Brake Cleaner and Ducati

[Armor]

Brake cleaner will remove paint.  It will remove the paint off your rims.

[MongoReturns]

Brake cleaner will remove paint.  It will remove the paint off your rims.

This happened to a 1098 guy as well.  When I use brake cleaner (very rarely) I take the calipers off & put them in plastic bags, then go to town.  Then spray liberally with water, then take out of bags, dry, & reinstall.

That being said I haven't used the stuff in years - I usually put wd-40 on a rag & wipe the calipers off.

[chisel]

I wrote to Ducati USA for advice. This is what I received in return:

Thank you for contacting Ducati North America.

There are very few products better than brake cleaner for removing grime from the braking components. However, brake cleaners like Brakeleen will eat paint if you are not careful about where it is sprayed. If you are attempting to clean your wheels, WD-40 or Simple Green both clean pretty well without damaging paint.

Regards,

Customer Service

[MongoReturns]

That's funny - I used Simple Green to clean my calipers 8 years ago.  The 2000 M750's front fender is held on by white plastic straps.  8 years later, one is still green!

[ducatiz]

That's funny - I used Simple Green to clean my calipers 8 years ago.  The 2000 M750's front fender is held on by white plastic straps.  8 years later, one is still green!

Reading correctly helps!

If you are attempting to clean your wheels, WD-40 or Simple Green both clean pretty well without damaging paint.

[ducatiz]

I have kept my mouth shut cause I don't like being laughed at, but I have used Target brand Foaming Bathroom Cleaner for YEARS on calipers and wheels and never had a problem.

It gets the dirt off just fine, grease too.  I have tried to avoid the pads, but they've been soaked many times with the foaming stuff.

It is fairly benign, cheap (about $1.50/can) and works well.  It does not remove the weight adhesives and leaves no residue.

There.  laugh if you want.  My brakes and wheels are clean and grease-free and smell really nice.

[MongoReturns]

Reading correctly helps!

Yeah I just sprayed it over everything.  So watch out for white plastic - Simple Green stains plastic things green!  Great engine degreaser though.

[ducatiz]

Yeah I just sprayed it over everything.  So watch out for white plastic - Simple Green stains plastic things green!  Great engine degreaser though.

i wouldn't use it unless you dilute it well, like 20:1.  it is not for aluminum

[chisel]

By the way, from http://www.crc.co.nz/default.asp (the manufacturer of Brakleen):

"Protect all rubber parts and painted surfaces from overspray."

I learned my lesson the hard way.

[scott_araujo]

As a side note, and an indicator as to why I'm hyper careful, the stock master cylinder and reservoir for the front brakes is set up in just a way that it will spurt fluid out of the reservoir if the cap is off even with a gentle flick of the lever.

+1, I've seen this happen too. 

The paint on your bike may or may not be durable but I'm careful to keep all solvents away from paint including brake cleaner and especially brake fluid.  Many times here someone has posted that Simple Green has messed up their paint or bare aluminum and that stuff is basically just 409 for the garage!

Good luck getting this all sorted.

Scott