How do i go about cleaning the rust of my brake discs? Theyve been lying around for over a eyar now and have a bit of rust built up on them, i wanna put them on but wana clean them upa nd also paint the center bit of them.

Thanks

Mikkel

I attack the worst of the crust with a wire brush, then emery cloth, then wipe with brake cleaner. Then emery again, then brake cleaner again.

What you need is a slightly abrasive pad that will come into contact with the disc

How bad is the rusting? Is it really bad enough to warrant any form of skimming? Unless there's flaking or pitting I'd just let the brake pads do that for you....

Electrolysis would be very good for this

80 grade production paper in an orbital sader is all that is required --- you want a slightly rough surface not a mirror finiish.

Those paint stripper pads for the end of an electric drill also work pretty well.

paint the bits you want painted, and let the brake pads do the rest

[Edited on 13/7/09 by blakep82]

Depends on what the disks are off - i generally find they are so cheap to buy that i just get a brand new set. Last ones i bought were under £20 per pair!!

I wouldn't paint either the hub or wheel face.

I found that variation in thickness of paint was enough to cause the disc to 'wobble' such that it could be heard hitting the pads.

After scraping all the paint the problem was gone.

Cheers,
James

I've used a flap wheel in an electric drill with the disk mounted on the hub. Hold the flap wheel at an angle and it spins the disc around as it sands the rust off. Doesn't work on driven wheels, have to start the engine and put it in gear for those

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Electrolysis would be very good for this

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THE TOOL!!! (angle grinder with wire brush cup!)

quote:

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Originally posted by flak monkey
THE TOOL!!! (angle grinder with wire brush cup!)

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My discs get a layer of rust from washing the car, by the time I get to work it's gone. I know your rust is much worse but be gentle for a while and it'll disappear soon enough