Anyone paint their drums?

[In The Ten Ring]

My parking brake on my 2002 Honda Accord stuck the other day....even backing up didn't free it! So it was "hammer time" with the ball peen and that freed it up to drive over to my parents' house.

Today dad and I removed the drum from the hub and cleaned things up with brake cleaner and I began chipping rust from the drum.

Tomorrow I want to use a wire wheel on the drum and paint the outside with Eastwood Chassis Paint (or whatever it's called).

Anyone else do that?

[mongocanfly]

I've painted drums before. ..especially if they're visible thru the wheel

[special-K]

I paint the drums on the vehicles I give special attention to. Watch getting paint on the hub to drum surface. That little layer of paint can stick a drum on

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by special-K

I paint the drums on the vehicles I give special attention to. Watch getting paint on the hub to drum surface. That little layer of paint can stick a drum on

Oh? No paint on hub then? Would it stick if the paint dried before putting the drum back on?

[special-K]

At the part of the hub the center hole the wheel fits on, if there is a layer of paint it will make it a tighter fit. So tight you can have a hard time getting the wheel off. I think it's just building up the material that does it, but paint drying after wheel is installed wouldn't help.

[In The Ten Ring]

Thanks----that's why I asked here first!

I cleaned off the drum today with wire wheel on angle grinder. It looks really good now! I used fine sandpaper on the area where the shoes touch but there is a rough spot, I assume where the parking brake was stuck. I cleaned out the two "puller holes" and their threads with a 7.62 mm bore brush and now those holes will accept bolts. I'm going to paint the drum tomorrow if it's not as windy as it was today.

I'll leave the inside bare, no paint there, and same on the hub.

[Steeveedee]

If you really want to get the rust off a drum, you can dunk it in Evapo-Rust. Or just use diluted molasses, it works just as well. Just degrease it first. Takes a lot of rinsing, but it will be rust-free. No more stinking cloud of dust from the wire wheel!

[In The Ten Ring]

Oh that's true, Evaporust would do it and I've used the soak many times on truck parts. The rust cloud wasn't that bad, I did it outside with safety glasses and face mask.

I've decided not to paint the hub or inside of drum although it's apparently possible with high temp. engine paint, according to a mechanics' discussion forum I lurked around on tonight. *Same question discussed there.

I've decided against since I'll end up cleaning off the brakes and inside of drum with brake cleaner again in two years......I've decided to add this sort of brake/drum cleaning to my regular maintenance schedule but I will paint the outside of the drums.

I shouldn't need high temp engine paint for drum outside should I? I was going to use Eastwood chassis paint and primer.

[special-K]

I've used whatever gloss black I have had handy on drums and it all holds up fine. Not sure why they say use high heat paint on hub. The hub should never get hot when properly lubricated with healthy bearings. The drum will get warmer than a hub ever should. Drum = friction/hub = greased bearings

[68panelman]

Rear drum and shoe kits are under $60, I wouldn't waste my time cleaning up old drums and breathing in that brake dust. Start fresh and clean, Brakekleen the manufacturer oil coating, paint and go..

[KShortell]

I've used a black epoxy chassis paint with success before. Go for it!

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by 68panelman

Rear drum and shoe kits are under $60, I wouldn't waste my time cleaning up old drums and breathing in that brake dust. Start fresh and clean, Brakekleen the manufacturer oil coating, paint and go..

Brake dust is good for you! A thorough coating should make the lungs more resistant to abrasives. LOL

I wore a mask, safety glasses, and ear plugs. No reason for the ringing to get worse.

Often I try to copy my dad, who is a master at getting "the life" out of things. I guess growing up poor then becoming a welder/mechanic in a coal mine, you learn to "make it work." He's kind of extreme though in my opinion. I want to get a few more years out of these drums then replace.

Well I now have my drums painted but I didn't paint the hub or inside of the drums.

[68panelman]

Oh I know, when I was younger I was one of those dummies who took a compressed air blow nozzle to the backing plates,... Wait.. I still do that,..but now I hold my breath, then walk away,..that doesn't count right?

Believe me I know how money gets thrown at vehicles, I always try to get the most life out of all parts. Between myself, my wife, and my newly driving daughter, plus two classic trucks, I feel like I'm constantly doing oil changes and brake work.
Keep up the good work Ten ring, and shoot still no pics... Haha, I just had to

[indymachinist]

My experience with Hondas is generally if the parking brake sticks its because the cable is rusty inside the jacket and binding up.

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by indymachinist

My experience with Hondas is generally if the parking brake sticks its because the cable is rusty inside the jacket and binding up.

That's scary....but after a few blows to the passenger side drum with a ball peen hammer, the parking brake freed itself. It was stuck on that side only. Hopefully that's all it was. I hit the spring end of both parking brakes with a health dose of WD 40 during the work.

68panelman, a few days ago I would have agreed with you on "buying new drums" but after I chipped off the rust with a slag hammer, then wire wheeled them, they looked really good! Dad said they'd last a long time yet.

Dad and I got the driver side brake shoes on today with ease, certainly compared to the utter hell we went through yesterday with the passenger side. I guess garages have special tools for this sort of job. We ended up using a massive "C" clamp to hold the two shoes in place while we manhandled everything else. Dad was shocked to learn his "one-time skinny runt of a son" is now stronger than he is. I was a little shocked too.

I took a wire wheel to the alloy wheels, to the area that mates up to the drum.

The painted drums LOOK GREAT.

I'll drive the car tomorrow to test her out. Next week we'll have a go at putting on the new rotors, shoes, and backing plates. Later this summer, I'll try to hire a body shop to weld in/panel bond in my new-to-me quarter panel.