Brake parts painting

[Brent69]

I just received my disc brake kit the other day and I wanted to paint up the parts so they don't get all rusty on me down the road.  I'm not real concerned about matching factory colors, so that's not an issue.  I'm just wondering about 2 specific parts and whether I could/should paint them.  The first one is the dust shields.  Will these things rust if they are not painted?  What kind of paint should be used on that kind of metal?

I'm also wondering about the rotors.  I've seen in the forum where people have painted the surfaces other than where the pads contact the rotors, but in those cases, those parts of the rotors were not machined smooth.  Mine are smooth all over, even up by where the lug studs are.  Only the back inside part of the rotors are the rough cast surface.  Should I even try to paint those smooth surfaces?

[Silver R/T]

you could get those dust shields powder coated, wouldnt have to worry about them rusting ever. Its very durable finish

[resq302]

If you leave the dust shields untreated they will oxidize and turn a whitish crusty color.

[Brent69]

Ok, looks like I'll either paint the shields of powder coat them.  What about the smooth surface of the rotors?  Will those even take paint?

[Silver R/T]

You could paint rotors where they dont contact pads, just make sure you prep them real good to be dirt/grease free

[gtx6970]

spray them with etching primer and paint away. Just mask off the machined surfaces where the pads contact

[bill440rt]

Brent,
Thre is no need to powder coat the dust shields. Simply use a high-heat clear paint suitable for metal. Eastwood makes several. This way you won't lose that plated look, and they'll stay looking good for a long time. Your local Pep Boys may also sell a high heat clear in their paint section. I've seen caliper paint there before, they might have clear.

gtx6970 has the right idea about the rotors. Just wipe them with a degreaser first (they usually have a light coating of oil on them from the manufacturer to keep them from rusting). Mask off the machined surfaces, & use a high heat cast gray paint. I did my suspension parts like this, & also cleared them. They look great.

BTW, I don't see what the big deal is about powder coating. The Draw-Tite hitch on my truck is powder coated, & it's rusty. The tongue on my trailer is powder coated & that's rusting, too. However, ALL the suspension parts under my Chargers are all painted and/or cleared, & they still look GREAT!!!

[Silver R/T]

your hitch gets abused and gets lots of friction, powdercoated dust shields wont be abused that hard. Only would be exposed to moisture/dust

[Ghoste]

I don't know about that.  I've seen some pretty beat to hell dust shields come out of cars. 

[bill440rt]

your hitch gets abused and gets lots of friction, powdercoated dust shields wont be abused that hard. Only would be exposed to moisture/dust

NOTHING I own gets abused. My truck is a '98 Ram with only 50,000 miles & looks like new. I use my hitch & trailer MAYBE 3 times a year. I'm not talking about the hitch ball or coupler. I mean the receiver itself, a stationary component BOLTED to the rear of the truck. It's rusty, & this powder coating junk is just peeling & flaking off. I'd say dust shields are exposed to way more abuse.

BTW, the hitch on my wife's '03 Tribute is also rusting (NEVER USED), and that's powder coated, too. Garbage.

[resq302]

Bill,

To answer your problem about the powder coating rusting....  My fathers push bar on his old dakota was rusting so he had it sandblasted at Best Blast in Dover, NJ.  When I picked up my dads push bar from being sandblasted I inquired as to why the powder coating rusted like it did as I was under the impression that powder coating is the toughest, most chip resistant stuff out there.  He replied that the powder coating that factories do on parts are not prepped right as there is moisture on the parts, therefore causing the piece to rust under the powder coating.  He convinced my dad enough and he ended up powder coating his pushbar again  and this time my dad happened to get into an accident just after the pushbar was reinstalled.  Bent the side of the pushbar but did not chip or scratch off the powder coating.  I actually bent his pushbar back to it was 99% of the way straight and it only scratched it at that point but never chipped.

Just my .02.

[Silver R/T]

agree, powder coating is one of toughest paints you can put on (if you put it on properly)

[bill440rt]

Silver, powder coating is NOT a paint. 


Thanks for the info as well, Brian. For now, anything I do on my Project '69 I'm doing in PAINT. Like I said for bare metal parts, the clears designed by Eastwood for bare metal work good. POR-15 also makes a good clear coating for bare metal as well. Other suspension parts I do with regular automotive paint out of a spray gun, & sometimes I clear them with an automotive urethane clear, same as what's on the outside of your car. I've had great results in my restorations, proven from past experience. I've also seen some powder coated parts turn chalky.
Much of this is only a matter of preference. I simply prefer paint.

Brent69, sorry to hi-jack the thread somewhat, only trying to help. Hope this info is at least helpful to you.
Good Luck with whatever method you choose.

[Silver R/T]

powder coat is type of PAINT. It's applied electrostatically

[Brent69]

No problem Bill440RT.  I kinda like the idea of using the clear coat cause I like the way the shields look now.  I will be painting the rotors like you and gtx6970 suggested because I can see down the line that the cast areas will get rusty.  I already have some Eastwood hiTemp clear so I'm good to go.

Thanks for the info.