what do YOU do to your rotors before you put new pads on? i have oem rotors and just got srjl pads. wondering about breaking in pads too.
Not necessarily before each & every pad change, but when it's time & I want to do the full treatment, i bead blast them to get the surface uniform, then use a brake rotor hone with a hand drill. Go around the rotor with the brake hone for a minute until it looks nicely honed. Then reverse the drill & do it again. That will give it a nice non-directional finish. The second go-round in the other direction will take about half the time. You can get a brake rotor hone at an auto parts store. If they sell 2 different grits, get the finer of the 2. The grit you use doesn't make a whole lot of difference in the end result, but i find that the rotors like very much like a brand new one when you use the fine. I have used both. If you're not using something aggressive enough to get the surface uniform (bead blast) & then honed or at the very least, just honed, you're just de-greasing them.
i use simple green along with scotch brite. when i'm finished i clean with brake cleaner and a rag, then wash it down with water and dry it with a clean rag. many of my friends just use sandpaper on a sanding block- spinning the wheel (rotors still on the wheel), while keeping the block stationary. you will hear lots of people say that this way damages the rotor or that way damages the rotor, etc... and it sorta turns into something similar to an oil debate.... everyone thinks their method is better.... truth is- i haven't heard of anyone having any issues with any of the methods. the point is to get the damn material off the rotor- whatever accomplishes that is fine.
For switching to Vesrah pads you should be fine with not actually doing too much, unless your rotors are built up with gunk. ("Built up with gunk" = being a dark silver color, not a light silver color like the metal they're made of.) If they are built up, blast them. I never bothered with a hone, as I figured the pads would quickly enough take care of that, but it couldn't hurt to do it.
When you "bead blast" make sure to use aluminum oxide or all you doing is folding the metal over the deposits instead of getting them off the rotors.
Unless your rotors are scored or need to be re-surface, then all you need to do is remove any built up brake pad material. Grab a Medium Grid sanding sponge (Should cost less than $1) and take about 5 minutes a side sanding in a small circular motion. You can see the color change in the rotor from a gray/brown to a medium silver color. Then move on till the rotor surface is done. doing the inside is a pain, but not to bad, and you can do this with the rotors on or off the wheel.
If you use a sanding block with normal "sandpaper" you are just pressing silica into the rotor surface which isn't good. This is why garnet (sp?) sandpaper is recommended.
