Do any of you apply any sort of lube/cleaner to the pistons annually? Watching Hope's video last year, iirc they applied something to the pistons with a brush. Is this stuff worth it? Does it lube the pistons or help refresh the seals? Thanks
Brake piston maintenance
- Thread starter Electric_City
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For mineral oil brakes, use a drop of the mineral oil. I have no answer for DOT brakes.
Does anyone actually do this? I've always just wiped out all the gunk from the pistons and seal with a q-tip. Having a tiny bit of oil out the outer surface of the seal might attract dirt and keep it there...making it worse than if you had just left it?
From what I read, Shimano brakes should be self-lubing.
From what I read, Shimano brakes should be self-lubing.
Yeah, they are self lubing indeed until one of them gets stuck and the other one self-lubes a bit more.Does anyone actually do this? I've always just wiped out all the gunk from the pistons and seal with a q-tip. Having a tiny bit of oil out the outer surface of the seal might attract dirt and keep it there...making it worse than if you had just left it?
From what I read, Shimano brakes should be self-lubing.
The correct answer for DOT brakes is to use a PFPAE (perfluoropolyalkylether) grease.
Both Finish Line and Dupont make a suitable product. These are quite special lubricants (pure fluorine base) and are designed for very long service life, i.e. after you do it once they should stay good for a long time. It would be good to use when changing brake seals.
It's not a bad idea to do occasionally, provided you wash off the excess after application and piston cycling (probably with water and some light detergent) to avoid dirt buildup and contamination. I would perform the washing step once again after the first ride (pads out + caliper away from rotor obviously).
Both Finish Line and Dupont make a suitable product. These are quite special lubricants (pure fluorine base) and are designed for very long service life, i.e. after you do it once they should stay good for a long time. It would be good to use when changing brake seals.
It's not a bad idea to do occasionally, provided you wash off the excess after application and piston cycling (probably with water and some light detergent) to avoid dirt buildup and contamination. I would perform the washing step once again after the first ride (pads out + caliper away from rotor obviously).
That's the key to keeping Magyar calipers happy. Clean them, add a dab of mineral oil every time you swap pads, perhaps more often if you live somewhere that's not in the midst of an epic drought.
Do you know if RS dynamic seal grease https://www.sram.com/rockshox/products/rockshox-grease will work in place of PFPAE grease?
Or Avid DOT grease might be more appropriate? https://www.sram.com/avid/products/dot-assembly-grease-brake-fluid
This 2 are more easy to buy locally than the one from Finish Line...
I bought a pot of that over the winter as one of my sets of brakes needs to have some piston attention after 5+ years. Hopefully it does the job.
Of those two I'd use the DOT grease (the PTFE grease is for NBR seals and may have other contents harmful to EPDM). A grease without the contents disclosed is a questionable grease in my book. The PFPAE is expensive for a reason, it's the best product for the application.
However the distinction will be in the longevity of the lubrication, PFPAE is designed to lubricate a long time. The Avid DOT grease could be anything but at the least you know it's safe to use - worst case it'll just need reapplication sooner.