Fishing Reel Lube

[BassinDJ]

Today I went to my local sporting goods store to buy some reel grease and oil. All I could find was a pack with some Ardent reel cleaner and reel butter grease and oil for saltwater equipment. Is saltwater oil and grease OK to use on freshwater equipment too?

[fisherrw]

Yes I use penn reel oil for my reels.

[BassinDJ]

Thanx a lot fisherrw!

[Sam]

Bassin, the guy who repairs and maintains my reels uses grease mixed with graphite.

 

He says that is the best grease you can use on fishing reels.

 

Not much graphite, but enough to see it sparkle in the grease.

 

Give it a try and see if you like it.

 

Merry Christmas

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

There's no need for a reel specific lube. There's Nothing magic in it. If you have a wet drag system you can use drag grease on the gears but don't use multi purpose grease on drags. Otherwise marine grease is a little more water resistant and synthetic like Superlube is good. A light oil like Remoil or even sewing machine oil will work on bearings. Gear oil works well on levelwinds and sliding parts.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Penn grease on gears and remoil on bearings all i use.And never ever put grease on your levelwind it picks up all the dirt and slows your casting down.light oil on levelwind even if u need to do it once a week.

[Sam]

Penn grease on gears and remoil on bearings all i use.And never ever put grease on your levelwind it picks up all the dirt and slows your casting down.light oil on levelwind even if u need to do it once a week.

 

Grease on the inside of the reel; oil on the outside of the reel.

[papajoe222]

Unless you plan on tearing down the reel completely, DVT hits it on the head.  If you do, you may want to invest in products specifically marketed for fishing reels.  I own and maintain over a dozen reels and most of them get a complete cleaning and re-lube twice a year. Ardent's grease and oil along with Cal's drag grease have served me well. I'm sure you'll get many other recommendations.

[BobP]

I use Superlube grease on sliding parts and gear teeth, Shimano ACE-2 drag grease on 'wet' drags, and a light bearing oil like Yellow Rocket Fuel or Ardent bearing oil on bearings and the level wind.  I especially like Superlube, which is a white PTFE fortified grease sold in 8 oz cans at NAPA.

 

I agree with DVT about specific brands of grease and oil with one proviso.  The thinner viscosity your bearing oil, the quicker it will be thrown out of a bearing and the sooner you will need to re-lube it.  So it's a trade-off between bearing speed and how often you'll need to re-oil them.