Getting back to basics with reel maintenance

Preface: I did search the forum for answers to my query, but didn't quite find what I'm looking for, so here I am.

For years and years, I've been under the impression that all I had to do after a day of fishing in salt, assuming my reels didn't get dunked, was rinse them off good, towel dry, and they're good to go for next time. I got my first Daiwa Lexa 300 in January of this year and used it extensively (once or twice per week for the entire year). Never dunked it. But after a while, the bearings started screaming, and my casting distance dropped. I took it apart and found major corrosion in the spool bearings and the crank bearing deep inside the reel. The latter was so seized and corroded I couldn't get it out of the housing, so I sent it in to Daiwa. It was effectively totaled, and they sold me a new one at a discount. That reel had never been underwater, but clearly had been affected by saltwater corrosion. It is very apparent that something needed to change with my maintenance routine, and that simply hosing off the reels after use was not enough.

While that reel was in the shop, I purchased another Lexa 300 so I had another one to fish with (it was on the list anyway, I wanted a second one). That was about 4 months ago.

I swore to be better to my gear, and now I use warm water in the sink to really make sure my reels are clean. Towel dry, and store inside. Now, the reel I bought while the original Lexa was in the shop is starting to make bearing noise (after only about 3 months of moderate use, never dunked) and I'm bummed out. I've never taken this one apart before just because it's still so new. Clearly I'm missing something with reel care and maintenance.

TL;DR- My questions for you all are:

1) What is your day-to-day (i.e. just got home from fishing) reel maintenance routine for your baitcasting reels?

2) Assuming 1 saltwater fishing day per week and no immersion, how often are you opening up the reel and cleaning, greasing/lubricating bearings?

3) Does anyone have any experience with a ceramic bearing upgrade on a Lexa? Is it worth it? Does it increase the lifespan of the bearings and/or make corrosion and saltwater damage less common?

Thank you all for your wisdom and insight!

I've got a very different experience with lexas.

One sat on the bottom of the ocean overnight until someone fished it up somehow for me, opened it up, had very little to clean.
 since then the two lexas that I use for kayaking have been dunked a lot, used on average 2 times a week in the salt if it was a sandy landing I'll take it apart when I get home, or if it's been a while? 6 months? I'll take it apart, otherwise I just sit there with the hose on max pressure spraying them down for a good long time.

so other than the overnight soak, I've cleaned my older 1 year lexa twice once because of a sandy landing, and my newer one 8months once because of a sandy landing.

Took apart my abu revo recently and it was gnarly inside.  Took quite a while to get it all cleaned up.
Heard Corrosion X is good... think I had some ages ago, but will probably look into getting some again. Other option considering is packing with grease... I think I recall Alan Tani saying that in a seminar for saltwater reels

Because it sounds like you know how open your reels, you can extract the bearings when they're new and use the point of a big 4/0+ hook to pry the shields off.  That will keep water from collecting inside of them.  And spray the bearings with Reel-X or TSI-301 for a layer of corrosion protection.

On a different note, on a bad surf re-entry my Abu Garcia Toro ended up buried and filled with fine-grit sand.  Hot water and q-tips was not working so I bought a sonic cleaner, dissected the reel down to individual components, and ran everything through the cleaner.  It actually worked!  It's been 2-3 years and those bearings are still in there. 

I've got a very different experience with lexas.

One sat on the bottom of the ocean overnight until someone fished it up somehow for me, opened it up, had very little to clean.
 since then the two lexas that I use for kayaking have been dunked a lot, used on average 2 times a week in the salt if it was a sandy landing I'll take it apart when I get home, or if it's been a while? 6 months? I'll take it apart, otherwise I just sit there with the hose on max pressure spraying them down for a good long time.

so other than the overnight soak, I've cleaned my older 1 year lexa twice once because of a sandy landing, and my newer one 8months once because of a sandy landing.

Oh woah. Sounds like quite the rescue mission, maybe I'm just not aware of how swamped my gear gets when I land in the surf? Now I'm even more puzzled 

Because it sounds like you know how open your reels, you can extract the bearings when they're new and use the point of a big 4/0+ hook to pry the shields off.  That will keep water from collecting inside of them.  And spray the bearings with Reel-X or TSI-301 for a layer of corrosion protection.

So I should take the little c-clip and the shields and the just toss 'em? Does that run the risk of the balls coming out? And yeah after doing nearly a full teardown and rebuild twice I feel pretty comfy in there now. It was nice to work on one that was basically f'ed already because I had nothing to lose by making it worse ha!

You might also be able to buy new bearings if the rest of the reel is OK. I did that for one of my reels and they were incredibly cheap from Amazon (pack of 20 for $12!). The numbers on the side of the bearings indicate the size.

My routine for maintenance and care while living in an apartment:

When I return home from a trip, the rods go into the bathtub, leaned up against the wall.  I tighten down the drags on any spinning reels.  With the shower wand, I thoroughly rinse the rods and reels with warm fresh water for a few minutes.  I make sure to hit the guides and reel seats really well.  Then I let the water run over the reels from all angles for a bit to really really flush out any salt water.

Once per season, I'll disassemble each reel.  I degrease the internals in some orange oil based degreaser (I use bicycle chain degreaser).  I give the outer chrome bits a quick dunk in some vinegar to dissolve any corrosion I can't yet see.  Then I reassemble, lubing bearings with oil (Corrosion-X), lubing gears with reel grease (Penn blue stuff), and lubing drags with Cal's Drag Grease.  Once it's all assembled, I take a shop towel with a tiny bit of Corrosion-X on it and give a wipe down of the outside.

I've restored reels from terrible shape and maintained them for decades after this way without reoccurring issues.  But, as they say... there are plenty of ways to skin a cat.  This is just one.

I do this yearly to all my reels:

1.  Spool bearings get carb cleaned, dried, and lubed with TSI oil.  2. Main bearings get carb cleaned, dried, and fully packed with Yamaha marine grease.  3. Entire interior and parts get coated with a thin layer of Yammy marine grease.  4. Screw holes dabbed with grease before insertion. 5. Drag washers upgraded to carbontex then Cal's drag grease.  (ARB bearings get just a bit of TSI oil)

I do all the above for most brand new reels even before any use since most of the mfg do a crummy job of initial protection of bearings and internal parts.

There's much difference of opinion about rinsing after each use.  I just give a quick and gentle rinse to get the salt off the exterior.

I never ever skip yearly maintenance.  If friends want to bring their own gear on my boat, it has to be regularly serviced or we don't use it.

Here's what I do after a saltwater trip.

Thank you all for the insight. I may break this Lexa down and degrease/regrease and see if that solves the issue moving forward. Already ordered my corrosion-x and I actually have citrus degreaser already for my bike stuff too! Cheers.

So I should take the little c-clip and the shields and the just toss 'em? Does that run the risk of the balls coming out? And yeah after doing nearly a full teardown and rebuild twice I feel pretty comfy in there now. It was nice to work on one that was basically f'ed already because I had nothing to lose by making it worse ha!

Yes, you can take off the c-clip and the shield.  The balls are held in by a yet another cover (a race?) so they won't come out.  I'm super patient using the 4/0 (debarbed!) hook to remove the shield.  It can take a second or a couple of minutes, but the extra time is better than getting jabbed.