Cleaning disc brake rotors.

[foxychick]

Can you use citrus degreaser to clean disc brake rotors?

[Brucey]

yes, but it will only be fully effective if it is used in a fairly concentrated form, and it is corrosive; any residue around the mountings will cause them to corrode and seize up. It is pretty nasty stuff.

cheers

[mattsccm]

So what else is out there that might be kicking around the house? I refuse to pay daft prices for a tiny bottle of something that has a posh label on it if something more mundane will do.
Contact cleaner seems ok as does petrol but is there anything else?

[Brucey]

jif and a nailbrush, rinse well after, ideally with warm water. It cuts right through any grease that might be there, and any residues don't seem to cause undue corrosion provided there is enough rinsing.

[edit; BTW you are (in contrast to citrus degreaser) unlikely not to rinse enough; if you do there will be obvious white deposits from the Jif.]

cheers

[reohn2]

Aerosol brake cleaner from a car shop is good for both rotors and pads.
Nail polish remover or acetone is good for cleaning rotors.
They all tend to evaporate PDQ leaving no residue

[Airsporter1st]

Aerosol brake cleaner from a car shop is good for both rotors and pads.
Nail polish remover or acetone is good for cleaning rotors.
They all tend to evaporate PDQ leaving no residue

Just a note of caution - many nail polish removers contain acetone but are not pure acetone. Many have oils in them to 'nourish the nail' and you wouldn't want those oils to contaminate discs or pads.

To be on the safe side, I'd go with your first recommendation - i.e. a dedicated brake cleaner, which is not very expensive (£5.50 ~ £7.00 in Halfords) and can be used for all kinds of other cleaning/degreasing jobs.

[reohn2]

Aerosol brake cleaner from a car shop is good for both rotors and pads.
Nail polish remover or acetone is good for cleaning rotors.
They all tend to evaporate PDQ leaving no residue

Just a note of caution - many nail polish removers contain acetone but are not pure acetone. Many have oils in them to 'nourish the nail' and you wouldn't want those oils to contaminate discs or pads.

To be on the safe side, I'd go with your first recommendation - i.e. a dedicated brake cleaner, which is not very expensive (£5.50 ~ £7.00 in Halfords) and can be used for all kinds of other cleaning/degreasing jobs.

You're probably right about the nail polish remover.
I've only used acetone and aerosol brake cleaner both of which I use little of,the aerosol brake cleaner I have has lasted about three years and there's still plenty left in the can

[freeflow]

Why are you cleaning the rotors? Is it to remove contaminating lubricants?. If not then just wash off any grime with clean water (water only).

If you are removing contaminants then isopropyl alcohol (£20 for 5 litres) and a grease free cloth (J cloth).

After cleaning, especially with isopropyl alcohol, you will need to follow the manufacturers instructions for bedding in the brakes.

[mattsccm]

Discs are frequently cleaned here. Contamination is too easy. Forget to wash your hands after using the" wd40", over spray etc of same. Plenty of things. 5 bikes with discs means there is always time for one to be played with plus the other 7 and projects. Grease doesn't come off without some product of the petrochemical industry. Can't find Isopro at sensible prices round here sadly. It would have many uses.

[Brucey]

Discs are frequently cleaned here. Contamination is too easy. Forget to wash your hands after using the" wd40", over spray etc of same. Plenty of things. 5 bikes with discs means there is always time for one to be played with plus the other 7 and projects. Grease doesn't come off without some product of the petrochemical industry. Can't find Isopro at sensible prices round here sadly. It would have many uses.

Have you tried using Jif (or similar)? [BTW Jif is now known as Cif I think]

Not a product of the petrochemical industry....

cheers

[gxaustin]

I'm told that the cheapest brake disc spray cleaner is from Screwfix

[PH]

jif and a nailbrush, rinse well after, ideally with warm water. It cuts right through any grease that might be there, and any residues don't seem to cause undue corrosion provided there is enough rinsing.

[edit; BTW you are (in contrast to citrus degreaser) unlikely not to rinse enough; if you do there will be obvious white deposits from the Jif.]

cheers

Good for the pads as well? Apologies if it's a daft question, I'm new to this disk brake malarkey.

[Brucey]

Good for the pads as well? Apologies if it's a daft question, I'm new to this disk brake malarkey.

won't do any real harm, but won't do that much good either. If the pads are contaminated with oil then nothing much will save them (*) but if the pad faces alone are slightly glazed then a little abrasion with wet and dry will improve matters in most cases. Look out for minimum allowable pad thickness; it varies from brake to brake, and doesn't allow as much wear as you might hope in most cases.

(*) one thing that some folk say sometimes works is to saturate the pad with solvent, and then to set light to it. The oil is wicked up through the pad more easily (because of the heat) and maybe you can get most of the oil out this way. Probably this will work better with sintered pads than others.

cheers

[freeflow]

Just don't use spray lubricants on a disk brakes bike and no touching the disk with fingers.

And remember, when disks are bedded in it means the disks are coated with disk brake material, which is needed for the brakes to work well. Cleaning this material off the disk is not recommended unless the disk is contaminated.

[Brucey]

disc brake pads on cars used to leave a film of pad material on the disc, and disc wear rates could be very low. However today this no longer occurs; pad compounds are abrasive and are constantly wearing the discs. Bicycle disc brakes are mostly like this too, it seems. If so, the idea that you are cleaning off something that is better left on the disc therefore doesn't apply .

cheers