Cleaning & Degreasing the Reel Sideplate

[franky]

Hello everyone,

What is the best (economical, effective, and non-damaging) way to clean your reel sideplates?

I have serviced several reels for my friends and we all heard of using brakleen or carb cleaners to just shoot down the internals of the reels to get rid of all the caked on grease, oil, muk, etc...

I recently tried a degreaser that is similar to simple green.  I sprayed down the penn 3/0 sideplate and let it sit for a few minutes.  I used an old toothbrush and scrubbed it down and rinsed it with fresh water.  Wow, it got very clean.  As I dried the sideplate, I noticed that the outer side of the red sideplate appeared to be dull.    Immediately, I put oil on the sideplate and wiped it down to bring back the shiny luster finish.

I was thinking...this degreaser would be good because it is cheaper to use than brakleen or carb cleaner.  However, I don't want ruin the outter finish of the reel.

Whats your folks favorite cleaner to degrease the sideplates of your reels?

[akfish]

I really like a relatively new product from Penn, Penn Rod and Reel Cleaner. It cleans well, leaves graphite and aluminum shiny, and is supposed to impart an anti-corrosive film.

[Norcal Pescador]

I've had pretty good luck with a toothbrush and the non-chlorinated aerosol brake cleaner "Super TECH" at WalMart (much cheaper). After that I follow up with Gel Gloss (fiberglass cleaner polish) to protect and bring the luster back. The Simple Green treatment sounds good though.

Cheers!

[franky]

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, if I had to go with a brakleen or a carb cleaner, I was also eyeing out the Super Tech line of sprays at Walmart.  The are cheaper and still effective.

Thanks... 

[Keith K]

Dry Q-tip, or an old toothbrush.  You'll get 99% of the nasty.  Good enough.  Apply light coat of fresh, and crack brew.

[alantani]

sometime next week i'm going to sneak a set of reels into the drag washer and see if it works. alan

[JGB]

Frank,

Cleaning side plates would seem to be a no brainier. Just spray solvents and brush and rinse clean. This works fine until you get a painted surface or a plastic surface and find the acetone in the cleaners damaging the cosmetics. Always pre test when in doubt or use hot water along with soap and a brush. Alan's dishwasher would be fun to see what happens.

Here is what has worked for me:

For salt and calcium deposits use a water based cleaner (dissolves the salt and calcuim).
For that gummy tarry old oil and grimy grease nothing beats a bucket of kerosene or if the paint and plastic can take it carb cleaner in a bucket and a acid brush. For delicate surfaces try  the old stand by WD40 the wonder solvent that works with plastics.
Blow the parts clean with compressed air (WD40 is bad to leave in a reel)
Save the dirty solvent and filter it to remove solids (coffee filter) for a side plate in your future.

BTW I hear Reel Magic works well and is fairly safe for reels.

Tight Lines
Jim N.

[kamuwela]

i use wd 40.. i use a plastic bowl and a screen type bowl kinda like a collender just small openings in the screen. all the parts go in the strainer and the wd in the tuperware bowl. use a solvent brush scrub old crud if you dont like the oil film then you can give it a fast spray with carb clean or do like me and wipe off excess, unless you are going to coat inside with thin film of grease then just leave it. just keep oil away from drags and drag plates.                                         aloha kamu

[publius]

i clean my reels the same way I clean my guns. I make my own cleaning solvent known as Ed's Red. Google search will get you the recipe.  I take an old toothbrush and scrub all the parts to loosen up old grease and dirt. After the parts have been scrubbed I go back to the first part that has had solvent on it longest and blast it clean with carb or brake cleaner. You have a completely clean and de-greased part. continue on down the line with the rest of the parts, grease&oil and reassemble. Never,ever,ever, spray carb cleaner on plastic because it will melt it.