A friend was helping me with my front disc brakes when he accidently dropped one of the pads on the ground (short fall onto dirt driveway). Unfortunately, he quickly picked it up without being very careful about where he put his fingers. As a result, there's one-third to one-half of a greasy fingerprint on the outer edge of the pad.
Is the pad ruined, or can I clean it off? There's probably not much grease on the pad, but it's easy to see where it is because the pad color is darker there. Initially I thought I'd just spray the pad with some brake cleaner to wash off the grease, but then it occurred to me that the grease might dissolve and end up being absorbed by the pad. An alternative method, which seems like a better idea, is to wet a clean rag or paper towel with brake cleaner and then use it to carefully wipe off the grease. Then, after wiping off the vast majority of the grease with the rag, I'll spray the pad with a little brake cleaner to finish up the job.
Will that work, or is there a better way to clean the grease off?
Phil