lunker05 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 Can someone give me some insight on reel cleaning. Is it best to just brush away the grime off the gears and stuff and then oil the bearings and grease the gears or should I soak them. Basically what is the best way to do this? I don't want to mess anything up. I am using quantam hot sauce from what I hear it seems to be the best stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskat Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 It really depends on just how dirty your reels are. If it's really gritty/grimey wash the reel out with hot water, then spray the rest away with wd-40 or the tech 2000 stuff that wal-mart sells. Dry the spray out with a clean rag then use the hot sauce. Don't over-grease and oil. I use very little grease in reels. Just a dab on the worm gear is about it. Oil only on the bearings. Now if you elect to go with the oil only you'll have to oil several times throughout the year. I can promise you this much, your reels will be much smoother and cast further with only oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwendt1978 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 I always tear down my reels to the frame, but if you are not comfortable with this then I'd use a Q tip with some Simple Green cleaner, and gently take off the grime. As for the bearings, take them out and put them on a skewer stick and clean them with brake or carb cleaner. Constantly checking them for how freely they spin. VERY IMPORTANT!!----> After that soak them in lighter fluid (zippo) for about 20 minutes. This gets all the brake and carb residue off. Then take them out and set them on a piece of paper towel for about 20 minutes or until they are completly dry then add a drop of hot sauce. Keep in mind the larger the drop of oil you put in your bearings the slower it will make them. A little goes a loooong ways here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Reel Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 All this tips for cleaning are very good, I use Ronsonol lighter fluid for all my cleaning, I also use a old coffee perk-o-lator with Simple Green solution for a hot soak ( donot let it get to hot) for the real dity stuff. Quantum Hot Sauce lube works very well, also the lubes from Reel Saver works well also. Make sure you clean the line pawl and worm gear, this area seems to collect dirt and will make the line pawl get a knife like edge on it and can cut into the worm gear. I do reel repair part time and these tips have helped me, Good Luck http://rap.midco.net/zachers2/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 Don't use WD-40 though. The lighter fluid alone is enough. WD-40 is not a good lube, it'll just make bearings sticky after a little while. I usually don't only soak the bearings, either. I take awl, pen, or sharpened pencil, whatever I find first that's tapered and put the bearing on and spin the bearing for a little while. It frees it up a little quicker and you can feel if it's tight or if it hangs up at all. If it hangs up after you let the lighter fluid work into it, or has a lot of play, it's no good. Replace it. Put the reel back together and you don't need a ton of grease, also only one drop of oil for each bearing. Also, the hot sauce oil seems to work well for me, but the grease can get to be a little tough to remove next year, I use the abu grease. Other things, look around for any metal shavings, not very likely to find them, but possible. Good advice about the worm gear (the spindle shaped gear that makes the levelwind move). If the little cap that goes over the pawl is plastic, make sure you don't put it on too tight or it WILL break. Though if it does, superglue makes it good as new. Remember to pay attention to the roller bearing that is on the handle shaft. It doesn't usually come out when you pull the sideplate off the shaft so it's easy to miss. This bearing can get a little more oil than the others, but you have to make sure it's clean. This bearing only spins one way and it is what makes the anti reverse instant. If it's dirty, it'll slip. I've heard some people say they leave drag washers dry, but I always grease them. Also not a bad idea to just replace them while the reel's torn down, and you can actually get upgraded ones for cheap. Like dw, I like to take my reels down to the frame, but I'm just anal and it's not really necessary. You can do a more thorough cleaning and inspect the reel further, but that's the only benefit. Just make sure you can get to all the gears. Don't take the reel down any further than you're comfortable with, and most important, take your time and pay close attention to what goes where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Very good advice Clamboni! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
