Grease solvent?

All,

So I've busted open a few old reels to see what parts I need to order and there is some seriously crusty grease in most of them.

What is the recommended grease solvent for metal parts?  Nylon parts?

TIA.

MolBasser

I have always had success with WD-40, a toothbrush, and hot water. And I am talking about cleaning the old grease off of reels. I can already hear the punch lines.

tote, we are not all FREAKS,    .

mol, if one is cleaning bearings (like for skateboards), acetone (paint thinner) is the accepted solvent.

yes is is dangerous.

some use 'citronel',  a wimpy solvent suitable only for girly men.

I have this plastic bottle from powell (bones) that is an axle that suspendes the bearings in a plastic bottle. you put some solventin the bottle, shake the bottle and all the grit etc ends up on the bottom of the bottle.

you use compressed air to dry the bearings. (see how fast you can make them spin!)

then lube them and re-install (whoa there tote!)

J

I planned on using acetone with the metal parts, but acetone and nylon are not a good mix.

So, I guess I am interested in hearing what people use on the nylon gears.

I ain't no whimp.  Acetone is cool!  The vapors are very explosive! (I know for reasons that will remain undiscussed).

MolBasser

use the citronel maybe? 

does nylon dissolve in acetone/paint thinner?

mol, methane is flammable too, please do not tell us about your experiments therewith!

J

mol, methane is flammable too, please do not tell us about your experiments therewith!

Heh, ah college days....

MolBasser

Quote from Alan T

or spool bearings that have to spin, it's carb cleaner and compressed air, then plain corrosion x.  i have reel x bottles, but they are filled with plain corrosion x.  for side plate bearings that do not affect freespool, it's grease.
Reply

Yeah, I saw that.  I am trying to figure out the best way to remove old dried grease.

I could just use elbow grease, but I tend to be lazy.

MolBasser

I put grease in the bearings that affect the free spool.

does not seem to noticably affect casting performance, but I'm sure it does affect it with the smallest of baits.

however, our baits are not small!

one thing that is true is that 'freespool' time is not necessarily an accurate indicator of friction under load, like when you
cast a heavy lure/bait.

it feels good to see that spool spin, like it will with oil, but if it spins smoothly under load, your cast will go just as far for
all practical purposes.

So I will go against the tani wisdom a little on the grease in the spool bearings for kayak fishing, 

J

shimano makes a nice bearing grease.  you can also make your own using shimano drag grease and corrosion x.  actually, you can thin down any grease with corrosion x and it should work just fine. for the extreme situations that you face, i have no problem with grease in the bearings. 

I'm not so serious (in terms of salt agression and abuse), but I am serious about my bass reels.  I will not grease bearings unless I must.  Casting performance is king in my world.  It is critical to be able to put that bait just where you want it.

However, this still doesn't address how to get crusty old grease off of nylon gears..... 

MolBasser

well, you know, mol, i've got this ultrasonic cleaner ......

well, you know, mol, i've got this ultrasonic cleaner ......

 

MolBasser

Mol good article on bearings  http://www.tackletour.com/articlebearings201.html

Thanks.  I had found that earlier.

I even asked our ChuckE if he was the author.  Apparently there is an imposter running around.... 


MolBasser