brake disc hub paint

[Fran]

I changed my 4 brake discs with Brembo ones well before the forum group buy. Unfortunately my discs did not come with any paint on the hubs and even if the car is in a covered garaged are now showing signs of rust on the hubs. Nothing material but a rust colour that does not suit the car.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GET THE BRAKE DISC HUBS PAINTED?

I suppose I can:
1) rub the hubs with a metal brush and degrease it well.
2) find a way to mask the hub (masking tape? is not round!)
3) paint with heat resistant paint. A can will give a better finish than a brush?

For easy I need to do this job with the discs fitted to the car.

Suggestions are very welcomed.

F

 

[BL330]

G'day Fran, your description is exactly the process I follow.
Don't forget to mask the brake calipers as the spray travels.
Also don't paint the surface where the wheel seats with the hub, as any imperfections will throw your wheel rotation out.
It's a fiddle job but really noticeable, so well worth the effort.

 

[VMSRTI]

I finished mine with clear rather than paint - yes def a can not a brush.

 

[LORENZ-GS]

I never had good luck with clear on the hub. The heat made it yellow.

 

[Fran]

Thanks for your suggestions. the colour will definitely be grey/silver to match the alloys.

I might give it a try with the brush though. Less messy and faster. I have done several jobs recently with both brush and spray can. In a perfect world the spray gives better results but since I do not intend to take out the discs I might get an easier and better job with the brush. Even with a brush the finish can be very smooth and I have to do little masking. I am afraid with the can I will end up with paint drops on the surface that I really hate!

Something like this should do the job and definitely will be an improvement from the rust colour!

But of course the perfect Maserati owner should take the discs off and have them professionally powder coated....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361359322378?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

F

 

[BL330]

Hi Fran, don't go the can, as the hubs are really noticeable and all you'll see each time you look at the car is the brush marks. The technique to masking is apply the tape at 45 degrees across the disc surface so it resembles a pin wheel. This way you can overlap at inner edge of the disc surface. Trust me it's easy to do. Have some turps and a rag ready for any overspray. as the hub is well within the body of the car, you won't get any spray travelling outside to affect the body.

 

[hodroyd]

If you are spraying, cover the discs with a round piece of cardboard bigger so that the caliper is covered, hole for the hub, tape around the centre edge, spray away..!!

 

[RSM Masser]

I used high temperature Hy-cote silver grey from Euro Car Parts, order it via website and collect from store - it's cheaper.
Even after a year some spots of rust where showing through so I re coated with Galvafroud - a galvanising paint I got from work.
Discs are easy to remove so the time spent masking everything up is about the same as removing them. It's also easier to paint in the vents between the wearing surfaces

 

[casadalloro]

If you heed clear ... Hycote do vht clear lacquer too....

Hammerite also good.... I did the calipers on the alfa with hammered silver darkend with a drop of black... They look a nice annodised colour and finish now and even after a track day no problems with heat burning the paint..

 

[VMSRTI]

I never had good luck with clear on the hub. The heat made it yellow.

Mine have altered ever so slightly in approx 18 months since applying.

 

[davy83]

i used a piece of cardboard and marking tape to cover the bits i didn't want to spray, i also did it when the discs were new, and i cleaned them with Hammerite thinners. i don't think you can buy Hammerite thinners any more as they kill the planet apparently. you need a good solvent to get all oil and dirt off the steel. i used simonize high temp silver and although it yellowed a bit after a year or so, it was pretty good, and didn't flake or anything.

 

[ALiRi]

I used a matt grey stove pipe paint from Jotul that I had in the shed in spray can. Used a plastic bag to mask the calipers and cleaned off any overspray onto the disk surface with thinners stright away. Biggest issue I had was the paint running and the time it took to clean off 2 years worth of surface rust with wire brushes. Whilst in there I did also wire brushed the brake lines and repainted them with hammerite (brush applied) as the original paint was flaky and had resulted in an MOT advisory. That was about 4 months ago hubs still look like new and flew through MOT with not a mention of the brake lines.

andy

 

[drewf]

I need to do mine - the fronts are pattern disks, and whilst they work extremely well (no complaints there at all), the non-wear surfaces are now getting rusty. Clearly no coating on those areas - wish I'd sorted them before they went on the car earlier this year.