glazing rotors?

[kumpy]

How do you glaze rotors and how do you know if they're glazed? Will you feel a significant braking power loss? I just swapped out brake pads. I was running Vesrah and they were running low, so I put new ones of the exact same pads back in. Would like to avoid glazing.

[BrianC]

The package the pads came in should say if they need a break-in period... typically 100 miles of stop and go riding, with mild to moderate braking. What would cause "glazing" would be excessive heating from heavy braking before they are broken in... some pads don't require any and some do, but yes the stopping power will suffer noticeably if they glaze over.

[RocketPunch]

The package the pads came in should say if they need a break-in period... typically 100 miles of stop and go riding, with mild to moderate braking. What would cause "glazing" would be excessive heating from heavy braking before they are broken in... some pads don't require any and some do, but yes the stopping power will suffer noticeably if they glaze over.

Just curious, any good way to salvage them or reverse the process if they were glazed?

[jasnmar]

Sandpaper. ~400 grit.

If you want to be fancy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meYDJXHZG2w

[Jim]

rotors get glazed from using different compound brake pads on the same rotors without resurfacing them in between.

to scrub them in before switching pad brands/compounds, use 60 grit sandbaper in an X motion.
doing it properly will take you about an hour per rotor, per side.
then you need to clean them off properly using brake cleaner and compressed air (around the buttons).

once they're cleaned and resurfaced, you need to break in your pads.
go 30 MPH and gradually slow down. dont come to a complete stop. repeat 5 times.
give the rotors 10 minutes to cool down, then repeat this process 2-4 more times.

i've done this with 3 sets of my rotors. it's a pain, but it's what you have to do if you're not buying new rotors.

[scubasteveRR]

^^^ Jim recommended this process when I asked the same question. It worked great for me. The only thing I did different was I used emery cloth and I think it was 80 grit instead of 60 grit regular sand paper. It was just what I had laying around.

fyi - someone else online also recommended a really high grit like 320 which I tried first and it did diddly squat.

[kumpy]

rotors get glazed from using different compound brake pads on the same rotors without resurfacing them in between.

to scrub them in before switching pad brands/compounds, use 60 grit sandbaper in an X motion.
doing it properly will take you about an hour per rotor, per side.
then you need to clean them off properly using brake cleaner and compressed air (around the buttons).

once they're cleaned and resurfaced, you need to break in your pads.
go 30 MPH and gradually slow down. dont come to a complete stop. repeat 5 times.
give the rotors 10 minutes to cool down, then repeat this process 2-4 more times.

i've done this with 3 sets of my rotors. it's a pain, but it's what you have to do if you're not buying new rotors.

What if I'm swapping out new brake pads of the exact type that was on it before? They're VESRAH K5.

[CBR929RE]

then just ride it. I think Vesrah says they don't even need to be bedded in

[Jim]

What if I'm swapping out new brake pads of the exact type that was on it before? They're VESRAH K5.

unless you're using new pads and new rotors, you wont know.
new Versah's wont help on used rotors that have gone through potentially several different pad brands and compounds.

like brett said, you could just ride it.
my suggestion....scrub the rotors up now while you're still in the off-season. it's a PITA to do during the season if you end up losing track time because your brakes arent ready.

[kumpy]

Good advice, thanks Jim.

[Jim]

if you havent resurfaced the rotors by the time your season starts, then i'd just ride it.

but i'd take this opportunity in the off-season to do stuff exactly like this.
it's a PITA, but it's real easy work.

i would sand down one side per day. on the weekend, blast them with brake cleaner and compressed air.
the most important part is to make sure all the debris is away from those buttons. you want those buttons clean and loose.

[Dip Dungles]

About to do the same thing this weekend. Can't freaking wait