Plated Brake Rotors, Need Help....

I imagine Nickel would hold up better than paint but how much longer I have no idea. I will say for concours if my rotors (discs) originally had paint on them then I would have used powder coating to match the original color as suggested earlier since powder coating should last as long as plating.



Everything I know so far about Nickel Plate is based on what I've read on the internet and heard from plating shops. Seems like it should hold up really well but only time will tell. If the rotors survive one of my twisty mountain excursions (lots of acceleration/braking) and the heat cycles associated with it then it should withstand long term use.



Keep in mind I don't drive my car in foul weather, do you use your car strictly for shows or everyday commute?
 
My 306 show car lives outside ( no garage ) and does about 6K a year . Its not my daily drive and i avoid using it in rain if i can.
 
HellrotCi said:
I want to see pics of the whole car not just the rotors and wheels, please!! :cool: :D :bounce
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I just finished driving the car 200 miles and it's a mess (at least to me). I'll only post pictures after I've had time to properly detail it this weekend.:o





Rich,

I think the Electroless Nickel would be a great solution for you, might be worth checking your local platers.



Murph,

That is exactly why I did this, I couldn't stand looking through my wheels and seeing rust. It was especially annoying after I had detailed the wheel wells, my eyes kept drawing towards the old nasty looking rotors. Now I just need to paint my calipers.:)
 
MBZ500E, that is a good look.





Boxstercharlie,



Do you have the rust problem on your Boxster? I have never had this problem with the factory rotors from Porsche. They come prepainted and I have never had it rust, chip and/or flake off. However, the BMW rotors on my wifes car are another story. They look like crap all the time. In fact when I went to put the snow tires on this winter I could not remove one of the wheels (it had fused itself to the rotor hub - Long story on how I finally got it off).
 
I just bought all new front and rear rotors for my m3 and plan on painting them. I'll be painting both the hub and cooling veins. I think i'm going to use flat/satin black. I'll post pics and details when i'm done. I should have them next week, hopefully the weather will be decent so i can paint.
 
306wheel.jpg
 
bet993 said:
MBZ500E, that is a good look.





Boxstercharlie,



Do you have the rust problem on your Boxster? I have never had this problem with the factory rotors from Porsche. They come prepainted and I have never had it rust, chip and/or flake off.
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No I don't. However, the factory look is a very dull and unfinished, and I'm envious of the nickel plating look. It doesn't look "bling bling" but is the look of a component which you are supposed to see, not just a general undercarriage part look.
 
BoxsterCharlie said:
No I don't. However, the factory look is a very dull and unfinished, and I'm envious of the nickel plating look. It doesn't look "bling bling" but is the look of a component which you are supposed to see, not just a general undercarriage part look.
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Yeah but you have to love the factory calipers on a Porsche, especially the big reds.
 
BoxsterCharlie said:
No I don't. However, the factory look is a very dull and unfinished, and I'm envious of the nickel plating look. It doesn't look "bling bling" but is the look of a component which you are supposed to see, not just a general undercarriage part look.
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Boxstercharlie,



First thanks for the compliments. If you ever decide you want to have your rotors plated and can't find a local shop let me know. I can give you the information for my source and you can send them there, I'll inspect them for you before they send them to you to make sure they look good.:)
 
Finally got around to getting my car cleaned up. Here's a couple more shots of the wheels with new nickel plated rotors.



Front:
 

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Here's a shot of the rears, they actually stand out better due to the smaller diameter.
 

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Rich,



Yeah actually they have about 75 miles on them now. If you look carefully you can see that on the front rotors the swept area is just starting to wear away.



So far the plating is doing exactly what I wanted:

- I can now spray my detailing spray inside the wheels without being concerned with corrosion on the rotors.

- The rotors can be easily cleaned, the dust doesn't seem to attract to the plating either.



When the brakes are finally worn in and I've taken the car out for a serious back road romping I'll post more pics and review.
 
Well I've had a chance to put the nickel plate through it's paces on my new rotors and I have to say I'm very pleased with their durability. So far I've done triple digit stops :o , two high speed canyon runs and some regular driving totaling 500 miles. I've also cleaned the wheels and rotors with some wheel cleaner to determine if an agressive fluid would attack the plating. I think the pictures speak for themselves.



Here's a picture of the front rotors (note the pad area has finally worn away, took about 300 miles)
 

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Anyone considering this option will not be disappointed, it's everything I expected it would be and a bit more. What I've noticed is the Nickel Plate seems to be a non stick surface, water spots and dirt wipe away very easily.



Here's a picture of the rear rotors (note the nickel plate hasn't completely worn off of the wear surface):
 

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