Cleaned any Painted the Rusty Stock Rotors
#1
Cleaned and Painted the Rusty Stock Rotors
I just passed my one year anniversary and noticed just how bad the stock rotors looked. I was really close to buying new zink coated rotors but decided that it's such a waste since I have at least a couple years left on the stock ones, so I decided to paint both the calipers and the rotors and I thought I'd share a couple of pics of how good they can look with a little effort... now we'll see how long they last.
And here they are with the wheels on, hard to see in the shade but trust me, they look WAAAYYY better than the wall of rust I had in there before the weekend...
And here they are with the wheels on, hard to see in the shade but trust me, they look WAAAYYY better than the wall of rust I had in there before the weekend...
Last edited by Bio; 04-04-2006 at 10:33 PM.
#2
Registered
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Diego, Ca
Posts: 744
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nice job. Looks really clean. Did you hand paint the RX-8 on there, or is it decal/template?
I'll have to tackle this one day. Since I bought the new 8, I've noticed that the rotors don't rust as badly as my old one did. Must be hit or miss like the fuel consumption...
I'll have to tackle this one day. Since I bought the new 8, I've noticed that the rotors don't rust as badly as my old one did. Must be hit or miss like the fuel consumption...
#6
I bought the standard Wallmart Caliper Paint in both Silver and Red. I didn't even remove the calipers, nor did I bother taping anything off. If you have a steady hand and take your time you can get the lines perfect. If you don't have the confidence in your touch go ahead and tape them off, a little effort up front will make the whole process go faster since it took me a while. Keep in mind these are brakes, so if you slip a bit wipe, and if you miss a bit no one will be able to tell.
With the rotors I first cleaned all the rust off with a wire brush and some CLR... this was tough, it took a while since you want to get as much of the rust off as possible if you want the paint to last any decent amount of time. Make sure that when you rinse off the CLR, you dry it right away with a rag or old cloth. If you don't rust will form before your eyes, you'd be shocked, I was.
I taped off the 5 bolts and then proceeded to paint everything that the brake pad didn't touch. I made sure I went right to the line, and took my time, this is important. It's impossible to tape so you will have to do the circle freehand. If you spill on the rotor surface the pad touches make sure you wipe right away. I also painted all the way around the outside edge, and made sure the paint went down into the seem between the front and back.
I then started on the calipers with 4 coats of Silver being very carefull not to get any paint on the pads, rotors, or anything that wasn't metal, I waited until it was completely dry before doing the rx8 logo (12 hours).
I found a logo online http://www.sudburys.co.uk/mazda/images/RX8-logo.png Like this, and printed it off to the right size. I then took an exacto blade and thick black electrical tape, cut out the logo turning the tape into a stencil and taped it onto the caliper. I skipped the dash so that I could make the letters larger and still fit them on the caliper. I then proceeded to do 4 coats of red and let it dry overnight.
Make sure you dont drive for at least 15 hours, and don't let your wheels get wet for 48 hours if at all possible and voila.
With the rotors I first cleaned all the rust off with a wire brush and some CLR... this was tough, it took a while since you want to get as much of the rust off as possible if you want the paint to last any decent amount of time. Make sure that when you rinse off the CLR, you dry it right away with a rag or old cloth. If you don't rust will form before your eyes, you'd be shocked, I was.
I taped off the 5 bolts and then proceeded to paint everything that the brake pad didn't touch. I made sure I went right to the line, and took my time, this is important. It's impossible to tape so you will have to do the circle freehand. If you spill on the rotor surface the pad touches make sure you wipe right away. I also painted all the way around the outside edge, and made sure the paint went down into the seem between the front and back.
I then started on the calipers with 4 coats of Silver being very carefull not to get any paint on the pads, rotors, or anything that wasn't metal, I waited until it was completely dry before doing the rx8 logo (12 hours).
I found a logo online http://www.sudburys.co.uk/mazda/images/RX8-logo.png Like this, and printed it off to the right size. I then took an exacto blade and thick black electrical tape, cut out the logo turning the tape into a stencil and taped it onto the caliper. I skipped the dash so that I could make the letters larger and still fit them on the caliper. I then proceeded to do 4 coats of red and let it dry overnight.
Make sure you dont drive for at least 15 hours, and don't let your wheels get wet for 48 hours if at all possible and voila.
#8
Rotary only since 1980
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Southeast of Seattle
Posts: 587
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That looks great. You did an excellent job. I'm leaning toward silver calipers even more now.
Did you put any clear coat over the paint layers? Any problems with brake dust sticking?
Did you put any clear coat over the paint layers? Any problems with brake dust sticking?
#9
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 168
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nice job, Ive already done my rotors, i used a black which just dissapears in there. It looks a lot better than rust. I want to do my calipers in a gun metal colour have not seen that done before but have seen it on some exotics
#10
Originally Posted by Blue87Sport
That looks great. You did an excellent job. I'm leaning toward silver calipers even more now.
Did you put any clear coat over the paint layers? Any problems with brake dust sticking?
Did you put any clear coat over the paint layers? Any problems with brake dust sticking?
We have some pretty rough winters up here in Toronto, so it's expected that the finish will take a bit of a beating in the colder months which means I'm resigned to doing some touch ups every spring when I put on the summer wheels.
#14
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally Posted by Dro
Those hubs look shweet .... I took mine up to mazda yesterday for a number of things and told them to paint the hubs, they did, silver !
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Audio Concepts ATL
New Member Forum
21
09-26-2021 01:59 PM
akagc
RX-8's For Sale/Wanted
7
08-11-2015 07:07 PM