Do rusty brake rotors bug you?

A while ago, we posted this photo (or one a lot like it) to our social media.

And, of course, someone had to comment: nice rusty rotors.

I admit, I felt self-conscious. Those rotors are probably 20 years old. The car had been sitting a bit.  It's an easy fix but more just wondering how the rest of the class feels about this important topic. 

I could care less.  They are an unfinished piece of steel that is open to the weather.

First application of the brake pedal gets the surface where it needs to be.

Do they function?  If yes, then they look great!

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

More talking about the hats. 

Yeah, with thin spokes the hat is pretty visible. If I don't buy coated rotors, I paint the hat. *usually*

Come to New England, your rotors will look like that after 3 months instead of 10 years.  Think of how much faster the process of getting flack from the peanut gallery would be!

meh, if they function normally, I'd rather spend the time and money elsewhere, rather than replacing them.  Looks good to me!

And just what does someone do about the area rusting that is not braking surface?  

In reply to noddaz :

Ignore it

noddaz said:

And just what does someone do about the area rusting that is not braking surface?  

Paint with a high-temp spray bomb, after cleaning up with sandpaper or wire wheel.

Nope.

On a race car?  Not even a little bit.  On a daily driven street car?  Maybe a tiny bit but not enough to do anything about it.  On a show car/weekend fun car? A lot but my solution at the moment is to not own a show car/weekend fun car.

I tend to buy Centric rotors where that area is  painted to avoid the ugly rusty rotor syndrome. Tire rack usually has them although you can probably use DBA rotors too. 

No. I don't do show cars. I build/buy them to be used and used hard. 

Do they stop well? Perfect. Function > form in all things.

Some people care very, very deeply about this, as calls from our customers will confirm. A plated rotor will help. Me, if it's a car that matters in this regard, I'll just shoot the hat with BBQ paint and wipe down the friction surface with a rag that has brake clean on it. Done. 

I paint the hat on mine pretty religiously.  That's typically because I'm a procrastinator and dislike doing actual brake jobs.

"Can't work on the truck yet, hon! Paints still wet!"

Rustoleum actually holds up to the heat quite well to be honest. Back when I cared a lot I used it exclusively

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

noddaz said:

And just what does someone do about the area rusting that is not braking surface?  

Paint with a high-temp spray bomb, after cleaning up with sandpaper or wire wheel.

So you get rusty flaking paint, instead.

I don't see the bother, brake parts rust because they are cheaply made consumables.  Going in with the mindset that they must be carefully preserved suggests that they don't expect to chew through brakes on a regular basis.

My kids know I'm a brake engineer. What kind of credibility would I have with them if I didn't at least try to keep them looking decent? And since I'be got all four wheels off twice a year, it's only an extra 5 minutes per corner to touch up.

Rusty hats are the reason I bought coated rotors for the Benz. You know, for the eventual day I put some sweet BBS wheels on it. 

I don't care enough to go out of my way to paint them on my own, let alone comment about them on somebody else's car. But I will admittedly pop for the coated rotors, if it's only a few bucks more, as it does have a nicer look.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

More talking about the hats. 

Not taking the stickers off your new tires bugs me A LOT more, Minnie Pearl.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I used to paint the wife's so she wouldnt complain about things being rusty.

Duke said:

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

More talking about the hats. 

Not taking the stickers off your new tires bugs me A LOT more, Minnie Pearl.

 

Totally yes, and that wasn't me. Someone had run the car a bit like that by the time I got there, so those stickers weren't coming off easily. 

nope,  ZBG. I am however going to paint my calipers (black) for the first time- ever, and the new rotors have painted hats... so maybe I'm changing.  also used tire shine, for the first time... and drank a white claw, and liked it. 

THE END IS NIGH!

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

noddaz said:

And just what does someone do about the area rusting that is not braking surface?  

Paint with a high-temp spray bomb, after cleaning up with sandpaper or wire wheel.

So you get rusty flaking paint, instead.

 

I don't see the bother, brake parts rust because they are cheaply made consumables.  Going in with the mindset that they must be carefully preserved suggests that they don't expect to chew through brakes on a regular basis.

I put the front rotors on my truck 4 years ago (today actually, Google Photos gave me a preview of what I was doing 4 years ago.)   Only place they are remotely rusty or flaking are where the wheel mounts.

You must be prepping your surfaces wrong if you are getting flaking paint.