Cleaning disc brakes?

Hi,

My rear Hope XC4 is lacking in power, a friend who works in a bike shop did a little trick, cleaning
the pads by burning them under a naked flame, it took all the oil off them and they worked much
better straight away.

He also mentioned that I should try not to use soap on them as it can damage the pads, so
what do I use?

Any advice for cleaning the disc and / or pads would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Daz

On Mon, 8 Dec 2003 19:01:26 -0000, "Daz N" <(REMOVE-NOSPAM)darren@clara.co.uk> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>My rear Hope XC4 is lacking in power, a friend who works in a bike shop did a little trick,
>cleaning the pads by burning them under a naked flame, it took all the oil off them and they worked
>much better straight away.
>
>He also mentioned that I should try not to use soap on them as it can damage the pads, so what
>do I use?
>
>Any advice for cleaning the disc and / or pads would be much appreciated!

Strange as it may sound a good 48 hour soaking in marine grease will completely recondition
your rotors.

You need to find WATERPROOF marine Grease that complies with the ASTM 4657-97-004 spec. Thios
grease contains suspended molybnium which is a key part of the reconditioning proccess. Normal
marine grease contains only trace amounts of molybnium and requires much longer immersion times of
up to 5 days.

Start with a plastic bin, bucket, etc. that has been cleaned completely. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT
ANY TRACES OF MOISTURE BE REMOVED BEFORE ADDING THE GREASE! The best way to do this is to clean the
bucket/tub/bin/etc. thoroughly and then put it into a dishwasher for just the drying cycle or into a
clothes drier with some larger, clean towels (no Bounce or other fabric softeners to be used).

Add the grease to the sterile bucket, add disc and cover. Make sure that the temps are above 50
degrees farenheit for the entire time.

As the rotor is bathed in the marine grease the molybnium will migrate to the open pores of the
rotor (microscopic) that have a tendency to trap and hold mud and grime and that are the leading
cause of brake problems. Keep the temps up or this important transfer won't occur.

After the 48 hours is up uncover the bucket, extract the rotor and then it's important that you fix
the molybnium into the pores. Gently wipe the rotor down with a soft cloth and place the rotor onto
a cooking sheet.

Bake for at least 6 hours at 450 degrees farenheit so that the molybnium will bond to the pores.

Voila! A new rotor!

pete fagerlin

::Revolutionary! Evolutionary! Yet so retro! :www.yestubes.com

Daz N wrote:
> He also mentioned that I should try not to use soap on them as it can damage the pads, so what
> do I use?
>

Fire - you can get small gas burners the size of spray cans if you don't have access to a gas stove.

Kind regards

Bruno

--
To mail me write to iddqdATworldonline.dk (U know what 2 do)

Der skulle være flere af dem her i trafikken - http://www.westocykler.dk

I have had good luck just wiping the rotor and/or pads with a clean shop rag that I put some rubbing alcohol on (key part there is a "clean" rag). Many (most?) brands suggest rubbing alcohol for cleaning the rotor and pads. I've heard of folks doing what your friend did, but I have never been on a bike that had that trick done to it. After you clean your bike you can quickly just rub (pardon the pun) the appropriate bits with rubbing alcohol and be done with it (hopefully). Good luck.

K.

__________________
Don't give up, don't ever give up.


Disciples Of Dirt

RE/
>Strange as it may sound a good 48 hour soaking in marine grease will completely recondition
>your rotors.

>...clean the bucket/tub/bin/etc. thoroughly and then put it into a dishwasher for just the drying
>cycle or into a clothes drier with some larger, clean towels (no Bounce or other fabric softeners
>to be used).

>Bake for at least 6 hours at 450 degrees farenheit so that the molybnium will bond to the pores.

Somebody tell me whether Pete's yanking my chain. Show a little mercey, though...because I just
*might* try it.
--
PeteCresswell

"(Pete Cresswell)" <x@y.z> wrote in message news:qn4atvsjfmmnb5th88urml6h10mo0817jj@4ax.com...
> RE/
> >Strange as it may sound a good 48 hour soaking in marine grease will completely recondition your
> >rotors.
>
> >...clean the bucket/tub/bin/etc. thoroughly and then put it into a dishwasher for just the drying
> >cycle or into a clothes drier with some larger, clean towels (no Bounce or other fabric softeners
> >to be used).
>
> >Bake for at least 6 hours at 450 degrees farenheit so that the molybnium will bond to the pores.
>
> Somebody tell me whether Pete's yanking my chain. Show a little mercey, though...because I just
> *might* try it.

I would have believed it too, except for one thing. I probably could be convinced that a rotor would
need reconditioning. I could believe that the 6 hours baking would 'burn' the grease off the rotors.
I could even believe that Bounce would contaminate the rotor surface. But I couldn't believe that
extra fluffy towels should be used.
--
Westie (Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

"P e t e F a g e r l i n" <pete@petefagerlin.com> wrote in message
news7q9tvsudlc0fbci45t0pr3bj8l3bd47f0@4ax.com...
>
>
> Start with a plastic bin, bucket, etc. that has been cleaned completely. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT
> THAT ANY TRACES OF MOISTURE BE REMOVED BEFORE ADDING THE GREASE! The best way to do this is to
> clean the bucket/tub/bin/etc. thoroughly and then put it into a dishwasher for just the drying
> cycle or into a clothes drier with some larger, clean towels (no Bounce or other fabric
> softeners to be used).
>
> Add the grease to the sterile bucket, add disc and cover. Make sure that the temps are above 50
> degrees farenheit for the entire time.
>
> As the rotor is bathed in the marine grease the molybnium will migrate to the open pores of the
> rotor (microscopic) that have a tendency to trap and hold mud and grime and that are the leading
> cause of brake problems. Keep the temps up or this important transfer won't occur.
>
> After the 48 hours is up uncover the bucket, extract the rotor and then it's important that you
> fix the molybnium into the pores. Gently wipe the rotor down with a soft cloth and place the rotor
> onto a cooking sheet.
>
> Bake for at least 6 hours at 450 degrees farenheit so that the molybnium will bond to the pores.
>

Good lord. This has to be the single greatest argument for rim brakes I've ever heard...

Jeez. Next thing, I'll be pimping single speed. Ugh.

Chris

In article <qn4atvsjfmmnb5th88urml6h10mo0817jj@4ax.com>, x@y.z says...
> RE/
> >Strange as it may sound a good 48 hour soaking in marine grease will completely recondition your
> >rotors.
>
> >...clean the bucket/tub/bin/etc. thoroughly and then put it into a dishwasher for just the drying
> >cycle or into a clothes drier with some larger, clean towels (no Bounce or other fabric softeners
> >to be used).
>
> >Bake for at least 6 hours at 450 degrees farenheit so that the molybnium will bond to the pores.
>
> Somebody tell me whether Pete's yanking my chain. Show a little mercey, though...because I just
> *might* try it.
>

Shhh, he might not know that he is.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia http://www.ramsays-online.com

(Pete Cresswell) said...

> Somebody tell me whether Pete's yanking my chain. Show a little mercey, though...because I just
> *might* try it.

Nah, he's not yanking it, he's dragging you behind his car with it.