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Shop owner swore by acetone for brake bleeds, my seals paid the price
Last month the old timer who runs the shop I freelance out of told me to flush Shimano brakes with pure acetone instead of mineral oil. Said it cuts the fluid better and dries fast. I did it on a customer's MTB in Tulsa and within two days the lever went spongy and the caliper started weeping fluid. Turns out acetone eats the rubber seals, and now I'm eating a $120 rebuild kit cost plus the customer's patience. Anyone else ever get steered wrong by a veteran mechanic's shortcut that sounded too good to be true?
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sage_moore371mo ago
You ever have a buddy swear by something and it just nukes his whole setup? My friend tried that same acetone trick on his Hope brakes after some old head told him it was the way. Seals blew out on a group ride in the Ozarks, brake fluid all over his rotor. @pat781 nailed it, these old shortcuts just don't work with modern stuff.
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pat7811mo ago
Man that's brutal. Same thing happened to me with an old guy who swore brake cleaner was fine for fork seals, two weeks later the whole stanchion was dripping. Sometimes those shortcuts work for the old stuff but they don't account for the modern seals at all.
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