Cleaning my own baitcaster questions

[RIBLUEFISH]

I clean both of those bearings on my Curado E's and D's. Unscrew the cast control knob till it comes off. Remove the spring and washers( I think the D's have some) and either tap the palm side of the reel or use a dental pick to remove bearing. I soak the bearings in lighter fluid overnight, then put them in water for 10 minutes. Next you have to spin them to dry them out. I use a drill with a Qtip put in chock. I put the bearing half way on the cotton and hold it inside a paper bag and start the drill slowly then speed it up. You will see the paper bag get wet. Then I put one small drop of Quantum Hot Sauce on them and reassemble. I do this with the seals on the bearings. I have never tried taking them off. Half way through the season I just add a second drop of oil to the bearings while they are installed.

[Fishin is life]

Thanks for the responses guys

Ribbluefish....I've also heard you can use compressed air to dry out the bearings after soaking them in the lighter fluid, would that be OK? Is it necessary to soak them in water after the lighter fluid? I was also going to leave the shields on the bearings, as that's one less thing I could mess up...Also isn't the quantum hot sauce a grease? Should I use grease or oil?

[RIBLUEFISH]

I am sure compressed air would work. I think the water step is to make sure there is no lighter fluid left to break down the fresh oil. The Hot Sauce I have is the liquid reel oil not the grease in the tube. Ardent does make a product I have seen at BPS that says bearing oil, but I have used the Hot Sauce with no issues.

[Fishin is life]

Thanks a lot guys....I'm gonna give it my first attempt on a reel tonight

[stratos185]

Thanks a lot guys....I'm gonna give it my first attempt on a reel tonight

Just finished yesterday cleaning my reels. Shimano Black Magnums w/Fightin Star. Has 3 ball bearings, one in the reel handle and 2 on the spool. I used lighter fluid on the bearings to loosen the oil that was in there from last year and then used a can of compressed air that is used to clean computers and other products with. Bought it at Wal-Mart. Afterwards I only put no more that 3 drops of oil on each bearing and let it get into the bearing before reinstalling. Also put a drop of oil on other bearing surfaces that do not affect the spool and also on the level wind. Reinstall bearings and make sure everything is in good working order. BTW, had 12 rods with reels to clean. Removed the reels from rods, cleaned the cork handles with comet and a stiff brush and everything looks like new and Ready To Go.

[Fishin is life]

I'm cleaning an E5 as my trial run....I'm seeing a fair amount of gunk and old grease in the cleaning solution so I'm assuming that's a good thing....I'll be using compressed air to make sure theyre dry as well and then oil before reinstalling....Hope I'm doing everything correctly

[Fishin is life]

Trial run was a success....Went out and threw it in the yard and it was noticeably better....Looks like I have 6 or 7 more reels to do this week

[Moveon]

Trial run was a success....Went out and threw it in the yard and it was noticeably better....Looks like I have 6 or 7 more reels to do this week

Three drops of oil on a bearing is too much oil. Put one drop on a Q tip end and then use that Q tip end to damp the bearings a few times. That's all the oil they require as per the Shimano Videos that I saw on U Tube. This was a factory rep that cleans these reels when you send them into the factory to get cleaned and lubed. He was very specific about not using too much oil on the bearings. The more oil you use the quicker they will collect dirt and grime again. They only need a very light coating of oil on them.