Best way to refurb a brake disc...

[TeddyThom]

Basically, (after what feels like an age) am getting around to sorting bits and bobs out on the nova.

I have sat on the nova a 256mm set of discs. Now due to them being sat around for a while the surface of the disc is rust covered. I don't believe the surface is pitted or corroded. But will obviously check for definate in daylight tomorrow. Is it worth seeing if I can get them cleaned up and useable again or better to bin them and buy new ones?? If it alright to try and clean them up, what is the best way to do it??

Budget is a bit tight, so would quite like to avoid spending out on large sums of money, however, for obvious reasons, if I have to then I will.

[Stuart]

If they are pitted then they are ruined I'm afraid. You could get them skimmed but the cost of that vs new discs makes new discs look cheap.

[bazzap8389]

If you need them skimmed I could easy do that at my work for you.

[TeddyThom]

If they are pitted then they are ruined I'm afraid. You could get them skimmed but the cost of that vs new discs makes new discs look cheap.
Well I kind of guessed that lol

But if they aren't? Then what?


If you need them skimmed I could easy do that at my work for you.

I'll bear it in mind.

[steviegsi]

Put them on the car and use the brakes and they will clean themselves??

[L14MNP]

Put them on the car and use the brakes and they will clean themselves??

This. lol

[TeddyThom]

Won't that ruin the pads though??

[L14MNP]

Not if it's just a bit of surface rust.

Hoy a pic up?

[TeddyThom]

Will chuck one up in the morning :)

[~~joycey~~]

Angle grinder with wire wheel attachment

[mowgli]

OP, what happens when you go away & not use the car for a couple of weeks??? they get rust on the discs. a decent run down the road will sort it out.

[Stuart]

OP, what happens when you go away & not use the car for a couple of weeks??? they get rust on the discs. a decent run down the road will sort it out.

There is surface rust and there is a bit more than that... Surface rust is fine to brake off but heavy pitting will never recover

[scott.parker]

If you have to clean them up then I would just use light grade sand paper and a hand held wire brush, then put them on the car and let the pads polish them up.

[BRoadGhost]

The thickness of said disks means they're not gonna just snap off & float away in the breeze; drive it.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

If you have to clean them up then I would just use light grade sand paper and a hand held wire brush, then put them on the car and let the pads polish them up.

^ exactly what ive done with 2 sets in the past. works well :thumb:

[Alex J]

chuck em in the iron and buy a new set!

[brainsnova]

Wire wool then pad final polish

[TeddyThom]

Hmm.. I shall have to inspect these further... Broke my jack, so I can't jack up the car to get the wheel offf lol.

Picking up a new jack tonight, so will get pics up asap. Hopefully they aren't pitted.

And mowgli, they have been sat for more than a few weeks... Hence me asking what was the best way.

Cheers for the info guys, appreciated.

[meritlover]

I spray oil on mine to stop them rusting.

[Alex J]

I spray oil on mine to stop them rusting.lol

[BRoadGhost]

Yeah do that after copper greasing the entirety of each pad

[mowgli]

And mowgli, they have been sat for more than a few weeks... Hence me asking what was the best way.



cars get left on dealer's forecourts for months. people park up vans & wagons for months at a time, farm equipment can be left for 11 months before getting used again..

unless you covered it in road salt before parking it, there will only be slight surface rust, because of the hardness of the disc, and a small amount of braking will soon clean it.

[Stuart]

I had best not mention that I had a set of discs turn into scrap after just 2 months standing... Granted their life had been hard with carbon metallic pads tearing away at the surface so it wasn't nice and smooth like you get with organic pads. But hey, thommmmm, just throw them on and hope lol

[John]

You wanna see the hassle that "leaving cars on forecourts" gives us. Brake judder, corroded/pitted faces etc. trust me, driving hard on the discs doesn't always clear the "surface rust" off.

[TeddyThom]

Well I guess the only thing I can do is play it by ear and see how it goes. If I can't clean them off then I'm gonna have to get new ones.

[Stuart]

Any pics?

[blue_peg_16v]

New ones are about £30 don't be a pikey if there nackered

[EwanG]

Dont be a cheapskate ladd! Just buy bloody new wans! (thats the scotish slang) lol

[TeddyThom]

Any pics?

http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy173/teddythom/null_zpsa6a0b525.jpg (http://s789.photobucket.com/user/teddythom/media/null_zpsa6a0b525.jpg.html)

Tada.


New ones are about £30 don't be a pikey if there nackered


Dont be a cheapskate ladd! Just buy bloody new wans! (thats the scotish slang) lol

If I have to get new ones, then I will... I don't know if these are knackered or what... Hence the asking of the question :)

[meritlover]

to be fair, they dont look too bad. you have nothing to loose by trying to see if they clean up by driving with them, nor would it do any harm to go over them with some 60grit and give them a hand to brighten up.

from the outside they look like they were decent discs, so as long as they are worn the same on the other side, if they dont clean up a motor engineers will be able to give them a very thin skim to have them like new.

the problem with cleaning up old discs by driving them is you end up with burnt/black ridges on the discs which then lead to wear and grooving.

like i said, you have little to loose by trying, but i would go over and freshen up with some 60 grit.

remember and fit your drive shaft.

[Novasport]

Vehicles brakes are important in the fact that they haul 3/4 ton of metal up from quite high speeds. They stop you from running into other hard objects. It is for this reason I never skimp on brakes. Buy new discs & pads!

[Dan Stanley]

If they're any good to you Richard, I'll have a set of standard discs that you could have if you wanted? Im upgrading to some grooved discs and will have my standard discs going spare. They'll be clean and true.

[TeddyThom]

Are they 256mm?

[Stuart]

Ime a skim costs the same/more than new discs. Unless you are running manicly priced Porsche discs etb then a skim is ip usually false economy.

I wouldn't use those discs again, but many would.

[mowgli]

any competant person with a half decent lathe can skim a brake disc. finding the minimum skim tolerance is usually the hard bit...

i once saw a bloke skim a disc on the vehicle with it revving in gear using a 4" angle grinder.... a mighty bodge, but surprisingly effective....lol lol lol

[Novasport]

I cannot understand why you would bother with the cost of new discs & pads. I have picked up a couple of set of genuine 256mm GTE discs & pads for £20-25 each before.

[Edd]

Flap disc job done lol

I would use them cleaned off, but as many have said new ones really