Only had the car 2 weeks and already my rusty drum brakes are doing my head in. Anyone restored theirs and if so how? Been told a wire brush and some black hammerite paint should do the trick nicely.

You will probably want to treat any remaining rust with some type of rust treatment otherwise the rust will come through after a while. I'd Stick with black for the top coat otherwise you'll only draw attention to the drums.

Welcome to the forum.

 

At this time of year rusty drums are nothing new and your drums aren't too bad. Assuming you're mechanically minded, then follow this guide. 

The drums themselves. Then personally I'd use a rotary wire head on a drill attachment. Use eye protection. Once the worst of the rust has come off, use Krust or Jenolite to treat, then wipe down with methylated spirit or Halfords pre-paint wipes.

 

Use a zinc primer or chemical etch paint, ensuring its not too cold to paint. Once you've put a couple of coats of that on, use a high temperature black paint. Most of these are Matt black, easy to apply and dry quickly.

The factory finish is poor, just looks like grey primer.

 

I had my car from new so didn't wait for them to get rusty. I used silver brake caliper paint. Thinking initially I might do them in-situ I bought a brush on kit. However I actually removed them so spray would have given a better finish. Having said that the only time they are seen close up is when washing the car. The key point is they look decent from a distance. I have recoated them twice. Now there will be ridge from both wear and rust so without disturbing the adjustment future recoats might have to be in-situ.

^^^ They really need to come off again sometime, for cleaning / servicing and readjustment, function / braking being more important than stylee paint finishes on the outside of a brake drum..

That's a job I'm intending to do this summer now Ive managed to get the drums off (rusted on). With that in mind i would suggest making sure that no paint gets between the hub/drum mating surface otherwise you may never get them off again without a lot of heat.

 

Phil 

On 04/03/2017 at 21:31, Awayoffski said:

^^^ They really need to come off again sometime, for cleaning / servicing and readjustment, function / braking being more important than stylee paint finishes on the outside of a brake drum..

 

Indeed but that is for the garage to do and due at the next service.

 

So far I could get the drum off to paint by simply ensuring the car was chocked, removing the wheel then the screw securing the drum so not disturbing the adjustment. The ideal time to paint again will be after the service when clean from brake dust. However if they will not come off due to the rust / wear ridge the repainting will have to be in-situ.