What Kind Of Reel Lube Do You Prefer?

[unionman]

I searched for a related topic and surprisingly didnt find one. Ive got three new baitcasters and I was looking for a good, long lasting lube. Quantum had some I looked at when I got my reel but it was rediculously expensive($20). Recommendations?

[aavery2]

Take a look at TG's RocketFuel and Cal's drag grease.

[Fishing Rhino]

In the overall scheme of things reel lube/grease will be one of the cheapest products you will buy. Compared to fuel, line, baits, etc., twenty bucks ain't much, when you consider how many times you can use it to lube your reels.

I'd stick with the brand of lube the reel maker recommends. Some like Hot Sauce, if memory serves, is not compatible with all reels. It can literally ruin internal parts of some brands from what I've read on this forum. You may pay more, but you won't go wrong using the products with the manufacturers name on them.

[RyneB]

iv used hot sauce, but once i switched all my reels over to Abus, i started using Reel Butter and i love it.

[BASSclary]

I use Ardents products in all my reels, and it's very nice in my opinion

[Michael DiNardo]

I'd like to see JFrancho's and DVT's opinions on this topic.

Mike

[Jaheff]

Cal's original grease on gears and drags,cheap walmart marine grease in non spool bearings, and oust for spool bearings.

[Jake P]

Astroglide

[unionman]

In the overall scheme of things reel lube/grease will be one of the cheapest products you will buy. Compared to fuel, line, baits, etc., twenty bucks ain't much, when you consider how many times you can use it to lube your reels.

I'd stick with the brand of lube the reel maker recommends. Some like Hot Sauce, if memory serves, is not compatible with all reels. It can literally ruin internal parts of some brands from what I've read on this forum. You may pay more, but you won't go wrong using the products with the manufacturers name on them.

Well put.

[Stasher1]

Astroglide

Not reel-related, but I found KY liquid to be the best lubricant for putting window seals in my VW. It's water-soluable, non-staining, won't dissolve rubber, and it's as slippery as wet goose turds.

[baluga]

TSI 301

[.RM.]

27 yrs reel servicing.

We use our Lithium Gold Grease, have recently added Cals (depending on the regon the reel is in).

Oil is our RM reel oil (same viscosity as Shimano's) ...

FYI only use Quantum HS in Quantum reels!!!

Tight Lines All!

[LgMouthGambler]

Ardent has a nice little kit that has grease, lube, cleaner, a brush, foam applicators, etc. I think its like $25.

[J Francho]

I don't have a solid, single answer. In a general sense, Cal's light grease (purple stuff) works well, so does Shimano Star Drag Grease, and Dave's gold grease holds up really well. For oil, Bantam oil is hard to beat. You really have to take into account how the reel is going to be used to develop the best lube strategy. Little things, like packing knob bearings in grease, or just oil make a big difference to some users.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Shimano Grease

Cal's light drag grease

Shimano Oil

The first two I've found work about the same. No noticeable difference to me. Both are great products. The Bantam oil has worked flawlessly for me for years. If I ever run out, I'll be buying more of it. I've tried Abu and Daiwa oil and found the Shimano stuff to work a little better IMO. Mind you, I've also got a stockpile of Shimano oil lying around that came with my reels....

[TrippyJai]

I use Shimano Star Drag Grease and Bantam Oil on my Shimano reels and they work fine. Have no had a problem for a couple seasons now.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Lube brand is much less important than proper application combined with cleaning. Adding new lube on top of old can do more harm than good. Once everything is clean a marine grade grease will work and you may have some already. If you're going to buy, using Cal's drag grease on the gears as well as drag lets you keep one less product laying around. The Super Lube synthetic works well but is not suitable for drags. I would not recommend Hot Sauce grease for any reel. It gums up too much.

The same applies to bearings. Flush them completely before relubing and use one of the quality lubes available. I like Yellow Rocket Fuel and currently use Boca Speed Oil if I want lighter vis. One small drop is all you need on a spool bearing so a tube of the Bantam oil will last a long time. Non-spool bearings can be packed with grease or oiled more heavily. I use a middle ground and give them a bath in 90w-140 gear lube.

