There I wash. After having driven my new-to-me Porsche Cayman 1,000 miles home from the dealer, it was filthy. I mean really dirty. No problem. I broke out the soap and bucket and gave it a bath. Problem solved. Every inch was scrubbed and detailed.

The next morning I came out, opened the garage, and what do I find? The rotors were rusting. What? My beauty. Rust? No. Clean white body. And rust behind on the rotors, poking out in between the spokes of the shinny wheels. Having owned numerous 914s over the years, and with a 912 currently under “rustoration,” there are few four letter words that bring more horror to my soul than – rust.

What to do?

Some owners simply don’t worry about the rust on rotors. It will come off the first time you drive the car, they say. However, when it does come off the “rust dust” will dirty the inside of your wheels. And nobody likes that. It is true that this can be avoided by applying a thin layer of wax to the inside of the wheels. But, that is a lot of work. Is there an easier solution?

There are a number of tricks to prevent the rotors from rusting after you wash the car. My solution is to drive the car around the block after I wash it. If you get the rotors warm, it will get rid of any water and prevent them from rusting.

You can also use a leaf blower to get rid of any water on the rotors. Blow dry them, then wipe each one down with a towel if you can get to them. No water. No rust. Just be careful not to blow dirt on the car.

If you are looking for a more sophisticated approach to avoiding rusty rotors you can use Rustopper, made by Hydes. Just spray it on the rotors and it prevents them from rusting. It seems to work well, and a lot of concours competitors seem to use this approach.

No matter what your method, keep in mind that a little rust on the rotors won’t hurt anything. Even though nobody likes to think about a part on their car rusting, it will come right off the first time you drive the car and tap the brakes.

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