Originally Posted by
WillFam-Reno
I disagree with needing to bed the pad in again. The bedding in process is to correctly shape the pad to the rotor, and this does not change when cleaning the rotor. Cleaning rotors removes any contamination and enables the pad to work well. Just a tiny bit of contamination will cause the brakes to work poorly. Let them self dry as frankenmike suggests. I do not suggest using a paper towel, as tiny bits of the paper towel generally end up on the rotor (YMMV). Whether using a paper towel or not, try not to touch the cleaned surface as finger oils will also reduce the stopping power of disc brakes.
I've always understood when you clean a rotor there is some bedding of pad material onto the rotor necessary afterwards, why new rotors need to be bedded in (and they're as clean as they get at that point). Would depend on the extent of the cleaning I suppose. Never saw one under a microscope, just going on what some fairly expert folks on disc brakes have told me in the past...