Hi everyone,
my name is Heidi and this is my first post here...I searched the forums for this kind of topic but didn't find anything so here it goes.

First of all, I'm a new fit owner--I just got my Sport MT in vivid blue pearl two days ago and I love it! I did notice however that there is some rust above the brake pads that doesn't look very good. I'm not good with cars but my dad looked at it and said it was normal. He also said that that part of the brake could be painted (as well as the calipers and the back outside of the drums). Has anyone done this before? Do you recommend it? And what's the best kind of paint/good place to find a match in color to the body?

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

are you sure it's rust? it could just be the brake dust, which are the dust particles that are released from the brake pads when they are applied to the discs. if it's just brake dust, there is nothing to worry about. brake dust looks pretty much just like rust. you can just wash it off with soap and a rag. i'm betting it's just brake dust so you shouldn't have anything to worry about. anybody else?

 

My front rotors get rusty after I wash the car, but it's very little, and the rust just gets rubbed off as soon as you brake again. I wonder if you just noticed this after you were out in the rain?

 

Welcome and Congrats with getting a fit...

Ummm...your question is a bit vague to me (I could just be dense or )....can you describe the area specifically again? (it doesnt sound like you mean the caliper because you already stated that it can be painted)

like shape size location...(I am guessing you dont mean rotor/disk, caliper, hub...)

Do indeed check if it is brake dust as suggested earlier...throw us a pic if you can...

 

hi everyone, and thanks for your replies...

I understand that I was kinda vague so I'll post some pictures (sorry, I just don't know the parts of a brake that well!!)

Here's the front left wheel, photo taken yesterday:




And here's a close up that I just took a few minutes ago, and I did drive the car just last night (but not in rain):




I know that I haven't taken it out in the rain but it might have been in the rain at the dealer?

 

Heidi,
The rusted area in your photos is absolutely normal and won't cause any problems- it happens on all disc brakes, though I suppose that there may be some high-end custom brake rotors available somewhere that are made of a stainless steel alloy that don't rust.

The peripheral edge of your rotors could easily be painted, but I suggest that you use a high temperature paint- the gap that you see around the rotor's edge acts kind of like the blades of a fan and allows air to more quickly release heat from the rotor. High temp. paint is available from most parts stores. If you just want black, BarBeQue paint would work well and not cost much. Be careful to mask off the flat surfaces, front and back, of the rotors where the pads contact the surfaces.

 

yes its normal. You can get caliper paint at your local autoparts store to paint it, or like manxman said.. any high temp paint.

 

okay, thanks guys for your help! I think my dad and I are going to paint them with either black, gray or blue paint. has anyone else painted their calipers or rear drums?

 

Yip that rust is normal. Couple things you can do about it:

a) Ignore it. (cheapest and simplest solution)
b) paint it with high temp paint like folks have said. (some elbow grease required)

If it helps and you dont want to risk accidentally spraying parts of your car. I have seen "brush on" caliper paints that you might want to try as well. They come in a variety of colors, so go big on which color gives you the warm and fuzzies.

 

Thanks for putting up pics...very straight forward now...
As all have said above^^^...

I wish I had known how to post pics when I was bran spankin new ... HAHAAHAhaa