Getting rid of "brake lube"
 

Does anyone know of a safe solvent that I can buy that can clean out lubricant that accidentally got on my disc brakes?

replace the pads
wipe the rotor w/ alcohol.

Lubricant? Or brake fluid? I have read that some people bake off brake fluid... but I have never tried it.

Acetone. Soluble in both hydrocarbons and water, so it will "lift" oil into solution and still wash off with water.

While acetone isn't a particularly healthy substance, it's pretty safe to use anyway. Just don't drink it... :)

Still gonna need new brake pads.

So you can't wash off the pads? That sucks. Pad's can't cost too much, though. Avid Juicy 3's. I'm gonna guess around 20 bucks.

Lubricant, dawg. WD-40, specifically. I was using it to wash off old lube and grease before I put on Pedro's Syn Lube Chain Lube.

Exactly

For the record, WD-40 isn't lubricant.

if you stop by most bike shops they shyould have metal prep( trichloralethane) if you spray that on your pads you should be fine

As lubricants go WD40 is pretty light. If there isn't too much on the pads you might get lucky and be able to dissolve it out with solvent. It's worth a try at least. Sometimes even mud or water can sort out small amounts of contamination.

I wouldn't recommend burning it off if you don't know what you are doing. Too much heat can weaken the bond between the pad and backing plate causing them to separate during use.

I'm going to offer a cheaper and more reckless solution. Find a safe street, ride fast, and brake until the lube is burned off through friction. I've done this before on rim brakes without incident, and I can't imagine disc brakes and pads being as delicate as others are making them seem.

Yeah, totally worth a try to save spending money on new pads for no reason. If it works cool, and if not it cost 0 dollars.

bicycle disc brake pads are much more porous than your typical rim brake pads. and the heat generated by braking a bicycle wheel is not as great as braking a car wheel, DOT 4, or 5.1 fluid boils at over 300 degrees fahrenheit, at which point, yes it would burn off, but on a bicycle, brakes just don't get that hot, unless you're riding your brake the whole way through a DH run. just about any amount of lubricant, brake fluid, mineral oil, chicken grease will contaminate and ruin them. if i so much as look at my brake pads while just holding a bottle of brake fluid, i change them. i have had success with sanding the pads down a bit to clean them, but once they glaze over, they often start to squeal and performance diminishes. new pads are like, $10-$20, pretty cheap, considering it's a vital part of your bicycle.

i have literally taken pads out, wrapped them in fresh saran wrap (face-in), then sealed them in TWO zip lock bags for a brake bleed, finished the job, sprayed everything out with alcohol, then sprayed everything out with air, then sprayed with alcohol again, let it evaporate, put the pads back in, and they still wound up getting contaminated. nowadays, i include the cost of new brake pads with every brake bleed that i do, i haven't contaminated a set recently, but i still let the customer know that it's a possibility. if they need to be replaced, i don't go over the written estimate, if they don't, then i come in under the estimate and everyone is happy.

Man, luck just ****s people over at the worst of times, doesn't it?

before we go any further, tis not DOT fluid on my brake pads, it's WD-40. Yes, WD 40 IS a lubicant, but in cycling, it's not used for that purpose.

Doesn't matter anyway, because I'm out oc comission for a good week. Was biking on a backup rig I have, rim brakes, and came to a turn on the trail where it's lowest at it's apex, and is sloped downhil from both directions. Can't see whats around the corner. Wham. Right into another guy on his bike, going the other way. He got a really bloody nose and a concussion not many people in my town wear helmets), and I got a gas hin my knee (not big in diameter, but it wen't down to the kneecap, could see the bone. Luckly, there wasn't any damage to the knee, and it didn't really hurt, probably out of shock. The anesthetic needles hurt like a *****, though. Those things were huge!

So i guess I'll order my brake pads in soon so I'll have em when I cant ride again.

Acetone's not really dangerous. Probably the safest solvent I can think of besides water, ethyl alcohol, and isopropyl alcohol. In lab, I used to wash my hands with acetone. Don't worry about it, not a carcinogen.

no joke, acetone IS nail polish remover... not too dangerous if they market it for women to rub all over their hands...

Yup. Now that I think about it, MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) is also used in nail polish remover and is similar to acetone, although not very toxic. The TCE (trichloroethane) mentioned by another poster, however, is rather nasty, so don't get that on yer hands.

WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. In cycling or anything else. It does have some lubricating properties, and some misinformed people assume that makes it a lubricant, but in fact, it is not.

WD stands for "water displacement" it is a rust inhibitor.

I just went through the same gig. This is not a big deal. Use some orange clean on the pads and brake disc. Rinse. Park the bike for a week, ride it, and the problem will fix itself. No need to go overboard and no need to use heavy-duty solvents.

I'm surprised this hasn't turned into a full-on WD40 debate yet. Let's go!

Oddly enough, many things have applications outside the original design. I'd say a pretty good definition of 'lubricant' is something that has lubricating properties, but maybe that's just common sense talking.

Tell the lock on my front door that WD-40 isn't a lubricant.

I could delve into the chemistry of lubricants, and possibly explain why pretty much any low-weight hydrocarbon will act as a lubricant (especially in a relatively humid environment), but I'll restrain myself.

Can't believe no one has suggested BRAKE CLEANER, available at all auto parts stores. Cheap, very strong solvent that leaves no residue.

Hahah. actuall, I just picked up some brake cleaner, a few days ago. Was walking through the aisles of Canadian Tire, and seeing it sitting htere, I swear I reard angels singing.

OMG OLD-SCHOOL CLICHE!

And to settle this once and for all, WD-40, right on the can, advertises that it will clean and lubricate machine parts. Therefore, even if it is not its primary function, it is, indeed, a lubricant.

because auto brake cleaner is too strong for bicycle brake pads. it tends to break down the adhesion between the pad and the metal carrier that it is stuck to. use it on the rotor all you want, but alcohol works just as well.