Schoolboy Error!

steelo

Okay i'm ready for the banter!

In my eagerness to ensure everything that moves gets a coating of WD40, I have inadvertantly given my brakes a good dousing of the stuff... therefore my wonderful Juicy 3's are about as useful as a snake in an a**-kicking competition.

How do I make my brakes work again?

maximus44

take the rotors out wash in meths
burn the pads with a blowtorch or over a hub, then lightly sand the surface

Dmr goes here

crianza34

new pads and clean the rotors with some muc off discbrake cleaner

Mythic

if you do use meths make sure to wash it off very well

centralmtb.myfastforum.org

Big Red S

For future reference, the only time you want WD40 anywhere near your bike is when there's a specific bit of it that's not moving.

If you want to keep things moving, they want oiling with the appropriate oil. WD40 dissolves most oils and greases, so is nearly always counter-productive, unless you're about to regrease it.

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Red Lemon

I've accidentally WD40ed my brakes before and it's entirely possible to get the brakes going again. Find a safe, open space where you won't need to stop quickly, ride up to high speed and then put the brakes on hard, but not hard enough to lock the wheels (although you won't be able to lock them at first anyway). Keep repeating - the power will come back.

ddoogie

It also helps to play Rage Against the Machine: Take the Power Back when you're doing this.

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dave_s

I only use WD40 on my mechs once in a blue moon to keep things moving smoothly and maybe stopping squeaky brake levers but other than that it gets nowhere near my bikes

steelo

cheers guys, i've just had both sets of pads out, heated them and lightly sanded them, wiped the discs thoroughly with white spirit, dried everything, re-assembled everything, rode up and down the road, still not much stopping power but there is now an almightly squeal as I come to a standstill. Think it's time to get out on the local school field for some flat-out, power-down, pedalling madness. Now where's my mp3 player?

Red Lemon

Yeah, give that a try before buying new pads. It might take some effort, but it should sort it out. How long that takes depends on how badly sprayed they got.