains black

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[Gazwould]

Will it pass the test of time like Hammerite ?

 

[Ben2487]

I'll keep everyone updated


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[DeckedS3]

Get yourself one of these