lubricants

[Anjoemara]

I have cal Grease light. Is it Good for Carbon washers?

[Gfish]

Yes. Cal's is the stuff. Does "light" mean the color? I have tan and purple colors. The purple is maybe lower in viscosity and made for colder ambient temperatures.

[Donnyboat]

Yes Cals is the best for carbon fibre washers, but not a good lube for anything else, cheers Don.

[RowdyW]

but not a good lube for anything else, cheers Don.

I guess you are saying Cal doesn't know what he is doing when he lubes his custom reels or does services.       Rudy

[foakes]

Yes Cals is the best for carbon fibre washers, but not a good lube for anything else, cheers Don.

Rudy is exactly correct —

Cal's reel and drag grease is good for all areas (inside or outside) of Conventional Saltwater reels.  Drags, gears, screws, all working parts.  Exceptions, IMO — would be crank knobs, gear sleeves, and dogs.  For these, I would recommend TSI321 because of potential sticking issues due to grease as opposed to oil.

These are also excellent for plastics as well as seals like rubber "O" rings.

I will use it in a pinch — particularly on Internationals or large Shimano or Okuma Conventionals.  But I use Yamaha Marine Grade grease 95% of the time.  The Cal's grease is very expensive if one is doing a lot of reels.  Yamaha is just as good at 25% of the price.

However, I always use Cal's for HT-100 or CF drag discs — nothing else is nearly as good.

Cal Sheets and his son are "the" expert's in their field when it comes to upgrades and blue-printing a reel.

When they put their name on a product — no need to look any further.  They are good people who know what they are about — and have been doing this work successfully for decades.  They run a good service and operation.

Best,

Fred

[Mic]

WOW !,
34 PAGES !!!!!

Please, if your new to the board, read the frequently asked questions. Hope I can help you as much as I've been helped. Hold on...

Cal's Drag grease is the recommended lubricant for drag washers.
Marine grade grease is recommended for internal surfaces inside the reel (doesn't give minerals a stopping/starting point)
TSI - 321 seems to be the viewer's choice for bearings

There ya go

I've read all 34 pages and am really impressed by several things. First I guess would be options and opinions. Lots of options and lots of opinions. I have one of my own. Now, I've seen posted in the 34 pages several times people asking about a product called Kroil. It is a penetrating oil. IMHO, one bad #### penetrating oil

I was introduced to Kroil about 10 years ago by a feller working in a coal fired power plant. For those who don't know, just the operating of a coal fired power plant causes the said power plant to eat itself. So, maintenance is not periodically. It's daily. This feller and his team and plant use this Kroil oil on everything. Couple of shots, let it set a little bit, overnight if needed, but whatever you put it on is coming loose. For the life of me, I don't know why I chose the HVAC field to kill me, but I did. I use this product quite, quite, quite often. AC units in an industrial environment have to be repaired a hell of a lot more often than the one on your house.

"Where's this going Mic ? you might ask yourself". Well, just hold on....

I was raised on a farm and still work on rusty old tractors from time to time. Got an electric ½" impact and you want to take the wheels off, Spray the lugs with this and crack open your adult beverage and then come back and take the rusty old tractor nuts off. It's that good. Hold on...

No pictures for proof, but my son and I were fishing salt water in Rockport Tx a few years ago. My ABU 55K was instantly jerked into the bay. We casted around for about 20 minutes trying to snag it. Nope ! Next day about noon and I was still mad about losing that reel, told Travis, my son to roll'em up. We're going home.  He caught the line from that reel. It sat in salt water for 18+ hours. Got it out, washed with fresh water and took it completely apart at the truck. Put it in a Ziplock bag and sprayed the hell out of it with Kroil oil. It sat on a shelf in the barn for about 6 months before I washed it down and put it back together. Worked like my Grandma's Singer sewing machine.

You can spray Kroil oil on you trailer ball of your truck and in the morning it'll be on the front bumper....yeah, I'm from Texas. We exaggerate a bit. Just a bit...

Now, I have been reading quite a bet here on the Boss's Forum and when I see something that catches my eye or mind, I usually ask. Stupid question or not. On page 27, EZC Dave posted a point about it's breaking torque. WOW ! Really impressive I think. Now, Like I said I keep my mind and eyes open. When you see a feller that you look up to in this little world of ours using a product that you love, you just gotta ask him his opinion about it.

