Bottle of Isopropanol (IPA) as disc brake cleaner??

i’m sure i read somewhere of people and a couple of bike shops using Bottle of Isopropanol (IPA) as disc brake cleaner, just wanted to double check if anyone on here had before i order some online as a cheaper alternative to the cans of Muc-off spray stuff.

cheers for the replies 🙂

Yea it works well, better than the Muc Off disc cleaner IMHO (which left an oily film on my rotors)

IsA is excellent for cleaning brake discs and is probably the quickest/easiest way to get contaminates off; however hot soapy water and a rinse with boiling water is often just as effective.

You only ever need to clean your brakes if you’ve got oil/grease on them; mud and dirt will be removed by the braking process (or just rinsed with water). Bear in mind that you’ll have to bed your brake in again if you clean your rotor.

Yep, great stuff. Leaves no residue. Used for cleaning cd lenses too.

This is the one I would recommend 😉

APF

Tis what I use.

any reccomendations on places to source such a wonderful liquid?

Your local pharmacy. Or even one which is miles away. Anyway: a pharmacy.

I used to get it from my local chemist (though it helped that my mum was a pharmacist there).

I use this

Maplin sell it in spray cans or in big 1ltr tins

I bought 1L bottle of IPA from eBay, item number 140359565639 all in under £5, don’t know how much would it be from a pharmacy but I think it’s a good price for 99.9% IPA 😉 Will test it this week.

Try Ebay or somewhere like here. If you pay Maplin’s prices you may as well buy disk brake cleaner.

better than the Muc Off disc cleaner IMHO (which left an oily film on my rotors)

Probably oil that was already there getting spread around by the solvent – you still need to wipe off the dissolved crap otherwise it’ll still be there when the solvent dissolves. I suspect it’s this that’s led to the myth about brake cleaner containing oil!

Probably oil that was already there getting spread around by the solvent – you still need to wipe off the dissolved crap otherwise it’ll still be there when the solvent dissolves. I suspect it’s this that’s led to the myth about brake cleaner containing oil!

Pretty sure it says to air dry it rather than wiping off.

Edit:

Our unique formula has added conditioners that re-hydrate the disc brake pad to dramatically reduce brake squeal, prolong the disc pad life and restore braking performance. Muc-Off Disc Brake Cleaner rapidly air dries leaving no residue. It is safe on rubber, plastic, anodized metals, carbon fibre and painted surfaces.

…but you could be right anyway! I don’t care though as IPA seems to do the job with no aggro.

Pretty sure it says to air dry it rather than wiping off.

IPA has a much lower boiling point than oil. If you let it air dry, it will simply evaporate leaving the oil where it was. Fractional distillation anyone?

The only alternative would be to flood the rotor so much that the oil/ipa solution dripped off.

Use IsA like this[/url].

geoffj – Member
IPA has a much lower boiling point than oil. If you let it air dry, it will simply evaporate leaving the oil where it was. Fractional distillation anyone?

The only alternative would be to flood the rotor so much that the oil/ipa solution dripped off.

I was talking about muc off, which even if you do wipe still leaves a weird oily feeling film on the rotor which i assume is what is supposed to evaporate off

Its great stuff…
I also use it to clean sticky pistons by removing the wheel, gently squeezing the lever until the tide mark on the piston is exposed and using a cotton bud dipped in iso alcohol to clean it.
doesnt seem to affect the seals like other cleaner/degreasers

I also use it to clean sticky pistons…

Silicone lube or silicone spray are much better for this. Not only will they lift away dirt, but they’ll lubricate the pistons and keep the seals supple. The dry residue they leave behind also helps to stop dirt sticking to the caliper interior and pistons.

I just use methylated spirits cheap as chips from any Wilkos or the like and does the same 😉

What’s wrong with soapy water? It’s all I’ve ever used, and I’ve never gone straight on at a corner. What’s on your disc that you need to use something like IPA to remove it?