Meg APC+ Brake Rotor Safe?

[dc5itr329]

I use APC+ today to clean my dad's wheels and after I was done I noticed that the brakes were really different. They felt like they grabbed the rotor right away. Is this because of the apc+? I left it there for a few minutes to soak in and then cleaned the wheels. Does the pads or rotors soak apc+ in?

[Matt]

I always find this just after I've washed the car and the brakes are wet, but it only takes a few seconds of braking for that to go away as they dry pretty fast.

A friend told me that brake pads are made up of millions of little metal fillings, could it be possible that the APC reacted with these some how?

[dan45hk]

Sounds like you removed the grease and junk from the rotors so the pad is grabbing them better. People do this all the time with brake cleaner.

[loudog2]

After a short drive it will go away.

[Harleyguy]

You have to use some heavy duty acid to ruin a brake rotor.Nothing like the products they sell here can do that kind of damage.I have customers that live on the beach and even the salt water has little effect on rotors but in time the salt will cause them to rust faster then if you didn't live near salt water

[supercharged]

never had a problem...

[howejt]

I'm think it was most likely rust that had formed on the rotor, which increased friction for the first or second application. Now if it doesn't go away, then I would have some concern.

It is certainly worth trying to keep your chemical products off the rotor, pads and calipers. Not so much the chemicals themselves that are the problem, IMO, but the grime and oils that can be released and settle on the pads and rotors. Those surfaces really should stay free of contamination for best braking performance, though I doubt it will actually affect noticeable change in practice. If there is concern, such as on a high-performance car, I'd recommend following a brake pad bed-in procedure to restore performance. For a normal car that is just driven around town, especially with an automatic where you tend to coast with the brakes frequently, it probably wouldn't hurt either, to heat up the pads and clean off the rotors. But if you can't safely bed-in the pads (can't have cars behind you!) and drive for a distance to let them cool off without stopping, don't bother.