Nickel Plated Brake Rotors? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

placo1 · #1 11-07-2003, 01:37 PM

Anyone try this or have any experience with Nickel Plating on Brake Rotors?

I spoke to a local plating shop that stated Nickel Plate will provide better wear/tear and corrosion resistance over CAD plated Rotors. I can understand the corrosion resistance but I wonder about the wear/tear factor since Nickel is soft. They quoted me $90.00 to Nickel Plate all 4 Rotors which is really reasonable IMO.

Should I do it and are there any drawbacks?

BTW I'm considering this for concours events, the plating will be done on OEM rotors and is being done to eliminate the corrosion associated with brake dust. Standard rotors have a silver finish to them but obviously this last 1month at best.

Thanks for your help everyone.

MTI · #2 11-07-2003, 03:26 PM

On a daily driver, I'm guessing that the plating on the rotors will be a dull stripe surrounded by shiny parts in about a month or so, depending on the brake pads and the number of brake applications.

placo1 · #3 11-07-2003, 03:34 PM

No doubt the pads will wear through the plate on the wear surface, would be great if they didn't but it's inevitable. But at least the wear area won't show any corrosion at a car show and the rest will stay nice and shiny.....I hope.

Question is will the plating process hurt the disc and or will it start to peel starting at the wear portion? Also will the Nickel cause any wear issues with brake pads? I did some searching and found a few manufacturers that offer this but I'd love to hear from someone with experience.

Flash Gordon · #4 11-07-2003, 05:49 PM

I think ANY kind of coatings on the rotor is only good for a cosmetic short time. The pads will remove the coatings in no time! Then you will have a two- tone rotor

My 0.02

Kestas · #5 11-07-2003, 09:00 PM

Nickel plating on cast iron is very tricky. I do it in the lab for metallurgical mounts. If not done right it can easily flake off. Surface preparation is all important. You cannot grit blast the surface for preparation. Your best success would be to go with a schedule of copper strike/copper sulfamate plate/buff/soft nickel plate/hard nickel plate. But then it'd be silly to use the car afterwards.

Some outfits sell cadmium plated rotors. Search the archives using "cadmium" and "rotor".

Kestas · #6 11-07-2003, 10:15 PM

Placo1 wants to "eliminate corrosion by brake dust". Plating won't help. Brake dust itself doesn't cause corrosion any more than many other dusts. In the presence of water it may become corrosive. Brake dust will occur with any rotor. Any rotor that is plated will have the plating removed by braking.

Your best bet is to clean the rotors and paint the non-active surfaces with a good temperature-resistant paint. I sometimes do that for the rotors and calipers on my daily drivers. It keeps the corrosion down.

placo1 · #7 11-07-2003, 11:02 PM

Kestas,

Thank you for posting the proper plating process. I'll definitely have to inquire about the companies procedure to determine if it's even close, I have a feeling it's not. BTW I will be using new rotors so that may help with surface prep.

Guys I'm a bit confused with your responses. My goal is to keep the area NOT abraded by the brake pads from corroding. I know for a fact that the pads will remove the nickel from the wear area, I'm not worried about that. The section of the rotor which comes in contact with my wheel is my concern, see the picture below. I assumed since Nickel is corrosion resistant that it would hold up brake dust/water/oxygen. I am concerned with the flaking issue Kestas mentions which would essentially remove the nickel plate and leave an unprotected surface.

I originally called this company asking about CAD plating and was told Nickel is far superior for corrosion resistance, I don't doubt this but if it doesn't adhere then it's useless. I wonder if it's because they didn't offer CAD Plating.

If the consensus is that CAD plating will offer superior protection on the un-worn areas then this is the direction I'll go. Your thoughts......

Here's the shot: