in depth freshwater reel cleaning

[lifeofRiley]

I've done a lot of research on reel maintenence. just wondering what people use to clean the gears (main, worm, and pinion) on a low pro bait caster. I have several older curados in good shape but broke them down and the drive shaft and gear cluster are covered in old grease. I think when I had them "professionally" cleaned the guy didn't know what he was doing. I have dunked the bearings in acetone and then alcohol and the reels cast better than new. Just want to get them to reel smooth again.

[masterbass]

Simple green or Perfect Solution are what I use to clean grease with a tooth brush.

[Cagey]

What kind of alcohol did you use on the bearings? I say this because isopropyl leaves behind a residue and that is the last thing you would want on your bearings. I would suggest denatured alcohol as a better choice of the two if you are going to use alcohol. I use bestine for soaking bearings.

When I clean gears I often just use a soft toothbrush and warm water and dawn type of dish washing soap and that gets them squeaky clean.

One of the companies who make end-user friendly solvents and degreasers is K-Chem:

http://www.k-chem.com/solvents.htm

And there is the handy reference book on solvents:

https://books.google.com/books?id=CD6kq ... nt&f=false

[njbasscat]

I use a 50/50 mix of Simple Green and hot water. Just make sure you rinse the parts well. An old toothbrush works good for scrubbing. If you really get into cleaning reels and don't mind spending a few bucks, get an ultrasonic cleaner. It makes the job much easier.

[lifeofRiley]

I'm going to get some of that simple green. I did use denatured alcohol. In an article on bassmaster.com they interview a shimano guy who says to dab a q tip in isopropyl to clean the the spool races on the reel frame. What type of solution do you use in an ultrasonic cleaner if any?

[smalljaw]

What kind of alcohol did you use on the bearings? I say this because isopropyl leaves behind a residue and that is the last thing you would want on your bearings. I would suggest denatured alcohol as a better choice of the two if you are going to use alcohol. I use bestine for soaking bearings.

When I clean gears I often just use a soft toothbrush and warm water and dawn type of dish washing soap and that gets them squeaky clean.

One of the companies who make end-user friendly solvents and degreasers is K-Chem:

http://www.k-chem.com/solvents.htm

And there is the handy reference book on solvents:

https://books.google.com/books?id=CD6kq ... nt&f=false

When I do the gears I use a small amount of Dawn dish detergent in some warm water and just stir it up until you get some suds. Once I get to that point I drop the gears in the water and pull them out and scrub with a toothbrush and once clean I'll rinse in plain warm water and pat dry and then let it sit to dry while I clean other parts. I don't flush the bearings if they are working fine, the only time I do that is if there is a problem or if I have ceramic bearings and some of my reels have them, if a bearing is bad I'll replace it with a ceramic. I will put 1 drop of yellow rocket fuel oil on the bearings and that is it, then if they make noise or feel different, then I'll flush them with denatured alcohol because it will do a good job at getting grit out and then it evaporates with no residue so you'll have a clean bearing that just needs some light oil. BTW, when using high performance light oils like Reel Butter, Rocket Fuel or Hot Sauce, you must remember that they are light so you need to lubricate your bearing again in 2 to 3 months if you are fishing 5 times a weeks or more, 6 months if you are fishing less but you need to do it at least twice a year because what makes that stuff so good is it lubricates with a viscosity that breaks down quicker than heavier oil which would bog your reel down and if you don't know how to or are worried about taking the reel apart, then send it to a professional. Last thing, if you have a reel you no longer use, take that reel and take it apart, if you break it then it isn't a great loss but it will give you an idea of how to break down a reel and if you can tear it down and put it back together a few times, it will give you the confidence to maintain your own reels as they are basically the same, the hard part is the little "E" clips and springs but if you take it apart on a towel then the little parts won't bounce and end up on the floor somewhere.

[njbasscat]

I'm going to get some of that simple green. I did use denatured alcohol. In an article on bassmaster.com they interview a shimano guy who says to dab a q tip in isopropyl to clean the the spool races on the reel frame. What type of solution do you use in an ultrasonic cleaner if any?

I fill the ultrasonic with warm water and heat the water to 90+ degrees. I have glass jars that I put a 50/50 mix of Simple Green and warm water in. I put the parts in the jars and submerge them in the warm water. I rinse the parts in warm water from the tap after I'm done. Make sure you use a strainer so your parts don't go down the drain.
Simple Green is a degreaser. It doesn't have any harsh chemicals that may damage plastic parts.

[mark poulson]

Try this guy. His name is Dan Isaacs, and he's serviced Shimano reels forever:
http://www.reel-ex.com/
Good pricing, quick turnaround, and very well known to all Shimano people out here on the West Coast.

[Bantam1]

And trained by me

Here's part 1 of a video we released a while back. This shows you how to do it. Part 2 should be on the side column. The reel is older, but the techniques are still the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLpO74dWuoE

[mark poulson]

And trained by me

Here's part 1 of a video we released a while back. This shows you how to do it. Part 2 should be on the side column. The reel is older, but the techniques are still the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLpO74dWuoE

You do make it look easy!

[Ham Solo]

And trained by me

Here's part 1 of a video we released a while back. This shows you how to do it. Part 2 should be on the side column. The reel is older, but the techniques are still the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLpO74dWuoE

I've referenced those videos a few times over the years.

[Bantam1]

Its not me in the video. That is Nate Smith. He still works here but is no longer in repair.