Which Lube For You?

[HookSetDon]

When maintaining your reels whether it be casting or spinning do you find there's one brand of oil lubricant/ grease that improves wear, and performance over another? Whether it be for drag, bearings etc?

 

Looking to do some maintenance soon and wondered how much of a difference one brand/ type compares to the next.

 

[livetofish28]

I use Remington oil for my bearings and some waterproof grease that works really well for gears and such

[5dollarsplash]

I use bantam oil for the most part with shimano grease. 

 

PS congrats on one of the funniest thread titles yet!

[0119]

Reelx on spool bearings, Rocket Fuel Liquid Grease on other bearings and the levelwind and cog.  Cal's Drag Grease strictly for the drag and Yamaha marine Blue grease for the gears.

[BobP]

Yellow Rocket Fuel oil for spool bearings, Reel Butter oil for other bearings and levelwind, Shimano ACE-2 Drag Grease for drag, Superlube PTFE grease for everything else.

 

There are lots of spool bearing oils, differing in viscosity.  Very low viscosity oils need to be replenished more often but they make the bearings spin faster, so it's player's choice depending on what you and your reel can handle, speed-wise.  I especially like the Superlube grease, which you can buy at NAPA, 8 oz for less than $10 (a lifetime supply for reels!).  It is a white grease fortified with PTFE (Teflon) and will never gum up or discolor inside a reel.

[OnthePotomac]

On my bait casters:  Yellow Rocket Fuel on SS spool bearings; Met Oil on ceramic spool bearings; ReelX on drive shaft bearings and worm gear; Yamaha Marine Blue grease on the pinion bearing and metal gears, Super Lube on plastic gears. Nothing on the AR bearing.  Shimano drag grease on drag washers.  On my spinning reels: Yamaha Blue Marine grease on the handle bearing and Yellow Rocket Fuel or ReelX every where else.

[kingkong85]

Daiwa space age reel grease for gears and shafts. Wheel bearing lube (thin lube), obviously for bearings. (Forgot what brand but I picked it up from a hobby store.)

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

As both a reel tech and former lube oil distributor, brand is totally personal preference. The keys are to use quality products in an appropriate application on CLEAN parts. Drags require special drag grease (if it's not a dry system), which can serve as a gear grease as well otherwise a water resistant marine grease works well. A med weight multi purpose oil on sliding parts(clutch etc) and a light weight oil for bearings (REM oil, Mfg Oil, even sewing machine oil). A bearing packer for a few DIY reels is overkill, I'd use a heavy oil for frame bearings. 80-140 gear lube works well and is a good middle ground on worm gears. You can lightly swab   the AR in baitcasters with a light oil. spinning reel AR's, specifically shimanos should be left dry.  

[J Francho]

x2 on the clean parts.  Cleaning is what prolongs life, not so much the lubricant, though some are better than others. Clean your reels once a year, and it probably doesn't matter what you use.

[Hogsticker]

I use Hedgehog Alchemy oil on the spool bearings and send the reel off for maintnance to somebody who knows what the heck they are doing

[Dr. Watson]

I use Remington dry teflon lube on my worm gear, Ardent bearing lube on all bearings except for the spool bearings, Quantum Hot Sauce on spool bearings, Reel Butter on main gears, and a very light film of Reel Butter on the drag. This works extremely well for me and has lasted for more than a year on my reels with moderate usage.  

[HookSetDon]

Lots of great responses guys, thanks, I'll give them a good cleaning this weekend. Hopefully I don't end up with spare parts haha... I just left bass pro and I picked up the ardent clean and lube kit that was 26 bucks, had a gift card so it was a no brainier. Came in a nice box too with instructions on cleaning and lubricating procedures, I have my work cut of for me now!

[TiNuts]

There should've been a exploded parts SCHEMATIC with your reel, or you should be able to find one on the manufacturers website. They can/will help a lot during reel maintenance. Especially when you drop an opened reel and parts go flying.

[Smallmouth Hunter]

There should've been a exploded parts drawing with your reel, or you should be able to find one on the manufacturers website. They can/will help a lot during reel maintenance. Especially when you drop an opened reel and parts go flying.

 

 

[TiNuts]

Schematics works.

[TiNuts]

Funny, this is what I get when I google exploded parts drawing.

[bflp3]

Funny, this is what I get when I google exploded parts drawing.

image.jpg

I think he used a generator for that image, it was a joke.

[Oregon Native]

Have used Shimano oil and grease for years.....awesome. Clean is good

[J Francho]

lol, technically a schematic is a simplified illustration, usually used to diagram electrical circuits. An exploded diagram accurately shows the parts and their assembly relationships. I call them schematics though.

[Dr. Watson]

Can we all stop thread jacking and just call them "Reel X-rays" 

 

 

now back to the lube....

[HookSetDon]

 is it necessary to remove fishing line from the reels prior to cleaning? 

 

some of my reels have line thats in good condition that id rather not throw away

[Dr. Watson]

 is it necessary to remove fishing line from the reels prior to cleaning? 

 

some of my reels have line thats in good condition that id rather not throw away

I've cleaned some of mine with line still on them; I usually reel the line all the way in then use a little electrical tape to hold the line down to the spool, this makes it easy to remove the spool for cleaning, without messing up a bunch of good line. When your done cleaning your reel, you just slide the spool back in and off you go.

[Sam]

KY.

 

Only kidding.

 

Do what J says. At least every two years depending on the amount of use you do with the reels.

 

It is important to not only have the reels cleaned every one or two years, it is also important to have fresh grease and oil applied to the reel when you purchase it.

[Teal]

KY.

Only kidding.

.

Yeah.... Right.....

Seriously that was my response when I saw the thread. Shimanp oil is what I use.