Plated Brake Rotors, Need Help....

M

MBZ 500E

New member
So I'm due for a new set of brake pads/rotors for my car and I need your help and experience.



I'm going to be purchasing a set of OEM Brake Rotors which I would like to send out for plating. The two processes offered are CAD Plate or Nickel Plate. The purpose of the plating is protection of areas which are not in contact with the brake pads to insure they look "OEM New" and don't rust/corrode over time. The car won't see rain and isn't a daily driver but I do drive it. Water will be introduced to the rotors either from mild wheel cleaners or Final Detail. The pads will be either Metal Masters or Kevlar Compound, both are low dust.



A local shop will Nickel Plate all (4) Rotors for $90.00, they stated that Nickel will offer better protection over CAD..:nixweiss I'm searching for a CAD Plate Shop to determine pricing.



Has anyone tried either plating material and do you have any other suggestions. Painting is not an option BTW, it won't match the machined metal finish and judges will deduct points. I am willing to pay more for the better solution, these rotors will be on the car at least 4 years so it needs to last.



Your suggestions and thanks in advance for your time.:)
 
I opted for the Zinc wash coating from Baer and wasn't too impressed. Car has never seen bad weather and they don't look nearly as well as I would like.
 
Neoflex,



Thanks for the heads up on the Metal Masters.:up



Pete,



Cool Mustang and nice website! Do you or any of your friends have any experience with the CAD or Nickel Plate by chance? I want my rotors to look like yours did when new and to stay that way.



Any other suggestions?
 
Sci Fi thanks for the tip! I'm ordering my brakes next week and depending on the existing finish I may go with this. I'll post some before and after pics.
 
Well I finally completed the install of my new brakes. After extensive research I decided to go with Electroless Nickel Plating on all of my rotors. I chose PBR Deluxe Brake Pads which are low dust and OE braking performance.



So far I've put about 50 miles on the rotors and the front nickel plate is just barely starting to wear through on braking surface only as I had hoped. The rear doesn't look like it's been touched yet. The braking performance is excellent so it looks like a good setup. Note: My goal was to prevent the rust areas which occur on the non-wear surfaces, you can see the rust on the old rotors.



Here's a before of the rear rotors:
 

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Here's the after shot of the rear rotors. Yes I plan on painting the calipers black to replicate the OE appearance they had years ago. :)
 

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Looks great.



Now you just need to do something about those calipers. If you plan to paint them, I'd recommed the Folia-Tec 2-part laquer kits.

:xyxthumbs
 
Inzane,



Yes calipers are definitely next. I'm still debating between a gloss or satin finish for the calipers. The 500E's built in 92 had high gloss front calipers but only medium gloss rear calipers. I'm thinking of just using the standard 2 part coating in gloss as you suggested. I'll post pics in the next few weeks when I decide.
 
MBZ 500E - Thanks for being the trailblazer on this. Next time I put rotors on the S8 I'm gonna look into doing the same thing. Who did you have apply the nickel? Heh heh, I don't think I'll send brake rotors to the guys who do electroless on firearms ;)
 
I'll continue to update this post with photos and description to help everyone interested.



I was lucky with regards to a plating company. This company is also a customer of mine and I know they've been around for a while so I was comfortable using them. They do Nickel, Electroless Nickel, Cadmium and Anodizing, they agreed Electroless would be most durable and resist corrosion from wheel cleaners etc....



If you look in the yellow pages you'll find a bunch in your area, local advantages includes supporting local economy and seeing the results before accepting it. If you're not comfortable with a local shop I can arrange for you to send them to the place I used and inspect them for you before they ship, just let me know. BTW I paid $130.00 for all four rotors and they did a great job.:xyxthumbs
 
MBZ 500E- If/when I decide to do this (I'm not about to wear out the S8's current rotors in this lifetime unless I drive the car more!) I'll probably get back to you.



Our local platers weren't very competent, and just got closed down over some rather egregious EPA violations. I could always go with one of the "regular choice"/common referral platers but I'd just wondered if you'd used someone you considered "special". Generally, I like to patronize shops that have already proven themselves to particular customers and I don't think brake rotors get this treatment all that often.
 
Accumulator,



I searched extensively for sources which mentioned automotive parts as their forte, unfortunately none nearby existed so I decided to phone interview a few local places. I narrowed it down to the platers that didn't overreact when I told them what I wanted done. I took a chance with the shop I used, luckily the job was completed on time (3 business days) at the price quoted. I will be using them again when I need to have my nuts/bolts gold cad plated in the future. Again I had previous business history with them which helped.



Funny you mention the EPA violations, I am an equipment supplier including wastewater equipment. It's amazing walking into facilities and seeing some of the things manufacturers get away with. Many get fined on a regular basis for dumping chemicals into sewers and only purchase equipment when faced with shutdown.:nono I've seen this not just in the chemical industry but also dairy and food industries. OTOH Playing Devils Advocate.....with all the regulations in the US it's no wonder manufacturers are moving overseas, not only is labor cheaper but the EPA isn't there to regulate them.:(
 
MBZ 500E said:
..Funny you mention the EPA violations, I am an equipment supplier including wastewater equipment. It's amazing walking into facilities and seeing some of the things manufacturers get away with. Many get fined on a regular basis for dumping chemicals into sewers and only purchase equipment when faced with shutdown.:nono I've seen this not just in the chemical industry but also dairy and food industries. OTOH Playing Devils Advocate.....with all the regulations in the US it's no wonder manufacturers are moving overseas, not only is labor cheaper but the EPA isn't there to regulate them.:(
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IMO it's too bad that people will do stuff that's literally poisoning their own community (or anyone's, for that matter) just to save some money and hassle. I'm not one for governmental interference (and nobody's ever called me a tree-hugger ;) ), but only a moron would dump the toxic soup from plating into a waste water system (let alone the one IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY) that can't treat it properly. The guys who got shut down here deserved a lot more trouble than they got, IMO.
 
Rich,



The plating will definitely wear off on the swept area, I knew this up front. My goal was to keep the unswept areas looking factory new especially the outer edges of the rotors and the point of contact with the wheels. Both areas are visible through the wheels and were a sore spot IMO. Here's a shot of the front rotors, you'll note the rust covers the unswept areas and detracts significantly from the overall appearance.
 

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I guessed it would i was just checking, i have painted the hubs on mu show car but they havent held up. So i need to get some more Rotors (discs in the UK!) and get them nickel plated?
 
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