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WD-40 on the brakes

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kuksul08

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
:madman:

I was spraying WD-40 on my chain (I know it's the wrong stuff to use, I had nothing else), and it got all over the rear brake rotor.

I didnt notice, and it got into the pads I guess, so now the back brake barely works.

I used 3M adhesive cleaner (cleans all grease, oil, etc) on the rotors, and took off the pads. I soaked them in it, then sanded them and they still suck.

Any suggestions?
 
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#9 ·
Take the roater of and put it in the dish washer. Then take the pads and put them in a mesh bag and put that in there as well. Cleans everything up very nicly, I do this once in a while on my brakes if they are really bad like that.
 
#12 ·
He said pads... not rotor. And yes... it's spelled R-O-T-O-R.

And no, dishwasher does not always work, nor does torching/baking, nor sanding. And not any of those methods can completely restore a pad to it's previous state.

Taking everything off and sticking it in a dishwasher is hardly necessary. Alcohol works fine.
 
#13 ·
I did the same thing a week ago to my brand new hayes strokers :rolleyes:
I know people have already said use sandpaper but I took the pads out, put rubbing alcohol (use the strongest % you can get) on a sheet of medium-fine grit sandpaper and rubbed them on a level surface. It takes the surface off the pad and basically returns them to their original state. As your doing this, wipe the pads off periodically to get rid of the oil/alcohol. I put them back on and they still were messed up for a few stops then they suddenly worked perfectly again. you'll have to re-break them in. Remember to clean the rotor with alcohol until there is nothing coming off them.

Good luck

ps. only use alcohol as its one of the only things that wont leave any residue. that adhesive cleaner you used probably left something behind
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
Just a little update, I just kept riding the bike and the heat of using the rear brake, plus the dust from riding made the brake work like before again.

My friend suggested a dry lubricant for my chain, some kind of teflon maybe?
 
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#18 ·
Yeah, WD-40 is NOT a lube...I think somehow our fathers started thinking it was a lube, and it has gotten into the uninformed public consiousness that it works as a great lube.

Your lube depends on your riding conditions/area. I prefer dry teflon lubes, but if it is wet or muddy, a wet lube might be better.

Glad your pad wore back in...you know not to use WD-40 as well, so win-win :)

Tim
 
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