Reel cleaning. What do you use?

[Davidhorowitzski]

I'm curious as to what everyone here uses to degrease a reel with. You know,  the ones with 25 year old caked grease.  

[BobP]

I use naphtha and a toothbrush.  It cleans well and dries much faster than dish soap and water.

[cottny27]

Soak em in simple green for awhile and hit it with a toothbrush.  

[jdz197]

Not to hijack the thread but with removing grease comes the part where you put grease back on.....so what to use? I've got a reel that sounds pretty dry and I'm gonna take it apart tomorrow.

[papajoe222]

20 minutes ago, jdz197 said:

Not to hijack the thread but with removing grease comes the part where you put grease back on.....so what to use? I've got a reel that sounds pretty dry and I'm gonna take it apart tomorrow.

Welcome to the forums.

 

For cleaning that grease from 20years ago, I'd go with lighter fluid followed by a good rinse and dry.

For relube of the gears, most any grease marketed for fishing reels will get the job done. Same goes for oiling bearings. Just remember 'less is better' is a good motto. You may need to relube prior to your next cleaning, but that clean-up will be a lot easier.

[MassYak85]

1 hour ago, cottny27 said:

Soak em in simple green for awhile and hit it with a toothbrush.  

This is what I did this winter and it got them pretty darn clean. 

[OnthePotomac]

Yep, Simple Green and water mix, hold the reel under faucet of warm water and brush grease with a small paint brush.  Remember to put a plug in the sink drain before you start in case you drop something and it won't go bye bye down the drain.  I then blow dry the reel with a computer keyboard blower I mounted in a home made bracket on its side.  Lube the gears with either Yamaha Blue Marine Grease (not Yamaha General Purpose Grease), or Super Lube applied with a child's water color brush.  Easy on the grease so it does not end up all over the interior of the reel.  Shimano, or Cal's drag grease.  Yellow Rocket Fuel on spool bearings, ReelX on the worm gear and drive shaft bearing.  Pinion bearing packed in the same grease as gears.   At least that is my procedure.  Look at CRC Electric Cleaner in a spray can also as a cleaning agent for everything including bearings.  I step outdoors to use it, but it has no odor, can be sprayed on any material, to include plastic, and dries really fast with no residue.   It is a very fast bearing cleaner by laying the bearings in a small strainer and blasting.  Having said all that, I am now experimenting with my pinion bearings by cleaning them thoroughly and dipping them in TSI 301 rather than packing them in grease.  I picked this up from the salt water anglers in California.  Second season doing this now and so far, so good.

[J Francho]

I degrease with Perfect Solution.  There's none better that I've found. 

[onetime]

I use rubbing alcohol 91% or stuff that's called Formula 88, that stuff stomps the crap out of Simple green.