Cleaning up brake disc hubs (rusty)

[Dazza993]

Hello,

So a couple of weeks ago I purchased my daughter a Fiesta MK7.5 that has cleaned up quite nicely (externally & internally) but the hubs of the front brake discs are covered in rust.

Has anyone made any effort to clean theirs up?  I'm planning on cleaning/paining the turbo pipes which are prone to rusting on the Ecoboost engines and have ordered some emery paper, Hammerite Krust and some Simoniz High Temp paint to tackle that job.  Does anyone know whether the process to tidy up those rusty hubs would be the same and use the same products or would some other type of paint be a better idea?

Any suggestions or guidance would be appreciate.

[Ian Lanc]

That looks lovely.

Get rid of all the rust until it's bright metal, then spray very high temperature silver paint onto the raw steel.

I've found out that applying a primer base layer only causes the paint to blister when it's red hot after heavy braking.

Or you could buy brand new Ferodo discs with the anti-rust silver coating etched into the metal, this out lasts any paint finish. 

[Dazza993]

Cheers for that tip @Ian Lanc - I went for the silver Simoniz high temp paint (800 deg) for the turbo pipes so hopefully there'll be enough to do 2 rotors as well.

I did consider replacing the discs but other than the rust I think the thickness of them is okay. Plus taking a wheel off to paint the hub is an easier job that swapping discs.

Thanks

[Ian Lanc]

1 minute ago, Dazza993 said:

I went for the silver Simoniz high temp paint (800 deg) for the turbo pipes so hopefully there'll be enough to do 2 rotors as well.

HT paint never burns off, but what it's not good at is staying putt on the metal part, a jet wash will soon remove the paint, so don't blast at the disc if you ever intend of jet washing.

[Luke4efc]

Those discs look pretty much like new. It only takes a few months for them to rust like that. You can actually buy discs that come pre-painted everywhere the pads don't touch.

It should go without saying (but you never know with some people lol) but don't paint the area the brake pads touch 😂

[Dazza993]

Yeah I think the discs might be quite new, when I bought the car there was a report with the disc thickness and it was virtually the same as a new one.  I guess unless the disc is one of those with a protective paint or film on the hub they'll turn rusty quite quick.  
I'm not bothered about the rust around the outer of the disc, just the hub area so I plan to mask off the disc very carefully before painting it.

[nicam49]

If you've got an electric drill, put a rotary wire brush in it and use that to clean up that rusty rotor. (disk) 

[Milkman]

You can always tell how new or old brake discs are by the step on the outer edge of it, the deeper the step, the older the disc.

[Ian Lanc]

18 hours ago, Luke4efc said:

It should go without saying (but you never know with some people lol) but don't paint the area the brake pads touch 😂

I hear so much advice about not painting the braked disc area, this advice is fine/sound for hand painted parts because the paint is thick, but if it's a light coat of HT paint, then it doesn't do much harm, just drive and brake gently for a few hundred metres, to clear the rims, then clean up the pad area with soapy hot water, done this for years. Ferodo discs have the silver anti-rust coating, this is all over the disc, after a few miles the silver is whipped off by the pads.

[Milkman]

So, if when you are instructed to remove the varnish coating off new discs why would you not remove any overspray or paint? Because not doing so contaminates the brake pads clogging them up with a burnt or melted coating drastically reducing their efficiency and operation.

[TomsFocus]

Pagid discs also come painted and have done for years - for the sake of messing around with these, you might as well just replace them with Pagids or Ferodo's when the time comes.

[Ian Lanc]

2 hours ago, Milkman said:

So, if when you are instructed to remove the varnish coating off new discs why would you not remove any overspray or paint? Because not doing so contaminates the brake pads clogging them up with a burnt or melted coating drastically reducing their efficiency and operation.

Cos that's an oily/waxy anti-rust coating... That makes sence to remove does it not ? Most dry contaminants wear off almost instantly, anything oily will gob up the pad.

Your inaccurate reply about the thickness of discs gives an indication of age ? If a driver is a heavy braker they could get through two pairs of discs in one year or if the car is a taxi covering hundreds of miles a week, possibly changed every three months, my sister in law brakes heavily all the time and one year she'd got through three pairs of discs & pads, whereas me I use my brakes gently in unison with my gears to slow me down, after two years the discs on our car still has no lip and still look like new.

 

[Ian Lanc]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Pagid discs also come painted and have done for years - for the sake of messing around with these, you might as well just replace them with Pagids or Ferodo's when the time comes.

I hate to see rusty discs on all cars, even on brand new cars you see it, 3 month old the dics are red with rust and the rear drum looking the same, our car looked terrible after just a month of owning it, used to be taking the wheels off all the time to rid the rust, decided after two years of fighting to keep them clean I purchased the Ferodo discs & pads, these looked mint, as for the rear drums I removed all the rust completely, applied an anti-rust coating, then sprayed the drums in Humbrol Enamel model paint, still look fab even after all these years.

[Dazza993]

I was planning on carefully masking off anywhere I didn't want paint.  

That said checking EuroCarParts - they've 45% off a set of front Pagid discs so a pair will only cost me £31.34 - I'm tempted to get a pair at that price (along with new pads) just to have 'in stock' so to speak.  There seems to be plenty of videos about changing discs & pads on Fiestas too.  Me and my Dad have done other cars I've owned so we have trolley jacks, axle stands and all the tools (he was a mechanic by trade) but when things don't go as straight forward as planned you do often wonder "why did I start this job"

[Ian Lanc]

12 minutes ago, Dazza993 said:

  There seems to be plenty of videos about changing discs & pads on Fiestas too.  

Yep first time I looked into changing discs & pads on our fiesta I thought it can't be too hard, changed no end over the years, all different designs but basically all the same how they work.

Only video I ever watched, maybe because the chap is down to earth and has no irritating voice ......
 

 

[Luke4efc]

Edd China did a discs & pads 'how-to' guide on his YouTube channel. It's sponsored, hence why he used the special brake grease made by the sponsors instead of copperslip like most people lol. But it's good nonetheless.

Coincidentally it's on a mk7 Fiesta.

[Milkman]

You put copper slip or special brake grease on the back of the pads against the pistons to stop them rattling, not on the discs.