Best way to get rid...
 

[Closed] Best way to get rid of GT85 from disc rotors?

32 Posts
29 Users
0 Reactions
125 Views
Offline  IHN
Full Member
Topic starter
 
Share this post

MrsIHN took her bike out for a ride in the week, and after me telling her off on the past for just chucking it on the garage covered in crap, duly gave it a quick wash when she got back. So far, so good. However, she just informed me that, not only did she give it a wash, she "used that spray on the metal bits".

"You mean the GT85, the stuff in the red can?" says I

"Yep", says she

"When you say metal bits, did you do the brake discs as well?"

"Yes", she replies, proudly.

Smashing. What's the best way to get it off?

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:34 pm
Offline  gallowayboy
Full Member
 
Share this post

Wipe with Isopropyl alcohol then dishwasher seems to work for getting rid of leaked brake oil, so should also work with GT85.....
Edit - aye don't forget the pads

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:37 pm
Offline  thols2
Full Member
 
Share this post

Remove wheel. Wipe rotor with rag soaked in cleaning alcohol or petrol. Then wipe it with a clean damp rag with dishwashing liquid. Then pour boiling water over it.

Remove pads. Scrub with dishwashing liquid and then pour boiling water over them.

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:39 pm
Offline  tabletop2
Free Member
 
Share this post

if you have a dishwasher thats the easiest solution

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:40 pm
Offline  sparkyrhino
Full Member
 
Share this post

Lots of rubbing alcohol type stuff and her best blouse

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:40 pm

Remove ads

Offline  Northwind
Full Member
 
Share this post

Get 'em clean enough to work then go for a ride, nothing better than heat.

You can save the pads but unless they're really posh ones it's not usually worth the hassle. Again lots of isopropyl, then resurface them with some very course wet and dry on a perfectly flat surface- 80 is ideal, 120 or even 240 works.

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:46 pm
Offline  IHN
Full Member
Topic starter
 
Share this post

if you have a dishwasher thats the easiest solution

I do. Can I just stick the pads and the discs in?

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:46 pm
Offline  NorthCountryBoy
Free Member
 
Share this post

+1 for for the dishwasher, they come out gleaming! Iv never tried with pads but I dont see why not, its only water and a cleaning solution, not a lot of difference between that a wet ride and a wash

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 2:51 pm
Offline  sharkattack
Full Member
 
Share this post

I'd be tempted to bin the pads but when I was young and penniless I used to put them in a pan of boiling water for a while. When you turn off the heat you can see all the oily scum that was removed on the surface of the water.

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 3:01 pm
Offline  allanoleary
Free Member
 
Share this post

Spray the pads with disc break cleaner and then burn for a few seconds. Seems to work for me. As for the discs I'd go with dishwasher too if I had one. As I don't it's disc break cleaner and wire wool

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 3:20 pm

Remove ads

Offline  goby
Full Member
 
Share this post

Yep I second the dishwasher route for disc and pads. Worked well for me and done it while wife was out lol

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 3:29 pm
Offline  b33k34
Full Member
 
Share this post

Remove pads. Scrub with dishwashing liquid and then pour boiling water over them.

Does it actually work? I've stopped trying to rescue contaminated pads years ago as nothing seems to make any difference. most recently soaked in alcohol and sanded the surface but no diffent

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 3:35 pm
Full Member
 
Share this post

For those without a poshwasher, I buy the tabs and clean loads of bike parts in a bucket with d/washer tab and very hot water, followed by a good rinse.

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 3:37 pm
Offline  tjagain
Full Member
 
Share this post

sometimes you can rescue pads, sometimes not. If its just a bit on the surface then its possible, If they are soaked its not. I burn pads to rescue them

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 3:37 pm
Offline  thols2
Full Member
 
Share this post

I’d be tempted to bin the pads

In this case, they've been sprayed, but the spray may not have really reached the surface of the pads. I would try cleaning them and sanding the surface and seeing if they are ok.

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 4:28 pm

Remove ads

Offline  iffoverload
Free Member
 
Share this post

detergents and hot water may encourage any oil on the surfaxe of the pads to be absorbed deeper, I'd sand them down as a first option, but order a new set if you don't have spares handy.

