Ardent Reel Care

[Jigfishn10]

Has anyone used this or similar product from Ardent? My gear tends to crossover to saltwater and I was looking for some extra protection.

"

• 3 EASY STEPS: Ardent makes it fast and easy to clean, lubricate, and condition your fishing reel in 3 easy steps. Clean, protect, and maintain."

 

Last season I was constantly rinsing, cleaning and oiling my reels after saltwater use, was wondering if the grease and oil will protect better than the freshwater products?

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.  

[J Francho]

Did not meet my standards.  There's plenty of threads on this topic, but Acetone for bearings with a final soak of fine grade alcohol, Simple Green or Perfect Solution for degreasing, and Cal's or Shimano Star Grease for gears and Cal's Purple for lighter applications.  You might Consider using CorrosionX or ReelX to protect exposed line roller bearings for salt.

[Jigfishn10]

Thanks JF. I agree with you on the cleaning solutions you mentioned. I was looking at the cleaner as more of a periodic thing during the season and not so much as an after season deep cleaning. I'll check on those products that you mentioned for the grease and oil. 

 

I don't venture on this forum section much, so if there are threads pertaining to this topic, my apologies for the redundancy. 

 

Thanks, man!  

[FishTank]

After using it for a few years, I decided I didn't care for it. The real cleaner is pretty good but the oil and grease were not the best. I like TSI 321 for bearings and Shimano Bantam oil for everything else.  For grease I use either Cals or Shimano drag grease.

[J Francho]

6 minutes ago, FishTank said:

I like TSI 321 for bearings and Shimano Bantam oil for everything else. 

Both very good choices in my experience.

[Bankc]

I don't know how grease or oil could be formulated for saltwater.  Salt doesn't really react to grease or oil.  So to me, that sounds more like a marketing thing than a technology thing.  Maybe it's thicker, so it's less likely to get displaced?  That's all I can think of.  But that'll hurt the reel's performance.

 

Your best protection is to regularly clean your gear after each use.  Beyond that, it might be wise to invest in rods and reels designed for saltwater use, as some materials handle the corrosive effects of salt better than others.  

[Jigfishn10]

@Bankc, thank you for your opinion, much appreciated. 

 

There seems to be 2 schools of thought regarding saltwater gear. 1 is to buy expensive "made for saltwater" gear, which will be highly resistive to corrosion. The other is to buy decent quality, much less expensive gear and maintain with washing/rinsing after every use. 

 

I fall in the latter. After a wash & rinse, I'll wipe my gear down with a cloth and will take an 18v leaf blower to get all the water in areas that can't be wiped. I'll periodically oil the bearings and level wind prior to my fishing trip. I was hoping that this product would save me an extra step with the periodic maintenance, but it doesn't sound like it will be of much help.

 

Thanks again, man!

[J Francho]

TSI and ReelX bond to the metal rather than coat it for better protection. I will also use a heavier (Penn) grease on SW gear. As always, a GENTLE rinse in freshwater right after every salt trip is a good plan. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

You’ve gotten good advice here already. All I’ll add is that regular, detailed maintenance is THE key and trumps any special application product labels. 

[WRB]

WD-40 isn’t a panacea for everything people claim but is a excellent salt water displacement and corrosion barrier.

After lightly washing off the outside of your rods and reels with fresh water spray them with WD-40. 

If you are breaking down the reel for thorough cleaning then use oil and grease products you are comfortable with for fresh water use.

I have used CLP Break Free to lubricate the bait casting reel level wind worm gear and spinning reel line roller and washing with fresh and spraying the outside surfaces WD-40 for decades without any issues.

Tom

[J Francho]

Ever spray Armorall on your steering wheel? That's WD-40 on a reel, lol. 

[WRB]

WD-40 is a solvent that disappears without any residue 24 hours after wiping it down. I used WD-40 on my International off shore reels for 40 years and they look like new when I sold them last year, so nothing like Armorall.

Tom

 

[Jigfishn10]

11 hours ago, J Francho said:

Ever spray Armorall on your steering wheel? That's WD-40 on a reel, lol. 

I would have thought the same thing, but I guess I don't understand the application procedure. 

 

16 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

You’ve gotten good advice here already. All I’ll add is that regular, detailed maintenance is THE key and trumps any special application product labels. 

Can't agree more. Sounds like I should keep doing what I've been doing. Thanks, man!

[J Francho]

10 hours ago, WRB said:

WD-40 is a solvent that disappears without any residue 24 hours after wiping it down.

It's 50% purified mineral spirits and the rest is lubricating and penetrating oils with corrosion resistance.  It's not meant for lubing reels, though it won't hurt anything.  I like to keep it around for squeaky hinges and crayon stains.

[WRB]

43 minutes ago, J Francho said:

It's 50% purified mineral spirits and the rest is lubricating and penetrating oils with corrosion resistance.  It's not meant for lubing reels, though it won't hurt anything.  I like to keep it around for squeaky hinges and crayon stains.

Outside surfaces only, WD-40 is a solvent not a lubricant.

Tom

[Jigfishn10]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

I like to keep it around for squeaky hinges and crayon stains.

Try Vaseline on those hinges, you'd be surprised. As far as crayon, well, at my age I'm glad I'm out of that stage ...  

 

As for WD-40 on my reels. I have a couple of carbon composite frames, I wonder if the solvent would eat away at those frames? I don't plan on spraying them with WD, but would like to find out for $h1t$ and giggles.

[J Francho]

Not sure what the point would be - just rinse them.  

[Jigfishn10]

Whatever