Question about ardent reel kleen/reel maintenance

[Where's dottie?]

Is ardent reel kleen the same as degreaser? I maintained my reels for the first time not to long ago and I watched a video made by a youtuber that goes by tackle junky 81, he said to put oil in the sideplate bearing then he said to put some lube in the sideplate bearing as well but I do not own any lube and he said if you don't own lube you can spray some ardent reel kleen on the bearing and let it dry for 5 minutes and that is also fine. But I don't own any ardent reel kleen so I just used some Abu Garcia precision degreaser instead. I looked up online it says ardent reel kleen is degreaser that's why I just used some Abu Garcia degreaser instead but it doesn't make sense why you put oil in the bearing then degreaser. Is that what your supposed to do?

[garroyo130]

Hmm never heard of this and I've seen his videos before. I believe it is a degreaser but I personally wouldn't add anything besides oil on those bearings. 

[Jig Man]

I use acetone to clean bearings.  I soak them in it.  Dry them thoroughly.  Then I put a drop of oil on them and reinstall them.

 

 I use reel kleen on the outside of the reels and on the rods.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

“Reel” oil, grease, cleaner...are all just relabeled common products. I don’t use Ardent Reel Clean and I’m not suggesting it’s not good for it’s intended use just that you can likely get an equivalent less expensive. I wouldn’t use any degreaser as a last step prior to bearing installation. Degrease, dry, light oil, install. 

[Log Catcher]

I bought the Ardent Reel Clean kit with a plastic jar and basket to put your parts in. It has worked very well for me on cleaning the parts. Like @Delaware Valley Tackle said clean, dry, oil on bearings and grease on the gears and assemble. The big bottles of Ardent Reel Clean are getting hard to find. I need to find another cleaner to use in place of it.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

2 hours ago, Log Catcher said:

I bought the Ardent Reel Clean kit with a plastic jar and basket to put your parts in. It has worked very well for me on cleaning the parts. Like @Delaware Valley Tackle said clean, dry, oil on bearings and grease on the gears and assemble. The big bottles of Ardent Reel Clean are getting hard to find. I need to find another cleaner to use in place of it.

Try full strength Simple Green followed by a hot water rinse. Acetone soak for bearings. 

[FishTank]

10 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Try full strength Simple Green followed by a hot water rinse. Acetone soak for bearings. 

I have tried both the Ardent kit and Simple Green (also Simple Orange).  I like the cleaner in the Ardent kit for a quick cleaning but if a reel is completely corroded or extra dirty Simple Green has worked the best.  As stated, I too use acetone for the bearings.  I would also add that I have used the oil and grease that comes with the Ardent kit and found that I like Bantam oil and Shimano Grease better.  I have also tried Cal's and it is great as well.  I just ordered my first batch of TSI-321 oil.  I will be giving this a try in future.  I keep reading and hearing that it is fantastic for spool bearings. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

TSI is a very good product. I use it as part of my Super Tune service. It’s not a must have for casual diy maintenance though. 

[Where's dottie?]

I'll have to watch the video again, perhaps I misheard what he was saying. Thanks everyone!