I've had my 2016 Two Eco for about a month and a half. My most recent tank I milked 750 miles with an average of 76.6 mpg!! I love this car. Anyway, I am upgrading my tire rims and was noticing the rotors are already rusting and this will not do. I'd love to get e-coated rotors with caliper covers but I am having a hard time finding anything that fits the base model with 15" wheels. Anybody have a source or suggestions? I've thought about painting or powder coating the rotors.
Rotors are made from iron because the pads are designed to work with its wear and friction characteristics. Rusting is normal, and they are a wear item to begin with. Don't like the look of the rust, look for aluminum of even carbon fiber ones. These will reduce unsprung weight and could improve efficiency. For a cost. The rotor face that contacts the pads is still iron though.
Seriously, you couldn't paint or powder coat them - it would probably be illegal, and would wreck your brake pads. If it's rust on the friction area of the wheels, a couple of hard applications of the brakes should clear that. Is this a 2012 vehicle - like your profile states - it could have been very gently driven with the brakes rarely applied. Your profile doesn't say which part of the world - if you happen to be in a tropical high salt-spray area, they'll get surface rust really quickly.
Yes, most rotors are just the same metal all the way through. The fact that the metal will rust was taken into account during their design. The non-wear areas can be painted; the rear drums on my car came painted on the outside. Aftermarket for 15" wheels will be hard to come by because this is an appearance mod, and most wheels for appearance are larger. With care in masking the wear area of the rotor, DIY painting the rotor will be possible. The front ones should be easy to get off; the rear likely have a small built in drum brake for parking duty. That could make removing them tricky. The paint needs to be something that can handle the heat the rotor will be exposed too. If sanding is needed, do so after the wear area is masked. Most sand papers use aluminum oxides which is harder than the rotor's iron. If the sand paper particles get rubbed into the wear area, they could lead to 'warping'. Wash off the wear areas before real installing to be sure there isn't particles left on the surface for the pads to rub in. With enough masking and care, painting the visible a part of the caliper could be done without removing it from the car. Do it while the part is hanging from a coat hanger/wire in the wheel we while the rest of the brake parts are off. Being excessive with tape, paper, and cardboard will be worth it in the event of overspray. Brushing the paint on is another option; thin it down so brush strokes aren't visible and go with multiple light coats.
Living in a country that massively over salts its roads, I've seen lots of rust on brake disks. The thing is, it shouldn't affect the brakes at all as the pads and shoes will wear away the important parts. Once when my fronts started to grate, it was easy to chip the rust from the perimeter of the disk/rotor by hand with a screwdriver. That was after more than 10 winters though! Hope this helps stop you worrying.
The edges are such a small area and are barely visible - the vast area is under friction from brake pads, but don't forget brake disks get red hot. I can understand painting the calipers if done properly - they make special heat resistant paint for them.
