Brake assembly lube - do any common grease products work?

[eljay]

I am looking for a grease I can use for caliper piston seal lubrication before assembling the piston and ebrake into the brake caliper. No, I am not looking for grease to lube the slide pins. There's plenty of those, although I'd welcome suggestions on what works well. Back to the "brake assembly lube", here's what I found posted here:
From this post, I found this list:

-Dow Corning 111
-Ate Bremszylinder Paste
-Lucas or TRW Montageflussegkeit
-Unisilikon TK 44 N 2 (Porsche # 000.043.117.00)
-Millers Oils red rubber grease
-Castrol red rubber grease
-Caliper Assembly Fluid, sold by Brembo, Raybestos, and Centric
-Audi G 052 150 A2 white lithium grease

Now, I could just order the Castrol grease from eBay and wait 2 weeks for it to come from across the pond, but I'd like to put my calipers back together this week.
So, I went hunting locally for something that worked, after 3 hours of internet reading and 8 phone calls to all the usual places (NAPA, Carquest, Home Depot, Parts Source, Canadian Tire, tractor repair shop, local auto shop, VW dealer), the only option I have is to order Audi OEM grease tube for $60.
Every place tries to sell me slide pin lube.

So, does anyone know any other grease that will work that is available from the usual hardware stores like Home Depot, Canadian Tire, etc.?
I know it has to be non-petroleum based and DOT brake fluid compatible and pretty solid, so it does not seep into the fluid.

I came across Sil-Glyde from AGS, but NAPA Canada doesn't carry it even though there's a NAPA-branded version in the U.S.

For the slide pins, I think I'll go with 3M Silicone Paste (08946), which is safe on rubber boots.

[john_gonzo]

Why not use brake fluid?

The Audi repair continuum:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"What Search Feature?" <--------> "Get Shit Done" <--------> "Here's My Thesis"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Note: The above scale is in jest. It's nice to see detailed posts like this. Working on these platforms can be a slippery slope though and I too sometimes find myself digging way too deep for solutions at the cost of just getting the thing repaired and moving on with my life (or to the next repair). This sounds like one of those times for you. Just my two cents. Happy wrenching.

[eljay]

Ha!
If I just needed to do the piston seals, I'd coat them with brake fluid and be done. I agree there. But I'm fully rebuilding the rear calipers including the ebrake mechanism. Not too many people do that judging by the lack of DIYs on the rears. I will put one together when I'm done.
Looking at the rear ebrake mechanism seals, it appears to me that something thin as brake fluid would not be sufficient for long-term outside moisture intrusion. The old seals were packed with grease and dirt and they are common entry of corrosion into the caliper. So, I want to do this once and properly if I can and not worry about contaminating my brake system with something incompatible and cause bigger repair later.

[hooligander]

Electric Grease is what you want

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-22058.../dp/B000AL8VD2

[john_gonzo]

Ha!
If I just needed to do the piston seals, I'd coat them with brake fluid and be done. I agree there. But I'm fully rebuilding the rear calipers including the ebrake mechanism. Not too many people do that judging by the lack of DIYs on the rears. I will put one together when I'm done.
Looking at the rear ebrake mechanism seals, it appears to me that something thin as brake fluid would not be sufficient for long-term outside moisture intrusion. The old seals were packed with grease and dirt and they are common entry of corrosion into the caliper. So, I want to do this once and properly if I can and not worry about contaminating my brake system with something incompatible and cause bigger repair later.

Oh, right on man. Agreed, do it right, do it once.

[MoparFreak69]

Just use any grease. The seal itself is what retains fluid and keep foreign debris out. The only purpose of the grease is so you don't tear a seal during assembly. Any lubrication necessary after that is provided by the brake fluid itself.