As part of cleaning off the old wax and underseal on my rear cage, I'm spraying a fair bit of white spirit in the general area. The brake calipers and pipes also have wax over them so I'm trying to clean that slso. Will the white spirit soak into the brake pads and ruin them or will I be ok?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Paul

 

Should be OK, as White Spirits evaporates quite quickly.

Then think of all the road gunk they must contend with, I doubt they will complain.

A quick squirt of water will do no harm, just in case. A simple pistol grip sprayer with water will suffice.

 

Hi Paul

Personally I wouldn't use White Spirit as it may soak into the Pads and not come out

What I have used instead is Wynns Brake Cleaner, which almost instantly evaporates and is a lot cheaper than a New set of Brake Pads

 

Personally, i NEVER EVER ever ever use contaminated brake pads/shoes, i am not a chemist and have no clue as to what chemicals pads/shoes may or may not be resistant to. What i have seen is the end result of shoes that have de- laminated and have felt breaking with oil on pads or rather the lack off at the worst time. l wouldnt like to think about the fallout of being in a accident in a vehicle that was found to have contaminated brake pads..................................and then for it to be found out it was me that contaminated them.

Dont **** around with brakes.

 

I suggest you remove the pads first Peter. Then you can have a good look at them and then you can have a good think and then you can buy a lovely new set. 40 quid well spent and no worries.

 

"White spirits" is a little vague

In the USA we'd say "Solvent" or "Mineral Spirits"....but these are also vague. "Stoddard Solvent" gets a bit more specific


Anyhow......

There are lots of different formulations that fall under these rather generic names. Since I struggled with chemistry in high school I'm always at a loss.

The standard I use regarding solvents (or any other liquids) and brake pads/shoes is "After drying, does it leave a stain?" . If there's no stain my assumption is that there's no residue left behind and therefore, no worries. I'm not saying I'm correct. I'm just saying that's the standard I go by. Nothing bad has ever happened...so far.

Cheers
DD