On Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 4:54:48 PM UTC-7, sms wrote:
My son was saying that the brakes on the road bike that he expropriated
from my wife were not working well. They are properly adjusted but I
think that the pad material has hardened with age. My cyclist friend
said that when this happens you just have to sand off a little of the
surface which has hardened and the material underneath will be fine.

Has anyone else done this?

Yes

The pads are 1986.

Tell us how it works out