Aside from a couple of Peugeot UO-8's with the OEM Rigida textured rims, I've never had any Mafacs that had more than a minor squeal, maybe noticeable at that final hard squeeze just at full stop. I did have one set with the salmon-colored pads that gave out a noticeable buzzing, but no squeal. I just assumed the buzzing was part of the deal to have a pad with more grit, and more stop.

I've had countless bikes with Mafac Racers/Competition/Dural Forge and they've all performed well for me. I just do the same exact sequence on every bike from the initial purchase/restoration; and after disassembly, cleaning, polishing, lubing, adjusting the pad posts, setting up the straddle, etc, etc, they just continue to work flawlessly, so I guess I've never understood the complaint of "notorious squealing". I've just never had it.

I take on a restoration process that involves every single little part getting a full restore. The little red plastic bushings get individually cleaned, polished, lubed, reinstalled, checked for fit. Every washer, pad-post, nut, pad housing, pad itself - gets cleaned, sanded in multiple grades including 0000-grade steel wool, then polished with polishing compound, pads sanded off to expose good rubber, every spring gets a 4-level sanding and polishing to be rustfree and shiny. The arms and mount have all the casting marks sanded off the edges, then sanded and polished. The mounting bolts, washers, nuts, are derusted, sanded, polished until they shine. I'd imagine I easily spend 8 full hours on each caliper.

I just make the assumption that every single little part is no more or no less a contributor to the effectiveness of the total operation. Maybe one part sets up that chain-reaction of vibration, that folks chase ceasingly, I don't know. Maybe it's exactly like the anti-squeal lube you have to put on your calipers when you do a car brake-job, do everything perfectly but forget that lube, and it's a squeal-fest for life. But, yes, that toe-in adjustment check is a necessary part of it, but for me I almost never have to do any actual toe-in bending. Seems like all those other steps make it a non-issue.

My dollar-and-fifty-seven-cents-worth...