What can I use Brake Cleaner fluid on?

I read discussion about using brake cleaner for auto tran screen filter cleaning. I guess it is a powerful general grease solvent.

|Just did caliper pads. I sprayed the disc with brake |cleaner. | |I wasn't sure what else is safe to spray with the brake |cleaner and what isn't. | |My pistons were very dirty, but I did not clean them |because I don't know the safest way. | |I dont want to damage anything by spraying fluid on |parts that shouldn't | |Can someone give me a crash course on cleaning components |when doing disc brakes... and drum brakes too, since those |are my next job... ? What components should I clean, |and what should I use to clean them?

Keep it away from plastic, especially if it's the original stuff and not the "non-chlorinated".

As for drums, I use a garden hose to wash away the dust. It's much safer and doesn't hurt a thing. You can use some brake cleaner afterwards if you like, especially if a seal has been leaking oil or grease into the brake area - Which is exactly what the product was designed for in the first place. Rex in Fort Worth

Actually, you've got that backwards. The original stuff (e.g. red-label BraKleen) is safe on a much larger list of plastics than the non-chlorinated (e.g. green-label BraKleen).

?? How do you figure it's safer?

DS

Other way around, actually. Both types will damage some plastics, but original Brakleen (tetrachloraethylene) is just dry-cleaning fluid and is safe on far more plastics than the green-can "non chlorinated" crap. In fact, red-can Brakleen is exactly the same thing as CRC Electric Motor cleaner, which is safe for electric motor insulation. Green-can brakleen would instantly kill any electric motor you sprayed it on.

Both may also remove paint from painted surfaces, but not as well as most carburetor cleaner sprays. Berryman B-12 carburetor cleaner actually makes a good paint stripper for small parts :-)

As you can guess, I think the "non chlorinated" brake cleaner is worse than useless, its harmful. Its also much more toxic than the chlorinated type, believe it or not.

|On Tue, 2 Sep 2003, Rex B wrote: | |> Keep it away from plastic, especially if it's the original stuff and not |> the "non-chlorinated". | |Actually, you've got that backwards. The original stuff (e.g. red-label |BraKleen) is safe on a much larger list of plastics than the |non-chlorinated (e.g. green-label BraKleen).

I once cleaned a keyboard with the red CRC stuff. It welded it into a single slab of plastic.

|> As for drums, I use a garden hose to wash away the dust. It's much safer | |?? How do you figure it's safer?

The aerosol spray hitting the dust can kick some up into the air. With a hose, you can stand well back and flood the brake area at low velocity, then hit it with a harder stream after the initial flooding. By the time it drips down a bit so it's partially dry, anything left in the air witll be downwind. Besides, the brake cleaner is a pollutant itself. Personally, I'm pretty sentsitive to airborne HCs, so I avoid them wherever possible. Unless there is oil or grease to deal with, water works fine. It's also cheaper, I might add. Rex in Fort Worth

As many a boss has eventually found out.

Not that I'd do anything like that/\/\/\/