Why dont you get some Lighter Fluid? Easy off the Net & imo far better than White Spirit which is a bit oily & will only let dirt cling to it. Dont think it evaporates either so is likely to stay in there along with the Muck.

 

Interesting opening to a request for advice.

Lighter fluid or brake fluid will possibly remove the residue. And don't use white spirit again. I believe lighter fluid is cheaper than bearings.

 

Is 3 in 1 really a good oil to be using in reel bearings? Would have thought a couple of casts would have seen the best of it as it's quite light? I don't know?

 

well, the reason i said i dont have lighter fluid is because i wondered if there was another alternative to it, if not ill spend a little bit of money on some lighter fluid and a new set of bearings :bounce:?? and never seemed to have a problem with 3 in 1

 

well, the reason i said i dont have lighter fluid is because i wondered if there was another alternative to it, if not ill spend a little bit of money on some lighter fluid and a new set of bearings

Brake cleaner - (massive tins available at Halfords) and Acetone, available from any chandlers.

 

You clean the bearings!!
I just let all the salt spray that gets in them keep them running, if they sound rough on the beach, a splash of hot tea soon frees them up again

Just go and by some lighter fuel mate, your local paper shop will sell it. Give the bearings a flush, dry them out, oil them and have a cast.

 

im going to start the tea dunking thing,,,, you can drink the tea aswell ,but the turps hmmm ,anyone know what after affects it has on piles ? failing that get some lighter fluid,,, its a quid from morrisons,,, and agitate the bearings each time you turn them over,,3 in ones fine,, far better than wd40,,,,which some fishermen swear by ,why I don't know its good for dissolving oils and greases ,,but long term ,stick to the 3 in one,,, but heres the trick,, heat a little oil on a spoon over a candle, move the bearings around,,when the bearings bubble a little it means the oil has filled the bearings,,,,,when they stop bubbling[more a slight fizzing},,,only takes a moment,,theyre done,,, 3 in ones better than wd 40,, 27 years gunsmithing teaches you something , all the best

 

its the same way I clean bearings soak in lighter fluid then spin helps the dirt come out then I use a measuring spoon with 3in1 oil heated up when the bubbles stop coming out there is no air left in them re fit but just detune the reel until you get used to the speed as they will fly.

 

3in1 oil heated up when the bubbles stop coming out there is no air left in them

It also nicely distorts nylon cages that some bearings have.

There really isn't any need to go to such extremes as a couple of drops of oil are all you need and a couple of spins of the bearing spreads it right round the bearing.

 

thank you for the replies guys! i will get some lighter fluid soon but in the mean time, i found a nice grease cleaner in the garage called nusolve, its a heavy duty grease cleaner and dries in seconds... good for me as i have the stock bearings so it wont damage them! i took the caps off, sprayed them, let them dry under a kitchen towel and put 3/4 drops of 3-in1 (theres literally none left in the tin so i heated the base with a candle to get it ultra thin) placed the caps back on as quickly as possible and placed the bearing on the spindle and ran them up and down on kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil. i put them in the reel and started doing gentle flicks of the spool untill they freed up a little and now when i spin the handle and quick press the freespool button the reel spins for about 30seconds (average), thats enough for me for fishing casting. roll on winter and those lovely things that begin with C... cockles :roll1:

 

30 seconds!!

Be prepared for some birdies mate

 

i like using heavy leads and its "normally" fine! but i find the spool is never that quick anyway

 

hi gents,,for my two pennith worth i agree with shirlycodlin,,,you really dont need a reel to spin for two weeks,,,, the tourno boys like it fast and furious but they would struggle fishing with reels so fast,,i clean mine every two or three sessions and give one drop of rocket fuel in each bearing,they spin maybe 8 or 10 seconds,,,,,ideal ,,,i can control them easily and chuck them over 150yrds,,,,,casting on a field is a different ball game to fishing,,,try casting into a good wind in your face ,,,its not easy sometimes with mags on full,,,,,but each to their own,,,,go steady

 

Good advice there Gritty (and Shirl), ........as you say a reel set up for fishing needs to be easily controllable, and not 'on the edge'.....or it's:wah:time!
Personally i prefer red rocket fuel oil for fishing, or good ole 20/50 motor oil which is dead cheap. Cheers, R.:thumbs:

 

Good advice there Gritty (and Shirl), ........as you say a reel set up for fishing needs to be easily controllable, and not 'on the edge'.....or it's:wah:time!
Personally i prefer red rocket fuel oil for fishing, or good ole 20/50 motor oil which is dead cheap. Cheers, R.:thumbs:

You don't need them spinning for years but it is important to remember that there are a lot of reasons why reels may not spin very long and some of them are good and some of them are bad. A well set up ultracast spool type reel such as a 6500 may only spin for a few seconds when set up for fishing but when the brakes are off it should then spin for a lot longer if the reel (and particularly the bearings) is in a good state of repair.

 

A certain eBay reel tuning company gets there fishing reels to spin for 4 minutes and then puts bespoke mag units with 2 10mm magnets in to slow the reel down so you can cast it !!!!! Makes no sense to me , lighter fluid is great , evaporates away , if you use white spirits etc it leaves behind an oily film which if you put in a thick oil to control your reel it will thin out that oil causing it to speed up !

 

if they run to fast put some cannabis oil in its makes the slow and dopey:clap2:

 

i looked through these posts and then i looked on my bedroom side and there was the missing peice to the puzzle the 2 fibre brake blocks (plus my match tonight will be in your face winds :'( ). i placed them in gave it a nice big spin and it spun for 10seconds max, i know that being on the beach is a different ball game to being on the field but i have reels for different purposes. i have my mag for windy onshore northerlies, my blue yonder for match/scratching/distance fishing, another 6500 for a slightly bigger set up etc. horses for courses