Found a new favorite reel grease

[newapti5]

Krytox GPL205 for freshwater reels. It's crazy expensive for a reel grease, but after trying it on my freshwater baitcaster reels, I have to say it's become my new favorite grease. It may seem a bit dry, but a little of it goes a long way. It noticeably improves the smoothness of reel cranking, while not hindering the easy operation of reels like other thick viscosity greases do. 

 

[SmugOne]

I remember Tackle Advisors on YouTube recommended this also. I also remember it being pretty expensive and sure enough when I checked amazon it was 42 bucks for 2 ounces. I will have to keep an eye out for a sale.

[cyclops2]

What price gouging greed ?    for a pound of it at a auto parts store ?  You would be willing to pay  $ 336  ?    Really ?  Even NASA does not pay that much for a greasing. 

 

Better pricing for a ORDINARY lubricating grease is  $2,176 per pound.

It is used for general AUTO greasing.

 

 There is one  / several born every minute. Why car dealers need so much money to lube you.

[JustJames]

Very interesting, my question is how often do you have to apply and how well does it work in moisture environment?

I use corrosionX grease on some of the reels, mainly to protect moisture. It stick to surface good last a long time. Normally I just brush on some of the bearing and reel frame and main gear only with heavy duty and spinning reels. I feel the smoothness but not as freely as I would want too. Thinking of changing but not sure which one.

[garroyo130]

Had heard of Krytox 226 being used on the salt side but price kept me from even trying. Probably still wont give it a go. Cals on gears has worked well enough and there's no issues if it sneaks into the drag stack.

[newapti5]

5 hours ago, SmugOne said:

when I checked amazon it was 42 bucks for 2 ounces

 

I got the 2oz tube from eBay for $30. Even at a bargain, it comes in very pricy. I first heard about it from Alan Hawk, then other reviewers. When I saw it on sale, I snatched. 

 

4 hours ago, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

how often do you have to apply and how well does it work in moisture environment?

 

I only started using it recently. We'll see the long term effect this coming season. On paper, it's supposed to outlast other greases.

 

I only used it for gears inside. For exposed worm gears, there is GPL225, which has better corrosion resistance. I didn't try it on bearings, either; IMO it seems a bit too thick for that task. 

 

I've used Cal's for other reels. It's smooth but it makes it hard to crank the handle.  Not this one. I've also tried some low viscosity greases that makes little difference on smoothness or easiness. Not this one either.  I am not saying this grease is magical, but a small amount of it does make a reel smoother while still relatively easy to crank. 

 

 

[FishTank]

5 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

What price gouging greed ?    for a pound of it at a auto parts store ?  You would be willing to pay  $ 336  ?    Really ?  Even NASA does not pay that much for a greasing. 

 

Better pricing for a ORDINARY lubricating grease is  $2,176 per pound.

It is used for general AUTO greasing.

 

 There is one  / several born every minute. Why car dealers need so much money to lube you.

 

I use to work on printing presses back around 1996-2004 and we used a lithium grease that was $100 for a .25oz tube on a special heat sensitive roller.  Not sure why but it was crazy good stuff. It made the rollers last years instead of months.

 

Also....Trust me,  NASA has way more expensive stuff.  

[garroyo130]

Seems to be a grease for use in lifetime applications. Interesting to see if it can be used for longer intervals in fishing reels ... although bearings would probably need more frequent lubrication which may defeat the point 

[FishTank]

1 hour ago, newapti5 said:

I've used Cal's for other reels. It's smooth but it makes it hard to crank the handle.  Not this one. I've also tried some low viscosity greases that makes little difference on smoothness or easiness. Not this one either.  I am not saying this grease is magical, but a small amount of it does make a reel smoother while still relatively easy to crank. 

 

Not saying that the Krytox grease isn't good stuff but I have used Cal's and Shimano drag grease for years and everything has been smooth on every reel I have worked on.  What reel did you grease with Cal's that was hard to crank?

[GReb]

13 minutes ago, FishTank said:

 

Not saying that the Krytox grease isn't good stuff but I have used Cal's and Shimano drag grease for years and everything has been smooth on every reel I have worked on.  What reel did you grease with Cal's that was hard to crank?

Not to hijack but when you say Cals are you using the tan grease?

[FishTank]

7 minutes ago, GReb said:

Not to hijack but when you say Cals are you using the tan grease?

 

Yes. A little goes a long way. I use it on grag washers and gears only. 

