Oh, Merry Christmas guys!!!

 

I wish there was someway to get me this rotor.. I would make it look like a million dollars.. When I use to show guys what they could do with their car finish, I use to do one quarter panel or front fender, when I was done the whole car looked weird because the one fender looked so nice compared to the rest of the car, the guy was commited to do what I showed him.. The biggest problem I see with people trying to do this magic is, they bite off more than they can chew. I tell the guys trying to bring the rest of their car up to my front fender to only do one side of the car.. dont try to do the whole thing in one shot.. same with this type of rotor condition.. I could make this rotor look as good as mine but it may take an hour or more, but when I was done it would never see this type of corrosion again. the rust found in the hub and axle nut needs to be wire wheeled, a dremil tool works great here. Once the rust is removed the hub and axle need to be protected with either black or clear paint.
To answer the question about needing to take off the rotors.. If the rotor is laying flat you can allow the clear to drip down inside each hole and also in the slots without dripping. If you dont want to do that you can allow the clear to get thicker inside the cap .. ( spray some into the cap and let it sit for 15 minutes or so.. ) you need to test this time.
the q tip works great to apply the clear to the counter-bores of the holes. With the rotor off, it is much easier to make a cardboard fire path cover so you can clear the edges... If you decide to try to paint the holes and slots while verticle on the car.. chances are you will get some drips.. you can remove these drips from the fire path with some OO steel wool..
Dont bite off more than you can chew.. and OH yes.. this is how I challenge you to take one rotor and make it look new..
Picture in your mind someone offering you 1 million dollars to make this rotor look brand new.
you need clear 1200 to 1500 F paint
OO steel wool
a dremil tool with wire wheels
some 120 emory paper cut into 3/8 by 3/8 sq.
an awl or pointed object to poke a small hole in the center of the emory
a dremil arbor to attach the emory
a paint stick to run the slots ( force the OO steel wool into the slots )

 

But we need to get rid of the Hawk ceramic pads??

 

I hated them.
Lasted a few weeks on my car.

 

Thanks for the encouragement ET. I have most of what you listed. I am curious, what would you do with the hat? The finish on it is ruined, it would have to be re-anodized or something. Maybe plain painting might be better.

Too bad I didn't see a post like this a few years ago. Regardless of how this turns out, I am still disappointed in how these rotors held up. Good thing I never raced with them, they probably would have disintegrated.

Macinamouth,
I use the Hawk HPS semi metallic pads, and the stopping power is awesome!! The dusting is not that bad either.

 

Ok..... here are the pictures of my 2 month old Erradispeeds (with Motorsports added at same time.

If you look at the close up of the rear wheel you can see the unaffected (out of pad fire path) original surface condition. It is a flat (not shinny) silver color.

These have been to the car wash and in the rain. I don't think I hit them with wheel cleaner..not sure. But it would have been one time. I did try to clean them with Green Gunk.

I am not happy with the burnt color (I want to move next door to Evil). At least you can see that I know how to keep wheels and tires looking good!!! Just put a coat of NU FINISH polish (no wax ingredient) on the wheels.



FRONT

FRONT CLOSE UP

REAR

REAR CLOSE UP

 

Macinamouth,

Yours are excatly how mine started out looking after a little use. Eventually the holes will get filled with the stuff that comes off the pads when braking. The only way to do anything about this is by doing what Evil described.

I don't care what anyone says, if you drive the car the swept area (or fire path) will take a beating. What can you do about that?? Think about it. When you brake you are pressing a pad forcefully against a rotor that is turning. That pad is scouring your rotor.

I would be concerned with keeping the holes and vanes clean, and the non-swept area on the +1's. You see what mone turned into.

 

ok here ya go. I tell everyone not to buy the +1 Eradispeeds because of the 14 inch rears, because visually they will look fake, which they are. What you see on the rear is heated zinc, and heated cast iron from the ceramics. you will never have a uniform surface because the zinc never see the pad wash> I would suggest that you remove the zinc from the rotor surface (sand paper or steel wool.) I would get the surface to be uniform, then I would clear that area that never sees pad wash, I would mask off the fire path so no clear gets on their to load up the pads. I would detail the whole rotor as I suggested in my tip.. remove that zinc from the untouched rotor surface, or you can add larger rear calipers and pads, to increase the fire path.I dont like the ceramics either.

 

ET,
So what you are saying is that even if we follow your tips, since we have the +1's, they will always look...well let's just say...not as nice as yours. And the idea of redoing the Zn plating is a waste of effort?
AARRRRRRRGGHH

Will clearcoating the non firepath still have the two-toned effect? As the calipers wipe down to bare metal in the firepath and thereby rusting (by the end of the season), while the cleared area stays shiny?

Makes me think that SOLID wheels make sense.

 

You guys can do this.
You've spent all this money on these rotors. They where beautiful when you bought them.You can bring them back to that condidtion.. it just takes some work.,.,like I said Dont bite off more than you can chew...Do one rotor only...sand, steel wool buff, polish , whatever it takes to get that rotor back, Like I said If I had that rotor here, in a few hours it would be better than New.. I would also take a piece od # grit sand paper place it on top of a 2 X 4 . Hold the sand paper tight and rub the surface of the pad to scrub off any build up, sometimes hard braking will cause a surface condition of the pard to become work hard, and cause a lot of heat to the rotor.. if the pad surface was clean and free of build up they would stop better and cause less discoloration to the rotors. You could also buy rotors from Sportbrakes.com,But if you have nice wheels you are going to have to learn how to take car of the rotors wheels calipers and wheel wells, ot take the other route, forget about them .. and just drive the car..and forget about the rotors..

