Hello My acura people,

Installed drilled and slotted rotors with Hawk hps pads. While doing the ebedding procedure a circular ring was left on the driver's side rotor. i would like to clean the rotor off from the brake pad mark. I searched the forum but cant find any useful info. I was thinking of sanding down the rotor, what do you guys think ? if sand paper what grade ? i have brake cleaner but it did not take off the mark.


Thanks

 

it seems as if you're trying to clean something that wont ever come off.


when you bed the pads in, you transfer the material over to the rotor.
anything that was on the pad, ie; dirt will make an indention in your rotors.

 

I understand that, but while i was doing the embed procedure thats when it marked up the left rotor not the right one. So i just wanted to know the safe grade of sand paper to use to clean it. It doesnt seem like its impossible. Just looks ugly. The pads were brand new i dont see how they would leave a mark on the rotor other then when heated up and breaking semi hard. Thats my conclusion

 

How dark is it? You want a transfer layer. It's needed for the brakes to grab right and it drastically cuts down on pad and rotor wear as well as noise. Rotors should never look perfectly shiny. I've run pure race pads on the street which would wear off the transfer layer that was laid down on a track day in about a day. The rotors were like mirrors, looked cool but once the transfer layer was gone, they squeaked unlike anything you've ever heard and the bite wasn't good.

When you say ring, is this the entire friction surface or a narrow ring of material? If you really want it off, you can use sandpaper but you'll want to bed in the pads again.

 

Hey I hate cars, thanks for the reply, funny thing is the dark ring from the heated pad at the time only left it on the drivers side rotor not the passenger. so weird thats why im like wtf. I agree if i sand it down, what grit ? and will it fuck up the rotor by doing so ?

Thanks

 

Sanding Rotors

Sanding improves the finish by making rotors smoother. Sanding knocks off the sharp peaks. Torn and folded metal left on the surface by the lathe bits needs to be removed. Sanding may improve the surface finish 2 to 5 micro inches. This will give you better pedal feel, quicker pad seating and improved overall brake performance.

Rotors can be sanded in various ways. One is to apply a non-directional finish with #80 to #120 sandpaper on a flat sanding block. Hold a pair of sanding blocks against the brake rotor for about 60 seconds while the rotor is turning at normal speed on the lathe. This assumes your have a machine for turning brake rotors in your home garage. Sure.

The most common method is to use an abrasive pad in a drill. This technique is risky because it’s difficult to do an even job and metal buildup on the pad may actually make the surface rougher unless a fresh sanding pad is used for each side of the rotor (use two pads).

The best advice if you do sand is to do it carefully, evenly and remember that you’re not trying to remove metal. A minute or less on each side should be enough. You’ll see the scratches develop as you use the sanding disc. You really don’t want to remove any material but simply scratch the surface.

This sanding becomes even more critical if you’re installing new brake pads on old rotors. The surface of the brake rotor is coated with the old pad material. When you install new brake pads the new friction material really won’t contact the rotor but will make contact with the old pad material. The two different types of pad material may not work together all that well. You want your brand new pad material to actually contact the steel of the brake rotor. Sanding the rotor surface assures that this will happen.

Washing and Cleaning Your Brake Rotors

You’re not done yet. Very few people actually take the time to clean or wash a rotor before they install it on the car. Washing a brake rotor with hot soapy water can remove bits of metal that would otherwise end up embedded in the new pads.

I finish this process up with brake clean. If I rub a white paper towel on the rotor surface and dirt shows on the towel the rotor isn’t clean enough. Washing brake rotors reduces noise comebacks.

Hope this helps!

 

Hey there guy,

Thanks for that awesome write up. I would prob go with #80 sandpaper since that would be the lightest of the two options as mentioned ^ Thanks ill give it a shot, ill be doing this by removing the wheel and sanding it down.