Cleaning Baitcasters

[VABasser]

I have two of the older model Curados that I want to give a thorough cleaning before I start fishing again in a few weeks.  I've already spent close to $400 on fishing gear this year before the season has even started so I think I want to try cleaning them myself to save a little money.  I do routine cleaning but never totally taken them apart so I'm a little nervous.  My question to those of you who have experience with these things is how difficult is it?  Obviously I will print out the schematics and use those.  Are there any shortcuts to clean them without taking it all apart?  As far as materials go what should I use to clean the parts and then what should I use to lube them up.  What would you lube besides the obvious things like bearings?  I'm not exactly sure how to tell if a part is worn and should be replaced, I guess if I have any doubt I will take a picture of it and post it up on the board for some of the experts to determine.  Thanks for any help.  

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Lighting .........make sure u have plenty of light  i use a table and put a white sheet on it i worked on reels for about 3 yrs in a tackle shop  that was my main concern was light take it apart as u do use the right tool for the job kind of make it explode in front of ya set it up and put each piece in order as it comes out put ur right side plate on ur right side left on left put ur first peice u take off far right and so on work back to the last thing its easier to do then type it out as for lube thats  a hard one i use remoil for light duty and i myself dont like using a grease thats really very thick and i only GREASE my main gears the remoil i use on everything else the grease part is tricky to much and it will get gooey to little and u defeat ur purpose for using it i havent used it yet but thet hot sauce grease seems good or use grease from any manufacturer of the reel u have i hope i helped

[castaway]

I use a beach towel to tear reels down .If in doubt, put the parts in sequence on the towel as you take it apart, but once you do a few, its a peice of cake.Happy Birthday as well.   Ivan

[VABasser]

Thanks guys I think I'm going to get Reelmechs book

[Lucky Craft Man]

Ditto on ReelMech's book.  I've cleaned at least 7 reels now using the tips and advice in his book.  I would also recommend buying his oil (I've used three types of oil, and I like his the best).

[earthworm77]

Is this book out of stock? My paypal payment was refunded today. I'd love to be able to support a B/R sponsor. Let me know what is up.

[Raul]

Better kill two birds with the same shot, send your reel to ReelMech for maintenance and get the book from him.  

[.ghoti.]

Good advice here. It's not all that hard, just time consuming. The worst that can happen is not getting it back together correctly, or losing some parts. Some of the small springs have a mind of their own, and will find a way to jump off the bench. I use about three feet of paper toweling, taped down. Tape it down good. The parts I've lost were lost because I pulled the towel off the bench.

Lay out the parts in order as you remove them from the reel. You can write on the paper towel if you want. Might not be bad idea the first few times to write what the part is next to it. If you don't know what it's called, make something up. A baitcast reel is full of bearings, linkages, springs, whatchamacallits, doo-dads, thingamabobs, dingle-scheaffers and overlaitors.

Get all the old grease and oil out. I use a toothbrush, very hot water and Dawn dish soap. It's cheap and always around the house.

Re-lube sparingly. For the spool disengage linkages, I put grease on my fingertips and rub it on all the parts. I use a tooth pick to get grease into the gear teeth. I used to also put grease on the levelwing gear and pawl. I've since learned, on this site, that this is a dumb idea. Use oil instead. One drop of oil in each bearing. Too much lube in the IAR bearing will cause it to slip.

Good luck, it's not as hard as you think it is.

Cheers,

GK

[Guest DavidGreen]

Sorry the book is out of stock.  

[VABasser]

I ordered a book today too but I just checked my Paypal account and it didn't say it was refunded.  Does that mean I got one of the last copies. 8-) If I didn't does anyone know of any sites that would help out.  The only ones I have found just talk about basic maintenence.

[jdw174]

Better kill two birds with the same shot, send your reel to ReelMech for maintenance and get the book from him.

This post hits the nail on the head.  There are reels that are a whole lot easier to clean than Curados.  I gave up on my Curado and two Castaics and sent them to ReelMech.  It was money well spent.