 

This definitely sounds like a dead of winter project.

 

Well I finally had time to call Baer....talked to the tech guy there.

He said that different pads will result in different wear of rotor. That rusting SHOULD be expected over time where zink wash is erroded. And he said that cleaning with ANYTHING besides soap and water will cause problems.....even SIMPLE GREEN!!

He did agree to look at pics of my rotors which I will be emailing to him.

Will keep you guys updated.

 

Stop ***** footing around... clean those things... !!



Baer is not going to send someone out to clean them for you.

 

Just like a good coat of wax, takes time to do it right. thanks for the info Evil.

 

As I understand it, we can get our rotors looking like E.T.'s, but if we have ceramic pads, they will very quickly get that "burnt" look again?

 

How about this, if you bought bling bling rotors, you need to invest some time in keeping them looking good..personally I do not like the ceramic pads, they are too hard.. I could care less about dusting.. My car is never dirty.\
either you need to commit to staying on top of this stuff, or just enjoy the car and dont worry about how the rotors look.. I love to detail my car and keeping it nicer than new.. but I am retired and have the time..
I do Not like the ceramic pads..
here is what I suggest: either leave them alone, or attempt to make one side of your car's rotors look good. people who bought ceramic pads, usually buy them and remove perfectly good stock pads.
I suggest trying to do one rotor, spend the time , do it right, wire wheel and sandpaper all the crap of the rotor.. and put on your stock pads.. but if your going to put on the stock pads, make sure you put them on all four corners.
Just do your best to clean up one front rotor, get a feel for how easy it is, then decide if it is worth the effort.
I know I have told many many people in parking lots etc that my car is five years old and has 55000 miles on it, and they accuse me of lying.. most ask if that is the New C6, or is that a new 04. They immediately point to the rotors and wheels wells saying how can it be five years old , look at those wheels wells and rotors, the next thing they ask is if the rotors are brand new... Of course this always amps me up. It almost better than sex.. all of these accolades always make me tingle..

Also if your going to put your old Oem pads back on.. take a piece of 80 grit sand paper.. place it on top of a 2 X4 and hold it in place or staple it in place, then with the pad side down, apply some pressure and rub the pad on the sandpaper to scrap off any old or contaminated material or hard spots. After this, the pads surface should look uniform and dull but fresh looking, with no shiny spots. Also if you do put the old OEM pads on, they may just scub off that burnt toast look. I have no data on this though.

 

Mine have a "natural" finish. Two years old, lots of track time and two New England winters.

 

[QUOTE=Evil-Twin]How about this, if you bought bling bling rotors, you need to invest some time in keeping them looking good..personally I do not like the ceramic pads, they are too hard.. I could care less about dusting.. My car is never dirty.\
either you need to commit to staying on top of this stuff, or just enjoy the car and dont worry about how the rotors look.. I love to detail my car and keeping it nicer than new.. but I am retired and have the time..
I do Not like the ceramic pads..
here is what I suggest: either leave them alone, or attempt to make one side of your car's rotors look good. people who bought ceramic pads, usually buy them and remove perfectly good stock pads.
I suggest trying to do one rotor, spend the time , do it right, wire wheel and sandpaper all the crap of the rotor.. and put on your stock pads.. but if your going to put on the stock pads, make sure you put them on all four corners.
Just do your best to clean up one front rotor, get a feel for how easy it is, then decide if it is worth the effort.
I know I have told many many people in parking lots etc that my car is five years old and has 55000 miles on it, and they accuse me of lying.. most ask if that is the New C6, or is that a new 04. They immediately point to the rotors and wheels wells saying how can it be five years old , look at those wheels wells and rotors, the next thing they ask is if the rotors are brand new... Of course this always amps me up. It almost better than sex.. all of these accolades always make me tingle..

Also if your going to put your old Oem pads back on.. take a piece of 80 grit sand paper.. place it on top of a 2 X4 and hold it in place or staple it in place, then with the pad side down, apply some pressure and rub the pad on the sandpaper to scrap off any old or contaminated material or hard spots. After this, the pads surface should look uniform and dull but fresh looking, with no shiny spots. Also if you do put the old OEM pads on, they may just scub off that burnt toast look. I have no data on this though.

Evil...

I would never have put the ceramic pads on if I had been told it would detract from the bling-bling of my rotors. I did indeed keep keep my old pad...they still had 60% left on them I believe. I also was in the habit of washing car and wheels weekly...and detail spray and micro toweling the wheels every two days for brake dust anyways.

My problem is too find a local friend with time, tools, mechanical abilities and **** retentiveness to do this job with me.

Thanks

 

You cant really blame the manufacturers of these Rotors... they offer rotors with holes and slots, and zinc coating..some manufacturers will mention that some chemicals may react with the zinc.. some manufactureres expect the consumer to be informed.. some products that clean wheels say safe for clear coated wheels.. none of the wheel cleaners address their effects on zinc rotors rotors.. anyway. it is a shame that you live on the left coast.. I would enjoy spending the time to show you some of my techniques. For me, the incentive would be to turn around those almost impossible rotors and make them look new.. which in my opinion is not that hard..

 

I know its a long shot, But
If you get bored, show us which dremel attachments you are using.
Did I read it was one of the wirebrushes?
Think you already told us how to form the sandpaper (and what grit).

Something I've been toying with:
(there are tons of instructional videos out there)
Why not one for Vette Maintenance?
19.99$ a piece
Limit them to 15-30 minute in duration if possible.
Some jobs that are shorter(like changing out fog lamps and re-aiming them) and some are longer (like clamping on a new cat back exhaust).

Anyone game? (or do these already exist and I don't know what Im talking about)

Rain