Just wanted to post a quick tip regarding brake maintenance,
Before any rust has appeared, take off the wheels, simply clean and paint your rotors with Zinc Galvanic spray, this makes the rotors look like the car just rolled off the production line and it is very durable,
I took these photos after my last car wash and I have rolled at least 5000 miles since I painted the rotors, I really love the brand new OE look.


Front

screen capture windows 7

And rear

image hosting flickr

 

Very nice, a great tip. Am envious of your Wagon/Estate, not available in Mexico.

 

Looks nice. I am assuming you mean your wheel hubs? Or is that technically the center of the rotor?
I should have used what you used but I had some silver Rustoleum wheel paint which has held up pretty well for a couple years.

 

Seems like not a lot of places sell this stuff... is there a good online place you recommend?

 

Yes, the rotor covers the entire hub, you just spray the entire rotor, even on the pad surface, just use a piece of cardboard to mask the caliper.

The Zinc Spray is an exact color and texture match to the OE rotors.

 

Ahh...and that would help with the rust that forms on the outer edges around the internal vents and drips down onto the inside of the wheels to be flung around everywhere.
Looks like I may have to clean em up and try again.

 

Very nice vic,can you post a picture of the product?
what also do you suggest of cleaning or painting the calipers to look as OE again?i have a c class amg sport 2008

 

Here is the Amazon link for the galvanizing paint:

 

Be careful with anything Zinc in it. That stuff is highly carcinogenic with little exposure. DO NOT BREATH OR GET ON YOUR SKIN.

 

Actually zinc is a necessary in small amounts for proper human metabolism and health. Recommended daily intake is about 10-12 mg for Men and about 8 mg for Women. Even taking excessive amounts of zinc rarely causes significant increases in prostate cancer. A lack of zinc in one's diet or poor absorption can also cause prostate problems, so it is a matter of balance. Here is a recent study:

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/95/13/1004.full

Most plumbing worldwide has at least some galvanized piping. There is no huge plan to eliminate zinc from plumbing soon (it's not like asbestos, which can cause serious health problems even with low exposures).

Like any commercial aerosol spray paint, a mask with goggles and gloves are recommended. It is NOT however "highly carcinogenic" and should not prevent one from taking vic_viper's great suggestion.

 

An afterthought, perhaps xXHotelCrazyXx is confusing zinc with LEAD, which is dangerous not so much cancer-wise, but for the neural damage it can cause.

 

My fault, I am thinking about Zinc Chromate Primer.

 

Zinc CHROMATE is highly toxic. Chrome itself is toxic, however I dont see many cars or tools without chrome. So are all plastic solvents that when released give you that "new car smell". When one drives a car, even the gasoline itself, many things are highly cancerous.

Zinc on the other hand is harmless enough to be used in thousands of facial creams and is a component for topical medicines that promote skin healing. Wherever you saw that zinc is "highly cancerous" must have been referring to a specific zinc compound, where the other components can be cancerous, not the zinc. Here is an example of zinc preparations for the skin, and cancer is NOT one of the side effects:

http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/drug..._id=5278&rot=4

In any case, the Rustoleum Cold Galvanized product, as with any spray paint, can be highly effective or abused. Hope everyone's rotors look like new soon.

(wrote this before I saw your post xXHotelCrazyXx, sorry)

 

Vic, What is the exact product you used. I want to do my CLK. Very good tip.

 

vic post details for the exact product it seems very good like oem colour!anybody found this on market?

 

I used Plastic Paddings Zinc spray, but I am sure almost any product will do as they are very similar.

 

Vic, can you use that on the mounting surface of the hub as well? That seems to be the only place I am getting a little sliver of rust coming back.

 

Of course

 

First i'd like to say thank you for this, my rotors were starting to look dulled out in color.

Few questions, Which zinc compound do we use? Bright or Cold? differences in those?

How do you get all of rotor when the calipers & brake pads are in the way?

How long to wait before driving?

how many coats?

Should we worry about the thickness of the coat?

Thanks.

 

Dont know the difference between Bright or Cold unforutnately, just spray the rotors while covering the caliper with a piece of cardboard or similar, spin it as you paint.

Paint 2 or 3 coats then it should be dry and driveable in 30mins.

 

Got my rotor changed recently(Not by stealership) and they didn't spray that onto my rotor. Now how do I clean up that rust and spray zinc onto that?

 

If you would have replaced your rotors by the "stealership" they wouldnt look like that after only a few days, OE rotors are always pre painted with the zinc coating to prevent this.

Indy workshops wouldnt paint rotors prior to install unless you specifically ask and pay for it.

 

My dealer wanted 4x the price than the indy quoted me for rotor and brake pads (indy uses oem rotors and akebono pads), plus I never knew they don't do apply coating. How do I get rid of the rust now?

 

Those rotors are not OEM.

Use a steel thread brush to remove all the surface rust, then clean with brake cleaner and paint.

 

So you bought the so called OE rotors from the Indy shop? I am not sure if buying the OE rotors from the dealer will cost much more. It is the damn labor cost at the dealer that drives the price crazy. I am about to change these things and thinking about buying the rotors from the dealer and Akebono pads from a local shop and change them elsewhere. Trying to figure out the total cost now....