[MickD]

Overkill IMHO.

 

And, according to what I read, it is insoluble in "nearly all solvents."  What do you use to get it off when you finally think it's time to replace it?  From a search Novec 7100 "engineered fluid" available by the gallon or 12 pound bottles is recommended.

 

I think I'll stick with "reel grease."  Anything except that red stuff.

[FrankN209]

.

[MickD]

3 minutes ago, FrankN209 said:

Yep, the solvents to take that stuff off with will dissolve your reel...

Can you tell us if you have real data on what materials it attacks?  It's used on seals and O rings and I believe plastics, so it seems like it wouldn't dissolve a reel.  But I have no data or in-depth knowledge. 

[newapti5]

56 minutes ago, MickD said:

And, according to what I read, it is insoluble in "nearly all solvents."  What do you use to get it off when you finally think it's time to replace it?

 

I used a tiny painting brush to put it on. When done, the leftover grease on the brush wasn't hard to be washed away with some Dawn. So I don't know about the "insoluble in nearly all solvents" part. I think a little scrubbing with a toothbrush and Dawn should do the work when the time comes.

 

Even if it only lasted as long as other grease, IMO it still performs pretty well while on.  But I agree on the "overkill" part.  You don't need a fancy grease like this to make reels behave; even "that red stuff" works. It's just more fun.

 

 

2 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

Not saying that the Krytox grease isn't good stuff but I have used Cal's and Shimano drag grease for years and everything has been smooth on every reel I have worked on.  What reel did you grease with Cal's that was hard to crank?

 

Cal's and Shimano drag grease have been my main sources for reels grease for years, too. Now I mostly use Cal's only for drags, but I used Cal's on the gearing of a couple of Curado I, also a Tatula I think. Maybe "hard to crank" is a bit too much, but the easiness of cranking is definitely affected after. 

[MickD]

10 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

definitely affected after.

With GPL205 "easiness of cranking" gets better or worse? 

[newapti5]

22 minutes ago, MickD said:

With GPL205 "easiness of cranking" gets better or worse? 

GPL205 almost has no effect on that aspect, which is what I want. Sorry, early on I was talking about how Cal's affects the easiness of cranking, with its thick viscosity. 

 

I know some reels in bad shape and urgent need of cleaning may also feel hard to crank, even grinding, but I won't wait till then to clean my reels. When my reels' handles start to spin forever with an easy turn, I know the grease inside is getting thin. Usually that's when the smoothness start to suffer as well.  I might start to clean them soon, or at least add some grease. 

 

[JustJames]

4 hours ago, newapti5 said:

 

I only started using it recently. We'll see the long term effect this coming season. On paper, it's supposed to outlast other greases.

 

I only used it for gears inside. For exposed worm gears, there is GPL225, which has better corrosion resistance. I didn't try it on bearings, either; IMO it seems a bit too thick for that task. 

 

Thanks, I use CorrosionX on worm gear as well as main gear and frame bearing only light brush on enough just to leave thin film, it would stay on as long as you can imagine. I spray rem oil to clean when need to re grease. I use mostly for heavy duty and saltwater reels.

For my finesse reels, I use Shimano drag grease on main gear and 90w oil on worm gear. It spin more freely but require service more often.

[SmugOne]

5 hours ago, FishTank said:

 

Not saying that the Krytox grease isn't good stuff but I have used Cal's and Shimano drag grease for years and everything has been smooth on every reel I have worked on.  What reel did you grease with Cal's that was hard to crank?

Me too, and I dont have any complaints!

[papajoe222]

I switched from Cal's to Lucas Oil (Lew's) reel grease last season. Performance wise, I saw zero difference. Price wise, it's $10 an ounce cheaper.

[cyclops2]

I still have my 50 ? year old tube of reel oil. 1/2 drop on the 2 spool support bearings. Last done 20 to 40 years ago. Still cranks the same way / effort.

[newapti5]

Here's what I have now for freshwater reels. 

 

 

[garroyo130]

Is that hot sauce a new formula? The one i had was the old version that was packaged clear with a red top instead of white and I can attest that it would dry and harden.

 

 

[newapti5]

1 minute ago, garroyo130 said:

Is that hot sauce a new formula? The one i had was the old version that was packaged clear with a red top instead of white and I can attest that it would dry and harden.

 

 

 

As far as I know, it's the same. I like the fact that its viscosity is right in the middle, but it does dry up fast and require more frequent re-applying.