My RX8 was delivered with rust on the inner portion of the brake rotor. Forgive me for not knowing the technical term but its beneath where the brake pads travel. The dealer tells me that it's from sitting at the terminal waiting for the boat trip over.
Since it's not thru and thru rust, only cosmetic, they won't fix it.
So, I'm looking for recommendations on how to remedy this unsightly problem and if anyone else had a similar problem.

Thanks,
Dave

Get over it. It's an untreated, unpainted surface. That's normal.

If you want to do something about it sand them down and get some caliper paint or similar high heat resistant paint. It's very normal and will happen on most cars.

Thanks, the caliper paint suggestion is what I was hoping for when I posted the question. Is that available at auto parts stores or is it a specialty purchase?
Getting over it is not the answer, a solution is what I wanted.
Thanks for the input.

Originally posted by galleychief
Thanks, the caliper paint suggestion is what I was hoping for when I posted the question. Is that available at auto parts stores or is it a specialty purchase?
Getting over it is not the answer, a solution is what I wanted.
Thanks for the input.

Paint for grills can be used, or any high heat spray paint from a hardware store (several coats are usually needed). Then there are kits such as these... http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/g2/caliper_paint.jsp. There are even paints that will change color depending on the temperature. If I recall correctly some rally teams use the paint to monitor heat on their brakes.

Thanx for the link

That portion of the rotor is treated. If it weren't, it would rust in 1 day. The rotors are cast iron.

Cars that didn't sit for an extended period of time wont have this to the extent that you have.

My guess is that it is rust "staining" from the un treated friction area just above it which got wet repeatedly as it sat at port or where ever.

I would start by trying to clean the area.......maybe a scotch-brite pad and some simple green. I bet you will see that it will fade away.

People complain about the stupidest things.....whatever.

Originally posted by NAVILES16V
People complain about the stupidest things.....whatever.

Keep your dumb comments to yourself! :rolleyes:

Didn't your mother teach you, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything!"

A tried and true rust dissolver that won't attack the metal beneath the rust (if used according to directions) is old-fashioned Naval Jelly. That'll remove the rust that's there now. It's not an aggressive acid so I can't see how it could hurt your rotors (if used according to the directions). Just be sure and rinse it well after you use the rust remover. Oh yeah, and be sure to dry it after you rinse it or it'll rust again before the water evaporates. Iron, water, air; strange combination :)

Ok OK....My comments were a little harsh. It gets frustrating to see a million posts on little tiny things that really don't mean anything. Take the warranty away and I bet all the complaints go away. Plus a lot of things are common sense. Sorry if I offended anybody. I own an RX8, yes I am very anal with it(haven't driven it while there is snow/salt/etc. on the roads). I won't post another comment like that again. Sorry. :)

I have to say if my RX-8 looked like that when I was picking it up the dealer would have had it cleaned before I got in the car. But since you did take it home I would recommend that you be more aggressive with the dealer and tell them that this is not normal. I haven't had rust like that on my brake calipers on any car I have owned. Then after they clean it up you can certainly improve the look of your car with the paint on the calipers. Your dealership should be trying to make you a satisfied Mazda owner and that is a serious enough amount of rust to be irritating and left untreated it would spread (maybe not causing serious mechanical problems but it would be aesthitically unappealing). This is not what I would want people to notice about my car and something that you can say to the dealer is that a friend of yours who is considering purchasing an RX-8 saw it and was not impressed with the dealers answer. My dealer wouldn't dream of telling me something like that becuase he may end up pulling my size 9.5's out of his ass.... Sorry if that was too violent for some readers.

Thanks for all (most) of the input. The caliper paint link provided a source for a suitable fix. The naval jelly will work until I get the opportunity to paint. Thanks again, Dave

For NAVILES16V: Apologies if my question caused you such torment. In the future I'll limit my posts to topics that mean something to You. . .

Gallychief.....again I apologize. Congratulations on your ride. :) I hope you enjoy your 8 as much as everybody else on this forum and I have. It is a great car. :)

NAVILES16V,

Right, truce, enough said. And yes I really enjoy the car, rust on the rotors or not. . .