A recent trip to swinley led me to realise my rear hub bearings needed some attention and also my brakes needed a bleed.

So I bled my brakes – all over the place!
Yep I got some of the dredded mineral oil on my disc, although I think the pads managed to avoid it!

Cleaned up disc and pads with Muc off brake cleaner, took the bike out side for a test and OMG..

I brakes sound like a 1000 whales calling!

Looking at the state of this disc, would STW say is knackered?

There’s fluid on the pads.
Clean the discs up with some isopropyl alcohol.
Kill the pads with fire (get em hot,then sand the surface emory cloth/wetndry)
Oooshness

^^ this

Pads in flame of gas hob for a while. Stick back on bike, ride around dragging the brakes, they’ll get hot, then they’ll work.

I’ve cleaned the disc up..
Went over it with 600 grit wet n dry, then rotated the disc in some acid etch I use for anodising…followed by a dip in some brightener that takes off any surface crap.

I did clean the pads up by spraying with brake cleaner and setting fire to them..followed by sanding them..
Will need to do them again..

Brake cleaner, car or MTB?
Car brake cleaner has oil in it.

Much off mtb brake cleaner, as per 1st post.

Speshpaul – Member
Brake cleaner, car or MTB?
Car brake cleaner has oil in it.

Because car brakes are obviously impervious to the lubricating effects of oil… 🙄

Well oiled brakes = faster round corners

brake cleaner with oil in it … really ???

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/car-disc-brake-cleaner-a-definitive-answer

Goldigger, please don’t ever, ever burn off brake cleaner:

Burning brake cleaner = phosgene gas

It’s seriously and properly dangerous.

Thanks for the warning..
Lucky I did it outside in the garden..

Muc Off brake cleaner seems to do far more harm than good to me. You can use car clutch cleaner, or electrical contact cleaner from Maplin.

Or IPA, they sell that too.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/car-disc-brake-cleaner-a-definitive-answer

some people there questioning why anyone would need to clean car brakes. odd.

That phosgene gas thing is scary but it seems to be down to 1-1-1 trichloroethane and I am pretty sure that won’t be anything modern as it’s nasty for people and the environment. I used to have some RC car motor cleaner that used 1-1-2 version and it was fantastic at it’s job but nasty. Remember Dad mentioning it being heavily used by the USAF and causing problems with people inhaling it. I try to avoid any chlorinated solvents.

Personally I stick with acetone or IPA. IPA is my first choice as it’s a lot safer on plastics and for people. Acetone splashes will melt a lot of plastics and can damage a lot of seal materials.

I do buy 5L containers of brake fluid for the car as it’s a lot cheaper but only use it for the car and stick to nicer things in the house. I did buy a tin of proper bike brake cleaner and that pretty good stuff but I prefer to use liquid on a cloth most of the time instead of spraying solvents.

I put the pads on the hob and let them smoke until they didn’t smoke anymore. Sanded them and then cleaned them with copious amounts of muc off brake cleaner.
Initially they made no noise and were fooking ace!
Made my front brake look a bit naff in comparison, looking up the rear with little lever squeeze..but not over the top.

After an hour of riding, they started making some noise under medium application.. Bit harder and there quiet..
Guess they need another cooking and cleaning?

I’d just ride around the block dragging your brakes. Get them really hot.

Put the pads in the dishwasher, there’s nothing hotter or more caustic.

Spray a shed load of wd40 on them. Job done.

If you leave the pads on the hob for long enough you can turn them from Black to Bling..

Don’t mess around, new disc and new pads. And be more careful next time.

globalti – Member
Put the pads in the dishwasher, there’s nothing hotter or more caustic.

Not met my wife then. .