how to remove rust on brake rotors - BMW e90

[FjordTempo]

My wife bought a nice low mileage e90 last year. The only cosmetic fault, which is admittedly pretty petty, is the view through the wheels to tons of surface rust on the non-essential part of the brake rotors and maybe part of the wheel hub?

Not sure why this happened, but I'd love to get it off if there's a solution short of replacing the rotors. I'm assuming I'll have to take the wheels off.

Any tips?

thank you.

 

[Stevehose]

You could soak a rag in Evaporust and wrap the bad spots overnight and it will convert it to a dark color by morning.

 

[Gary Knox]

Get a pan large enough to hold the rotors, buy 2 or 3 two liter jugs of Coke or Pepsi, pour it in to cover all the rotor/rust. A few days the rust will be removed (I've been told, never had to do it!!!).

When I have either new ones or clean ones, I paint them in the areas not contacted by pads, using high temp engine paint - primer, then the color I want (black, silver, etc.) If new, I always clean them with solvent to remove the oils etc. from machining. This didn't hold up for my track driving, but probably is good for 95+% of the street driven vehicles.

Gary

 

[Nicad]

Painting it with Grey POR 15 might work. It is quite resistant to heat. (you can paint an engine block with it. ) Then top coat with another heat paint while tacky.

 

[bavbob]

To someone like me in New England, those rotors look perfect.

 

[lloyd]

How are you keeping E9 rotors clean and rost frei?

Rust removal could easily be accomplished chemically (naval jelly - the phosphoric acid is slightly more concentrated than cola) or mechanically (wire brush, sand paper, emery cloth.)

The hard part is preventing corrosion in the first place, which is somewhat similar to keeping rims clean. It tends to be easy, if the car is not driven and parked in a humidity and dust controlled environment. Although I have no personal experience with them, I have seen new rotors that are covered with a black material designed to deter rust and surface contamination. If I am not mistaken, the covering is designed to be left in place so that only the area contacting friction material is exposed. Not sure how it works in the real world, anymore than the "copper-infused" cookware that allegedly prevents sticking of anything to the cookware. Maybe, if brake pads were part of my diet, I would I have an answer. Fortunately, at the moment, I am not that hungry.



"Hot brake pads. Come and get it!"

 

[bluecoupe30!]

yes, any rust convertor product will convert the ugly coating to a primer. try a foam brush.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Easy, quick and cheap- just like me

Remove wheel, use wire brush to clean off loose rust, soak rag in solvent and wipe down, spray with silver caliper paint. Will last 5 years, My e9 rotor hubs still look like the day I painted them, 5 years, soaked in water occasionally, 5K miles on the rotors