Hey everyone,

I was recently told to switch to ceratec over copper grease and silicone grease when doing brake pads / guide pins etc as it is supposedly better.

Has anyone tried it b4 and can speak for how good or not good it maybe.

As I am finding very hard to find silicone grease online anymore to grease up guide pins, don't no if anyone is having this trouble. But if ceratec can replace copper grease and silicone paste I no euro car parts have their own pagid ceratec brand

Thanks

I think ceratec is supposed to be used for cars with ABS instead of copper grease. I've used both and it's been fine. I got a good amount of ceratec with my last lot of pads so will be using it for a while. I used on pins and sliders too and all seems fine so far although, I was told red rubber grease is better for this.

Cheers

I use Ceratec with no problems. I don't like copper grease near light alloy components as it can promote electrolytic corrosion.
The red "rubber" grease is for use on rubber, especially natural rubber. It is vegetable oil based, not mineral. It is good for assembling hydraulic seals (use minimal quantity) in brake systems. Ceratec is OK for use with modern synthetic seals on slider pins.

Robert G8RPI.

Copper grease is NOT a lubricant, so should not be used on moving components as a lubricant, only as an anti-seize. So fine for pads and their pins where movement is small, but not for caliper slide pins. It is called 'grease' only because of its consistency, not its lubricity.
There is a special grease for slide pins, but extremely difficult to source, unless you want a 25kg tub.
Ceratec is a lubricant, and can replace copper grease, and is recommended by its manufacturer for slide pins too, so for brakes, good stuff to have.
Copper grease is still the best for coating bolt threads to allow removal a few years later.
Ceratec I think is a brand patented by TMD Friction, which own the brands Pagid, Textar and Mintex, so it is available with any of those three brands on the tube.

Ben D said:

I think ceratec is supposed to be used for cars with ABS instead of copper grease. I've used both and it's been fine. I got a good amount of ceratec with my last lot of pads so will be using it for a while. I used on pins and sliders too and all seems fine so far although, I was told red rubber grease is better for this.

Cheers

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Thanks for this. Can you enlighten me to why copper.grease should not be used on ABS brakes?

g8rpi said:

I use Ceratec with no problems. I don't like copper grease near light alloy components as it can promote electrolytic corrosion.
The red "rubber" grease is for use on rubber, especially natural rubber. It is vegetable oil based, not mineral. It is good for assembling hydraulic seals (use minimal quantity) in brake systems. Ceratec is OK for use with modern synthetic seals on slider pins.

Robert G8RPI.

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When you say it can cause corrosion on.light alloy.components are you talking calipers?

everson38 said:

Thanks for this. Can you enlighten me to why copper.grease should not be used on ABS brakes?

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The ABS sensor reads a change in the magnetic flux as the reluctor ring passes it.
Sorry. In English, the teeth of the ABS ring cause a changing magnetic field, that the sensor picks up and uses to send a signal to the control unit.
Apparently, the copper in the copper grease can affect the magnetic field and cause wrong readings, confusing the control unit.

Ceratec uses ceramic as its lubricant, so does not affect the magnetic field, but still resists heat.

everson38 said:

When you say it can cause corrosion on.light alloy.components are you talking calipers?

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Yes, Callipers and alloy wheels, but alloy callipers are rare on normal road cars.
https://textar-professional.com/textar-training-center/the-use-of-copper-grease-on-modern-brakes/


And as Bill states it can also affect ABS sensor operation if it gets on the working parts.


Robert G8RPI.

Good info yet again good to see it been repeated

Many years ago I used copper grease (1970s) and have not used it since. I now only use Molybdenum Moly Grease. It's high temperature melting point and waterproof qualities make it ideal for careful use on brake, disk and wheel hub components. Should of course be kept aware from friction surfaces.

I love copper-grease, I also fully appreciate exactly what many and say with regards to relationship to the closest similar or dissimilar metal and likely electrolytic reactions, however I will happily champion the stuffs corner as used with common sense I’ve never found a situation it can’t make better. The key thing about the situation is you need to be the person undoing the fastener in 20 years then it’s much appreciated. I have a tin that is probably a litre and it’s many years old and I’ll use it till empty, at that stage I will probably covert to the modern compositions.

If the parts are clean and plated or brushed clean with wire wool or a wire brush before assembly, and then the car is used regularly there is no need to cover them with these compounds. I spray my brakes before fitting the pads with WD40 after a cleanup and never have any trouble, although I live on the South coast of Spain in Almeria, but we still have filthy roads ar times and we use unmade roads much more than in UK.

I have an ancient tin of copper grease that I use on the back of pads and as anti seize, I also got some red Castrol grease from a friend who had a huge tin, I have it in several old plastic 35mm film containers, Silicon grease I recently bought in Lidl in a squeezy tube. I also have moly grease and ordinary mineral grease in my gun, so quite content with my grease stocks.

Does anyone know if you can use lithium multi purpose grease on brake caliper guide / slide pins.

everson38 said:

Does anyone know if you can use lithium multi purpose grease on brake caliper guide / slide pins.

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Should work fine and tbh likely many garages use it as they will have it laying around

everson38 said:

Does anyone know if you can use lithium multi purpose grease on brake caliper guide / slide pins.

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No you cannot use normal grease on caliper pins. It does not have a high enough temperature rating and will break down. This could cause brake failure due to the oil from the grease getting onto the pads.
Only use propper high temperature grease like Ceratec on caliper pins.

Robert G8RPI.

chris3234 said:

Should work fine and tbh likely many garages use it as they will have it laying around

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NO! NO! NO!
You cannot use normal grease on caliper pins. It does not have a high enough temperature rating and will break down. This could cause brake failure due to the oil from the grease getting onto the pads.
Only use proper high temperature grease like Ceratec on caliper pins.

Robert G8RPI.