So, Mr. Fred Oakes,
Do you suffer from Old Rusty Tractor Nuts ?

I seen the Kroil in your shop and I was impressed Sir. Can I ask what you use it on or how do you use it ?

[Mic]

 Okay,
Just so it's known. I'm not a sponsor for Kroil Oil. No nickel or trade was given to me to speak my opinion. Although, I could be bought off pretty cheaply if they wanted too !

Last night my sister called and asked if I could take a look at the leaking drain under her sink. 50+ year old black iron pipe and rusted to hell and back, Brother in law tried taking the 1 1/2" nipple out with a 16" pipe wrench. Damn near crushed it in half, but he left it there for me because he couldn't get it out.

Got there, sprayed it with some Kroil oil and made me a cup of coffee and said hi to my sister. About 10 minutes later, I took the nipple out in about 10 seconds. This stuff works. Don't have any idea what it would do to plastic ? It smells horrible, but it sure works

I did notice today that Justin in Auckland New Zealand used Kroil oil during a takedown of a Daiwa Saltiga Z40 in his tutorial for removing a salt sealed and rusted bearing. Another feller I admire in this reel world.

Justin, how often do you use Kroil oil for take downs ?

I'm not pushing Kroil oil. Just passing on something I've learned that might help someone else

Mic

[foakes]

You can spray Kroil oil on you trailer ball of your truck and in the morning it'll be on the front bumper....yeah, I'm from Texas. We exaggerate a bit. Just a bit...

I seen the Kroil in your shop and I was impressed Sir. Can I ask what you use it on or how do you use it ?

Mic —

A can of Kroil was given to me by a good member here.  It is old school — and super effective to soak a stuck reel part in — like you said — it never fails — it just works.  I am on my third can in 4 years.

As for Texas —

Two cousins were both ranchers.  One stayed in Texas, and one moved to California.

The Texas cousin decided to visit his California cousin — after 40 years of not seeing each other.

As they were walking around the California ranch, the Texan asked his cousin just how big his spread was —

The California cousin proudly pointed out distant landmarks that indicated the corners of his property.

Then California asked Texas — how big is your ranch in Texas?

"Well Cuz, I get up way before the sun comes up, make a thermos of coffee and some lunch, then hop in the truck and start driving.  When the sun sets — I still haven't got to the end of my spread...what do you think about that?"

California cousin just sez — "It sounds like your ready for a new truck"...

Best, Fred

[Gfish]

Ok!, I'mina get me some Kroil. Wait a minute though, WD-40 is known to emulsify when mixed with water, right, or is that just grease? Also, it gums up over time, after application. What about Kroil?

[oc1]

Ok!, I'mina get me some Kroil.

If you look at all the ebay listings for Kroll you can find one that will ship it to Hawaii.  Amazon will not ship it to us.  The stuff must have a lot of solvents and vapors.
-s

[SteveL]

I don't know if they exclude Hawaii or not, but you can order direct from Kano Labs:

https://www.kroil.com/where-to-buy/

[Mic]

Ok!, I'mina get me some Kroil. Wait a minute though, WD-40 is known to emulsify when mixed with water, right, or is that just grease? Also, it gums up over time, after application. What about Kroil?

Gfish,
I have no idea what it does when contacting fresh or salt water. Now, that being said. When Travis and I were making monthly trips to Rockport, I would soak my reels in a bucket of fresh water when we got home for a day or so. Take them out and spray them with Kroil oil. Then put them in the barn.

When that ABU spent 18 hours in the bay, I didn't look at it for damage, I was just proud to get it back. Ziplock bag and 6 months or so on a shelf in the barn. Worked great. Wish I still had it....

Get you some. You won't be disappointed in it at all. It does work.

Mic

[oc1]

Nice red.
-steve

[jtwill98]

I see no mention of Mil-Comm TW25B.  I use this synthetic grease for 2 reasons, I use it for guns and it's on-hand.  It's pricey at $9/oz but the reels feel smooth, the grease last a long time and not much is needed.     

[alantani]

yup, plenty of good options out there.