CarCare101: Project Miata: Painting the Brake Rotors

[Bruce Nunnally]

So Project Miata is finally under way. After taking care of a few maintenance related items it’s time for the first real project, new brakes. But keeping with our Rule Numero Uno: “Don’t put it on ugly” we’ve decided to start with painting a set of stock rotors. We could have purchased a set that was already powder coated, but Mazda Miata rotors are dirt cheep especially the tiny little saucers on the early 1.6L NA Miata’s like our Lipstick Red 1991. So we elected instead to paint a set of stockers with some Dupli – Color Ceramic Caliper Paint.

Painting Rotors: Step 1 – Masking: Begin by carefully masking off the braking surface of each rotor. Here I used 1/2″ masking tape to create the edges and filled in the large areas with 2″ painters tape.

Painting Rotors: Step 2 – Trim Masking Tape: Now grab the trusty x-acto knife and trim the excess masking tape away from the rotor to get a good clean paint edge.

Painting Rotors: Step 3 – Prepping the Surface for Paint: Time to brake out that handy dandy CRC Brake Cleaner and a clean, preferably new, shop rag and go to town cleaning all the surfaces to be painted. Be sure to spray the brake cleaner on the rag, not the rotors as the excess could cause the masking tape to relase.

Painting Rotors: Step 4 – Cleanliness is next to Godliness: As you can see, just because the surface looks clean doesn’t mean it is clean. Manufacturers will typically add a protectant to the surface to keep things from rusting during shipping and storage. Add to that the fact that human hands are greasy as hell and you tend to leave finger prints everywhere which need to be removed as any finger prints will cause the paint not to adhere properly. Be sure to wipe down every surface you intend to paint.

Painting Rotors: Step 5 – Time to Paint: Now it’s time to break out the Dupli – Color Cerapic Caliper Paint. Don’t forget to shake that can like a maraca in a mariachi band.

Painting Rotors: Step 6 – Saftey First! This stuff is strong! And you definitely do not want to breath in the dust. So grab a dust mask and spray in a well ventilated area!

Painting Rotors: Step 7 – Painting the Rotors: Hold the can 6″ –  8″ away from the painting surface. Spray in broad overlapping strokes. Start with the back side. Be sure to spray the edges as well. Let the paint dry for about 15 – 20 minutes. Or you can use a heat gun like I did to speed up the flashing process. Flip the rotors over and spray the front side.

*Note: the reason you start with the back of the rotors is so when you turn them over the rotor will rest on the masked off braking surface and protect the still hardening paint on the inside of the rotor hat.

Painting Rotors: Step 8 – Unmasking: After you let the rotor hats dry for 15 minutes, it’s time to pull the masking tape off. When you pull off the tape pull it at a 45 degree angle from the tape edge. This will give you the cleanest lines.

Painting Rotors: Step 9 – Baking and I Don’t Mean Brownies: This step just expedites the curing process. Set your oven on 300 degrees. Place your rotors in the oven. Let bake for 1 hour. Have a beer, or two, hell three even. You deserve it the project is done. After 1 hour turn the oven off and let stand to cool for 30 minutes. Serve with a side of horseradish for best results.

*Note: The baking process gives off fumes from the uncured paint. Best to do this when the wife is not at home or you may have some explaining to do.

We’ll that’s it for our first project. While these rotor’s are cooling I’ll be getting started on the next step, pulling the old nasty brakes off Project Miata to get them cleaned up and painted so they look as good as our shiny new rotors. If you found this post helpful please be sure and share this post with all your friends. We’d greatly appreciate it. And if you’ve got any questions about this build leave us a comment in the box below.

 

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