[Dr. Watson]

I haven't used the Hot Sauce grease, I probably won't ever now that I've read this; but for me, I use Ardent reel butter grease on my gears and drag (light coating), Hot Sauce bearing lube on my spool bearings, and then ardent reel butter bearing lube on the other bearings. To clean and degrease I use the Mil-com reel cleaner sold under the Bass Pro name. This system has worked awesome for me and keeps everything very smooth and clean. I have also used dry lube, like Remington dry teflon lube, for the worm gear; it seems to work very well, but it does need to be re applied after a few outings as it does get washed out a little. I mainly like to use the reel butter grease on my worm gear (light coat)

[0119]

Shimano wont warranty their reels if they find remnants of hot sauce inside. For spinning reels and gearing I use Yamaha marine grease. Baitcasters get Reel-X oil. All drags get Cals Drag Grease.

[unionman]

Lube brand is much less important than proper application combined with cleaning. Adding new lube on top of old can do more harm than good. Once everything is clean a marine grade grease will work and you may have some already. If you're going to buy, using Cal's drag grease on the gears as well as drag lets you keep one less product laying around. The Super Lube synthetic works well but is not suitable for drags. I would not recommend Hot Sauce grease for any reel. It gums up too much.

The same applies to bearings. Flush them completely before relubing and use one of the quality lubes available. I like Yellow Rocket Fuel and currently use Boca Speed Oil if I want lighter vis. One small drop is all you need on a spool bearing so a tube of the Bantam oil will last a long time. Non-spool bearings can be packed with grease or oiled more heavily. I use a middle ground and give them a bath in 90w-140 gear lube.

I am new to baitcasting and have been trying to find videos on "greasing" a reel. There are plenty on cleaning and oiling, which I have done, but I want to know how to pack bearings and grease my gears and drag. I plan on getting Boca Bearing upgrades for both my Quantum TE's and my Smoke so I need to learn these things well.

p.s. I tried quantum hot sauce and it worked great. It added distance to my cast and made my reel more quiet. I hope it doesnt get gummy like you said. It should be the perfect product for what they charge for it...

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Shimano wont warranty their reels if they find remnants of hot sauce inside. For spinning reels and gearing I use Yamaha marine grease. Baitcasters get Reel-X oil. All drags get Cals Drag Grease.

I don't know Shimano's policy on warrantees regarding lube, but if this their policy it is a total cop out and should be challenged if experienced. Some automakers tried this in the 80s and it didn't work out so well for them. I'm not a fan of the Hot sauce lubes. There are better choices but in all fairness they won't cause a self destruction.

[unionman]

*I tried Hot Sauce Oil, not grease...*

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Some drags are designed to be run dry. If they are greased it must bebd one a drag specific grease by rubbing a film over the fiber washers. Gears are greased by applying a thin coat pressed into the teeth with something like a small craft brush. It's not necessary to pack the gear teeth. Most of the grease squeezes out and just makes a mess. To properly pack a bearing requires a special tool. Just to maintain your own I'd suggest just a heavy oil, for non-spool bearings this is. You'll need all 3 bearings for an upgrade to be effective.

[0119]

That was straight from Bantam, back when he had a page here. Miss those days

[unionman]

Some drags are designed to be run dry. If they are greased it must bebd one a drag specific grease by rubbing a film over the fiber washers. Gears are greased by applying a thin coat pressed into the teeth with something like a small craft brush. It's not necessary to pack the gear teeth. Most of the grease squeezes out and just makes a mess. To properly pack a bearing requires a special tool. Just to maintain your own I'd suggest just a heavy oil, for non-spool bearings this is. You'll need all 3 bearings for an upgrade to be effective.

I went to Boca's site and they only have a 'two bearing upgrade' ,and an 'eight bearing upgrade'. I just want to upgrade the spool bearings on my Quantum Tour Edition. Which three do you mean and how do I find the exact size of the third bearing ,for ordering, if its not in the upgrade kit already?