Thread: How to remove, clean, and lube a bearing

wasnt this a sticky tho ?

nope, a link was just in a sticky

AC, do you make these pics? or do you find them somewhere?

Originally Posted by 1337noob

nope, a link was just in a sticky

that qualifies as a sticky in this instance

oh, now i'm enlightened, thanks!

Originally Posted by 1337noob

AC, do you make these pics? or do you find them somewhere?

He finds pics then changes it.

Originally Posted by Luke Vader Rules!!!!

that qualifies as a sticky in this instance

Then that means there shouldn't be a necro pic.

AC can necro-pic all he wants!

Originally Posted by 1337noob

whoa! what a necro, we need ac here to put a necro pic up

Consider me WACKED!

hey pplz.just wondering.IM a trumpet player at my middle school.Will valve oil be good for lubing?its quite similar to lube it hink but ive never tried.I dont know if it would work.I donto want to break my berrings.And will lighter fluid work for cleaning the berrings too?i dont usually clean my berrings.ON my waveboard and my skateboard, a squirt of wd 40 usually does the trick.

Originally Posted by Streetsurfer

hey pplz.just wondering.IM a trumpet player at my middle school.Will valve oil be good for lubing?its quite similar to lube it hink but ive never tried.I dont know if it would work.I donto want to break my berrings.And will lighter fluid work for cleaning the berrings too?i dont usually clean my berrings.ON my waveboard and my skateboard, a squirt of wd 40 usually does the trick.

yeah, i've heard of people using valve oil, it's similar to thin lube. i've used it, it works fine...wd-40 is not recommended...use mineral spirits/paint thinner to clean your bearings. then put them on a pencil tip or a thin round paint brush handle and "dry" it with compressed air...then add the lube obviously.

Don't use trumpet valve oil on plastics, it will cause them to crack. It will work fine on metals though.

Originally Posted by joae1975

yeah, i've heard of people using valve oil, it's similar to thin lube. i've used it, it works fine...wd-40 is not recommended...use mineral spirits/paint thinner to clean your bearings. then put them on a pencil tip or a thin round paint brush handle and "dry" it with compressed air...then add the lube obviously.

ty.I never thought of using wd 40 on my yoyos.It actually just makes them spin slower.Smoother but slower.Thats why i only use it on my waveboard and skate borad.Too slick of a berring on a skateboard would cause you to die and never stop.i used valve oil and it works fine so i guess i good to go.

I would like to add my 2 cents to this topic. I don't know if it's been addressed, but here's what you do if you have a bearing with no c-clips...
Take a small eye glass screwdriver, sharpen it to a razor sharp edge with a router tool or what ever you can use. Then you can fit it into the groove and pry the shield out. You'll destroy the shield but it's ok to play with a shieldless bearing. I've had people tell me to use a pin or a small screwdriver for this, but the key is to sharpen the tool to be razor sharp so it fits into the groove. I hope this comes in hand for someone.

Great vid, very informative., i wasn't sure if i needed to remove both shields or not. Now i know, just got done cleaning my bearings and adding some fp-10 gun oil. One question, seems like there is a debate over whether to use Mineral spirits or lighter fluid to do the cleaning. Any thoughts?
Thanks

either will work...

lighter fluid evaporates quickly though and can leave some residue in your bearing...I use mineral spirits but if I run into a bearing that's giving me a headache, I'll give lighter fluid a try...sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt...

alternatively to the method I used in the video, you can pick up a can of carb and choke cleaner anywhere that sells auto parts and just use that...remove the shields like normal and then just spray a little bit of that cleaner in there...it'll get your bearing extremely clean so you'll definitely want to relube it afterwards...

very nasty stuff though...the fumes are terrible and it's very flamable...

And remember Luke Vader, That stuff doesn't spray like WD-40. It comes out at a high rate of speed and could splash back into your eyes! Safety glasses would be a very good idea here. Trust me it BURNS!!!!!!!!!! Brake cleaner will do the same as well! It burns your eyes too!

Originally Posted by Luke Vader

lighter fluid evaporates quickly though and can leave some residue in your bearing...

...you can pick up a can of carb and choke cleaner anywhere that sells auto parts and just use that...

I use lighter fluid all the time w/o any problems w/residue, of course I put a light lube on the bearing when I'm done in any event.

Also, I would think the carb/break cleaner would evaporate a lot quicker than the lighter fluid, having more tendency to leave a residue.

It doesn't leave any residue from what I've seen. Basically dries clean.

^^ I've had the same results...

it's like magic spray, unbelievable how good it works...

and as you said, it comes out like a jet stream of awesome...dont get too close to it when you're spraying or it could splash back on you, dont have your mouth open when you spray it or you'll be tasting it for a while, dont spray it indoors unless you want your house smelling like fumes, etc etc

it's nasty, but it's awesome...you'll definitely want to use some lube on your bearing afterwards, this stuff gets your bearing almost too clean...