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Copper grease and brakes - peteH
Should copper grease be used every time brake pads are fitted?

To which surface is it applied, and what does it prevent/lubricate?
Copper grease and brakes - Aprilia
My father and grandfather both ran garages ('independents') and swore by coppergrease ('Copperease' or Copperslip'). I still have a great big tub of it dating from the 1950's (I don't actually use it, its a sort of 'heirloom').

Anyhow, you put it on the metal backing part of the pad (*not* on the friction material itself!) at any point where the backing needs to slide within the caliper assembly (top and bottom edges, usually). The idea is to prevent the pad from sticking in the caliper (and thence the caliper piston seizing). At lot of modern cars with discs at the back appear to be susceptible to this.

Also use copper grease to lubricate anything that is exposed to high temps (plug, exhaust studs etc.) - makes them easier to free off next time.
Copper grease and brakes - king arthur
The reason to use copper grease on anything exposed to high temperatures is that the copper enables it to transmit the heat quickly away, otherwise the grease would simply burn up.
Copper grease and brakes - Cyd
When you put it on the brake pad backing use it sparingly. Also if the backings have holes where the material comes through (some have some haven't) make sure you DO NOT put any grease on the pad material that shows - grease compounds can leach into the pad material over time and reduce the efficiency of the pads.
Copper grease and brakes - v8man
Copper slip also helps prevent pad squeal caused by high frequency vibration of the pads under braking.
Copper grease and brakes - Railroad
Just apply a smear of grease onto the back of the pads to stop them squealing, and also onto the sides so they move easily within the callipers. If you don't do this they can become siezed and the brakes will bind and then get hot.
Copper grease and brakes - bertj
Many modern brake pads, i.e. VW's have a special anti-squeal backing or coating on them. This seems to partly melt and fuse on to the piston/pad contact surface. You should not use copperslip (or anything else, for that matter)on these.
I think that copperslip is now outmoded; it certainly was very useful for controlling corrosion and squealing when the contact between piston and pad backing was steel to steel.
I'm afraid that now, on modern cars, it is essential to use the manufacturers own replacement pads.
Copper grease and brakes - peteH
Is there a difference in friction material or design between OEM pads and aftermarket replacements. I understood that EU law stated that even the friction material had to be practically the same.In which case I would have expected the design to be the same also.

www.mintex.co.uk click products, brake pads, e-mark

\"The standard states that the Aftermarket friction material should be within ±15% of the OE performance when measured under specific conditons. Also the production facility must have systems and tests to ensure the same level of quality consistently. In reality ±15% is a wide tolerance band and the standard should be seen as the minimum acceptable level. As an OE manufacturer TMD Friction will always aim to be very close to the OE level on all Mintex Brake Pads sold in the Aftermarket.\"





Copper grease and brakes - bertj
peteH. Very interesting, didn't know that. Is the backing I referred to covered by the directive? In other words will non OEM pads have the same backing material as OEM? Probably no way of knowing without looking at the pads although I would expect reputable manufactures to conform. If non OEM pads do not have the same backing then copperslip might be a good idea.
Copper grease and brakes - v8man
As an engineer I have to say I don't agree that copper grease is out moded although I do agree that if you have coated pads then don't grease them. Copper grease is specifically designed as an anti sieze compound, usually in areas that are subject to heat. Brake callipers, exhaust manifold bolts etc. The fact that we all use it for other things just shows how versatile the stuff is.I work on injection moulding machines for my sins and I can confirm that without copper grease these machines will not come apart without blow torches and brute force!
Copper grease and brakes - howy686
As far as I can tell, my Vauxhall had OE front pads - no way could I press hard enough to induced the ABS to work - even on wet roads - my perception was that I wasn't getting max braking.
When they were worn-out I replaced them with non-OE.
BINGO - max braking available with sensible pedal pressure - even a haul-down from over 100mph (just once to try them out!!), so there isn't a fade issue.
Wear is ok and they don't dust the wheels any quicker than before.
Back to the point - brake pads/discs operate in a very corrosive environment, so I reckon a thin layer of copper-slip applied sparingly between pad-to-carrier rubbing surfaces really helps to delay seizing due to rust.

Copper grease and brakes - tonyracer23

I work in the automotive parts industry and we advise our customers not to use copper slip on modern brakes. First of all, decent OE quality pads (such as Pagid and Brembo) will have a shim stuck to the back of them, copper grease renders this shim ineffective. Secondly the alloys in modern discs react to metallic greases over time causing them to swell, resulting in run out problems and brake judder. When fitting brake discs make sure the hub is cleaned very thoroughly (this is very very important) then apply a thin layer of ceramic grease such as Cera-Tec - DO NOT USE COPPER GREASE.

Edited by tonyracer23 on 16/01/2016 at 10:49

Copper grease and brakes - hardway

I never smeared copper grease,

or any grease on the back of pads.

Where is is used is on the locating lugs of the steel backing material,

nowhere near the friction material.

The whole idea is to help reduce friction/rust on the interface between the pads lugs and the calliper carrier.

And copper grease is an anti sieze compound.

Without it and it wouldn't be the first time,I have had to remove callipers then the carrier and smack the worn/siezed pads out of the carrier in a vice using a 4 lb hammer!

Most brakes are intended to have the pads slide in the carrier to compensate for pad wear.

If the sieze on the carrier slider then in effect you have only one side of the friction surface pressing/pulling on the disk.

That's why sometimes when you pull out old pads one pad is on the metal and the other can have considerable friction material left.

Any mechanic worth his pay allways check friction material on both pads,

top and bottom.

Uneven wear means something is stuck/sticking from rust or lack of lube.

Sorry for the big rant but I had one in last week that was so bad it didn't just need to go in the vise for the big hammer treatment but used a hell of a lot of gas to heat the siezed pads up before they came ot the carrier!!

Mother/driver/owner with two kid seats in the back.

So yes I use copper grease on steel prake pads.

And I really don't care about heat resistance but I DO care about antisieze properties.

I'll get of the soap box now.