Rusty brakes...any product I can buy?

[wildcat45]

I have no option but to leave my summer car outside. Its not been a problem for a few years as I still runn it on the roads during dry times in the winter.

Just before this winter, I got new discs and pads fitted. Then the snow came, one thing and another, and the car hasn't been moved since well before Christmas.

The disks are rusted to hell.

I am hoping just giving the car a damn good drive and some decent braking will sort them out.

But to stop it happeneing again - if I an unable to use it for a while - is there some sort of product I can apply to keep the rust away.

Thought of oil. grease Hammerite.....:-)

[rhinochopig]

I spray WD40 or GT85 all over mine when leaving it for long periods. It stops the disks rusting a treat.

[Greenwich Ross]

Get on the motorway, take it up to 'a fair few leptons' before turning off at your exit junction and, when you're happy you'll stop in time, keep the brakes on hard. Job done.

[wildcat45]

I guess the burning it off at speed options are the way forward.

WD40- that's oil. On brakes?

[SaltyToe]

rhinochopig said:

I spray WD40 or GT85 all over mine when leaving it for long periods. It stops the disks rusting a treat.

Come again?

[Petrolhead_Rich]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

Just Petrol.

Applied via the Accelerator !

- it gives extra friction for the first lap mile

rhinochopig said:

I spray WD40 or GT85 all over mine when leaving it for long periods. It stops the disks rusting a treat.

what about the oil contaminating your pads???

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

There is nothing you can do about the friction part of the disk. Just take the car for a spin every weekend to get rid of that. But there is nothing stopping you painting the non-friction parts of the disk with Silver Hammerite. It can withstand a fair ammount of heat. I do this to my cars to make the disks look nicer. Nothing worse than seeing all that rust!

[ad551]

rhinochopig said:

I spray WD40 or GT85 all over mine when leaving it for long periods. It stops the disks rusting a treat.

Helps to stop the brakes squeaking on my bike as well.

[rhinochopig]

Petrolhead_Rich said:

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

Just Petrol.

Applied via the Accelerator !

- it gives extra friction for the first lap mile

rhinochopig said:

I spray WD40 or GT85 all over mine when leaving it for long periods. It stops the disks rusting a treat.

what about the oil contaminating your pads???

Pah, brakes are for wimps - fire ball straight to Hull# for me baby!

#As I'm not religious, Hull is the closest place to the biblical concept of Hell I can think of.

[wildcat45]

Guys, the car's now in a ditch in Northumberland.....Tried spraying grease on them stopped the rust. Not the car.

Still it's an MGF so I should could myself lucky the gasket didn't blow too!

:-)

Cheers for your replies.

Dan

[TheLurker]

wildcat45 said:

Guys, the car's now in a ditch in Northumberland.....Tried spraying grease on them stopped the rust. Not the car.

Still it's an MGF so I should could myself lucky the gasket didn't blow too!

:-)

Cheers for your replies.

Dan

[edo]

rhinochopig said:

I spray WD40 or GT85 all over mine when leaving it for long periods. It stops the disks rusting a treat.

This has to be st advice, non?

[grimfandango]

Why do brake disks rust so badly now? When I got fed up with my Ginetta (all old ford stuff) and the tax ran out I just left it in the garden. Two years later, I thought I'd use it again a bit, the brakes wernt even stuck on! and as for rust, there may have been the most tinyest bit of surface rust, maybe?

I had a 1990 MR2 and its brake disks were pretty good for not rusting. However my dads Citroen if left for a week or two the disks will be compleatly covered in rust? The same goes for a lot of the more modern cars I've seen.

I assume its just cheaper materials used for making brake disks now???

[shalmaneser]

High iron content means the they have a high coefficient of friction but are not very good at resisting corrosion.

If you want the best of both world, get carbon discs!

[LeeThr]

grimfandango said:

Why do brake disks rust so badly now? When I got fed up with my Ginetta (all old ford stuff) and the tax ran out I just left it in the garden. Two years later, I thought I'd use it again a bit, the brakes wernt even stuck on! and as for rust, there may have been the most tinyest bit of surface rust, maybe?

I had a 1990 MR2 and its brake disks were pretty good for not rusting. However my dads Citroen if left for a week or two the disks will be compleatly covered in rust? The same goes for a lot of the more modern cars I've seen.

I assume its just cheaper materials used for making brake disks now???

Oxidisation (sp?) What the disks are made of oxidises with the oxygen in the air and rusts. A slowish process which is why you dont see the rust unless its been stood for more than a week.

[WeirdNeville]

edo said:

rhinochopig said:

I spray WD40 or GT85 all over mine when leaving it for long periods. It stops the disks rusting a treat.

This has to be st advice, non?

My "proof of concept" following careless application of WD40 to bike chains would suggest that it's a fking idiotic thing to do to car brakes. Especially GT85, as that has lubricants (PTFE I think) in it.

If one were to do such a thing, I'd suggest removing the discs and pads and giving them a thorough clean with brake cleaner afterwards.

[Monty Python]

Spraying WD40 on brakes isn't the end of the world. It's primary function is to disperse water (hence the WD bit), and as such it's based on low viscosity petroleum distillates and therefore won't be able to remain in place once placed under load. It also doesn't contain the various additives needed for a lubricant.

So, if you do get WD40 on your brakes, it's unlikely to hang around very long when you use them.

[toast boy]

I have a suspicion the WD40 advice was somewhat tongue in cheek, though a smilie might have been helpful. If it wasn't however, it's truly idiotic advice. I'm not sure about painting calipers in hammerite, it's not high temperature paint so could make a bit of a mess if the calipers get hot in brisk driving.

[Jonboy_t]

SaltyToe said:

Come again?

Think it has similar lubrication qualities as WD40 anyway, so I wouldn't.

[PhillipM]

Moly grease will keep them shiny even for all the time they're stood in the breakers yard washing the remains of your head off the windscreen.