Harold74

As a reconditioning exercise, which I may well come to regret, I've taken apart some caliper brakes. Before reassembling them, I need to decide how / if I'll lubricate the many interfaces involved. What makes sense here? Grease? Finish Line dry lube? Nothing at all? My sense of things when I took the calipers apart was that, originally:

1) Nothing was lubricated and;

2) Some bolts had Loctite which I will replicate with purple Loctite upon reassembly.

One the one hand, greasing all metal parts expected to move in contact with one another seems as though it could do little harm and might, in fact, do some good. On the other hand. I'm none too excited about the prospect of over greasing the calipers, redoing my cabling, and then riding around for the next few years with brakes all filth'ed up with the grime that grease attracts. I made this same error with a derailleur rebuild a couple of years ago and am still living with the consequences.

Left to my own devices, I plan to apply to the Finish Line dry lube to pretty much everything and leave it at that.

Recommendations?

Also, would this thread be better placed over in Classic and Vintage? I consider this to be bicycle mechanics but, then again, I'm sure that it's most of the C&V folks doing this kind of work.

andrewclaus

Lightly grease pivots and mating surfaces. Most important is the spring/caliper interface. Grease the barrel adjuster and recessed nut threads too.

Keep the QR cam oiled. I recently had to scrap one due to excessive corrosion and wear.

easyupbug 

Excellent advise above from andrewclaus. I would add I have used Dry Slide with success when the bike sees dirt/dusty roads, I prefer the molybdenum disulfide & graphite lube to the teflon based. I should try some purple 222, I use blue 243 frequently and with the small bolts/screws need to use a little heat from a soldering iron for release so as not to damage the soft aluminum in extraction. As you suspected C&V folks hang out here as well.

BCRider

For my commuting bikes here in the Pacific North"Wet" coastal area I used fenders to shield the calipers from direct spray and water resistant boat trailer grease in the pivots. Not much though. And I wiped the outer surfaces clean. Exposed grease is like flypaper to grit after all. This works pretty nicely for a couple of years at a time for daily commuting.

For drier and perhaps dustier use I like your idea of dry film. One that still has pretty good anti corrosion properties is still a wise idea.

KerryIrons

This ^^ Times ten.

smd4

I don’t believe in overgreasing. When everything is together, thoroughly wipe off all excess grease with a shop rag or old t-shirt. Definitely oil the quick release.