The only way I have found to rescue contaminated pads involved burning the crap out of them till they stop smoking, but the friction material sometimes came away from the metal backing shortly after so I don't really trust that method ( I might have overdone it!)

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 6:19 pm
Offline  thestabiliser
Free Member
 
Share this post

Burn the wife and claim her bike

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 8:22 pm
Offline  thestabiliser
Free Member
 
Share this post

Then give yourself a scrub in dishwasher

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 8:23 pm
Offline  gkeeffe
Full Member
 
Share this post

Blowtorch the pads is the best to decontaminate I think.

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 8:28 pm
Offline  feed
Full Member
 
Share this post

Blowtorch the pads is the best to decontaminate I think.

For pads
(i) Scrub with nailbrush and washing up liguid
(ii) Naked gas flame until black smoke stops coming off ( I use and old camping gas cooker)

For rotors
(i) scrub with nail brush and washing up liquid

Has never failed, though once the braking surface separated from the metal backing, thankfully just before I set out for a spin 🙂

Dishwasher sounds like a good idea for rotors, maybe for pads too

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 9:58 pm

Remove ads

Offline  kaiser
Free Member
 
Share this post

I blowtorched some pads and the next ride the friction material came away from the backing plate

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 10:40 pm
Offline  Harry_the_Spider
Full Member
 
Share this post

Washing up liquid on the rotor.

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 10:57 pm
Full Member
 
Share this post

Lots of rubbing alcohol type stuff and her best blouse

What if it doesn't fit him?

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 11:21 pm
Offline  rOcKeTdOg
Full Member
 
Share this post

bin the pads, clean rotor and caliper with disc brake cleaner, make sure there's no gt85 on the pistons (squeeze them out a little to clean then reset with new pads)

 
Posted : 24/01/2021 11:25 pm
Offline  jca
Full Member
 
Share this post

It's just like bedding in new pads...

Descend a mahoosive hill, generating heat in the pads as you go....

If you survive, repeat until the brakes evenetually start to bite again

 
Posted : 25/01/2021 1:06 am

Remove ads

Offline  Kahurangi
Full Member
 
Share this post

Just bin the pads, not worth it.

Rotors off and scrub with washing up liquid and hot water. Then some brake cleaner if you have any, IPA etc.

Glad you're not mad at the wife, we all have to learn somehow. For some it is obvious, some need to be taught in an appropriate way.

 
Posted : 25/01/2021 10:01 am
Offline  continuity
Free Member
 
Share this post

Wife in dishwasher, blowtorch the bike, sandpaper yourself?

 
Posted : 25/01/2021 12:00 pm
Offline  johnx2
Free Member
 
Share this post

Saves wear on pads...

I'm sure I must've sprayed mine a whole bunch of times, admittedly not very determinedly, but still. My solution has been to brake a couple of times riding away from the house. Er, that's it. Should I be dead or something?

 
Posted : 25/01/2021 12:43 pm
Online  zerocool
Full Member
 
Share this post

Buy new pads. The cost next to nothing

 
Posted : 25/01/2021 10:33 pm
Offline  militantmandy
Free Member
 
Share this post

It's pretty obvious when your pads are proper contaminated. I think you'd notice pretty quick.

I have saved a few sets of pads with the blowtorch method.

 
Posted : 26/01/2021 9:46 am

Remove ads

Offline  nwmlarge
Free Member
 
Share this post

I would 100% recommend a blow torch to clean the pads and discs, best to do this off the bike.

 
Posted : 26/01/2021 10:40 am
Offline  deltacharlie72
Free Member
 
Share this post

For future reference, (I'm sure I'll manage to foul up a pair of pads at some point!) could a heat gun (at approx. 600*c) be substituted for a blowtorch, to burn off the contaminating oil?

 
Posted : 26/01/2021 11:33 am
Offline  thols2
Full Member
 
Share this post

I've used a blowtorch to clean pads, but I always try alcohol or hot soapy water first, followed by sanding the surface of the pad. Often the oil hasn't soaked into the pad and it just needs cleaning off the surface. You can always try a blowtorch later if that doesn't work.

The worry with using a blowtorch is that the friction material might become unbonded from the backing plate. I always fit pads that I've given the blowtorch treatment to the back brakes and give them a good workout just in case.

 
Posted : 26/01/2021 11:52 am