This falls into Diesel's field of expertise, I hope 

Yeah the back brakes on my car are making a grinding noise when braking, it seems to get better when they have been used for a while, then next day they grind again.

Is it that they are warn out and need replacing, I think they are shoes, not pads.

For information purposes only.

I think your quite right, you do have shoes on the rear of your car. Several things can cause audiable operation from worn out shoes to dust/rust build up. However, if the hand brake is holding on steep road/drive, it could be deemed that the shoes are not completely worn out and if the noise is due debris, a good clean could cure this situation.

It must be stressed though, if you suspect you have problems with the brakes on your car, urgent attention MUST be sought.

After all, if your car won't start, no-one should get hurt, on the other hand, if your car won't stop, well.

Thanks for the well thought out and may I say, professional answer.

I will have to get them checked out, like you said.

Cheers mate   

My turn now Data.   

I've known for a little while that my O/S/F brake has been binding and I thought "I must take a look at that". Well now I have, the whole lot is knackered, Pads, Disc, Caliper the lot, nice. To be honest, the only reason I took a look now was because a Turbo pipe burst and thought I would inspect the brakes whilst I'm at it.

Same old, same old, if someone ask's for advise, we always say "you must do this or that NOW otherwise it's going to cost you a lot of money". Sheesh.

To reiterate, never, ever buy a Mechanic's Car. 

Ooh, ooh, just a thought, do I get a spell in klink for being a major league MUPPET.

Yeah, that is pretty bad of you Diesel

I remember a wise mechanic once telling me.

"The brakes are the most important part of the vehicle"

To neglect them is possibly the worst thing you could have done.

Agreed, sin bin for you  . 

Sorry to ear about that Diesel , Hope the repairs do not cost you much.

Having been an auto mechanic for nearly half my life, I feel the same way, in that the braking system is the most important part of the car. If the car can't go, that's bad; but if the car can't stop, that's far, far worse!

  I had always done almost all the work on my cars in the past, now I don't seem to have as much time, and have been going to a mechanic, he married my cousin.  The thing I remember is bad rotors, I described the problem and he told me to replace the rotors which I did ( from a junkyard ) and it fixed the problem for about 6 to 9 months.  When the problem came back I brought it back to him and let him do the work.  He put new rotors in, went throught the whole brake system and returned the car, it was like it was a new car, couldn't be better. 
Carl2

I know, I know that's why I'm in Klink and rightly so. I knew there was a problem about nine months ago, but, it comes down to the same thing, "don't do as I do, do as I tell you".

Yeah, it's going to cost me a few quid/dollars, but, it's only money. I came into this world with nowt and I'll go out with the same.

Dave, as a fellow mechanic, you can't tell me that you haven't been aware of a fault, knowing what is wrong and thought, "that will be alright for awhile yet".

Sorry all, I'm just trying to justify my own Muppetry, failing badly. 

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't want to lie to my friends.

(this remark is probably funnier if you're aware of the 5th amendment to the U.S. constitution, which grants freedom from self incrimination in court.)

As a boat technician, I feel that steering is more important than brakes. Without steering you cannot control your destination. I would like to ask for the possibility of parole for my friend Diesel on the grounds that A boat has no brakes 

  Thought I'd add this, on the front wheels the manufacturer may have a small metal tab that will scrape against the router when the pads are thin, time to replace the pads.  If the pads use rivits to hold them the rivits will grind away the routers so try to get pads without rivits.  On the rear wheels it is a matter of taking off the wheel and removing the drum, sometimes difficult if a ridge has built up on the inside edge or the drum has rusted in place.  If you do it every so often it's easy but If it has not been done in ages it could be hard.  anyways once the drum is off it's easy to look at the shoes once you remove the dust.  Stay away from oil and grease, any oil or grease on the shoes or inner surface of the drum ruins everything, it needs friction to work.
Carl2

That's a handy tip right there, DON'T LUBRICATE YOUR BRAKES. Thanks Carl2, I've made a note of that and will refer to it often.

On vehicles with semi-metallic disk brake pads, or even the newer ceramic pads, you can also hear a grinding sound from the brakes if they're "clogged" with brake dust, or if the retaining hardware for the pads is worn and/or loose. More and more often, these days, it's prudent not only to change the brake pads when they wear out, but also the hardware, as well, and yet some mechanics (and many, many "do it yourself~ers") fail to do so and wonder why their brakes are noisy after only a week or so. I'm all for vehicle owners maintaining their own cars, but they REALLY need to learn how to do the entire job, which is something that a great many folks fail to do.