I might put anti seize on knackered car calipers where the pad rests but never found the need to put it on the back of the pads. I know the theory is to stop squeal but it's not on new calipers. And the brakes I have just worked on had it all over the place which obviously collected road grime. And copper grease is the devils own snot.
Jesus, has Delboy been working on that? copper grease on the back of brake pads is the mark of the simpleton.
maybe so on brakes that didn't squeal in the first place, but was accepted practice (not in anything like the quantity in pics above) in the car trade before anti-squeal shims that actually worked, evolved.
It was accepted practice in the good old days I have witnessed it myself (not as much as the above pictures) working in the motor trade and watching the father in the garage It was supposed to stop squealing
it still is in the motor trade. maybe a lil less liberally applied. especially if the callipers are quite visible. after coming from the non franchised to a franchised workshop for the first time, replacing pads and disks that were otherwise near perfect just because of squeal was the norm. i wouldn't do it which garnered a couple of reactions. the foreman was most pissed off. (European top tech, year after year) the owners (hoteliers with zero mechanical experience) were happy tho. they were not replacing hundreds of pounds worth of parts per car on the lot, and not handing over monster bill on Cars they had sold to customers the years previous. it's always easy to spend other people's money.
I do it, but I agree. I'm a simpleton. It also helps keep corrosion at bay. I also do any part of pad that contacts calliper.
We do this to brake pads when we service them in the shop, we do use a proper grease made for the job, not copperslip and it is just a smear!
I thought ceramic brake pad compound had replaced the smear of copperslip, I have both. My GSA suffered with squeaky front pads, took them out, cleaned them up with brake cleaner, applied a smear of copperslip on the backs, solved the issue. Simpleton, guilty as charged.
I always put a very tiny amount on the back of the pads but I don’t put it on with a trowel like in those pictures.
On track bikes, it’s just not needed as the brakes should be off and cleaned at every possible opportunity (I thoroughly cleaned my callipers with lightly soapy water after every meeting) to get rid of dust and ensure proper piston operation. On road bikes, subject to all weathers, a very very thin smear of proper brake grease helps stop squeal and stop corrosion or seizing between pad and piston. Over application as shown above actually prevents optimum brake performance as the calliper system fills up with crud as road grime gets thrown up. Loads of people use copper slip as the copper helps cope with the high temp. But as noted above, the ideal solution is a proper high temp brake grease. A quick Googley search will present loads of options. I’ve used anti squeal shims on the car before as they’re very good but funnily enough I prefer grease on the bike, and I can’t really explain why, just habit I suppose. Mart
