Newbie with a few ?

Sandbar33 · December 09, 2010, 11:26:31 AM

Just stumbled on to this site and WOW what a wealth of info. I am looking to start doing my own maintenance on my ABU Garcia reels and need some friendly advice from Alan or ANYBODY tha twantsto chime in :-)

My main questions are centered around grease and lubricant and I need some opinions to help me decide what is best for me to use based on cost, effectiveness and performance. I fish on the OBX of North Carolina in some pretty harsh conditions so not only am I looking for performance inhancements but "protection" as well. As far as grease goes I picked up a tube of Superlube synthetic. I have read good things about it but need some opinions as to whether it is a good choice for performance/protecting or would I be better off using the Yamaha blue marine grease. I want something simple to use without having to buy a grease gun. As far as lubricant goes there seems to be thousands of opinions and choices. I am curious about 3 IN 1 (blue can) and whether anybody uses this or has an opinion on it. I read somewhere that Ron Arra prefers 3 IN 1 on his reels I just wonder if it is something that will LAST.

I am open to any opinions and suggestions on products. I am only servicing my reels, my dads and a few friends so I don't need a 5 gallon bucket of anything. My main goals are to increase performance and PROTECT and I need something that will last so I don't have to clean them more than once or maybe twice a year.

Are Superlube and 3 IN 1 good choices or should I look at something else? I am also curious as to whether any of you have ever used Ballistol before?

Thanks a ton!

Bryan Young · December 09, 2010, 08:59:23 PM

By the way, OBX is Outer Banks. Yeah, I had to look that one up.

I haven't used anything other than marine grease since I really started seriously looking at the mainenance of my reels. My choice at the moment is Evinrude Triple Guard with CorrosionX mixed in to reduce the viscosity. It works great for me.

Triple Guard comes in a 1 lb can for about $10.

If you only want to buy one grease, I'd recommend Cal's grease in a 1 lb container. Gears, inners, drags, all the same grease.

Pro Reel · December 09, 2010, 10:53:45 PM

Super lube is actually the grease of choice for most of the reel service centers that i know of. Alan and many other coastal guys use the marine grease for cost effectivness. That would be a wise choice for someone that greases large amounts of large reels. By vollume, super lube is more expensive, but not nearly as expensive as most reel brand greases. Super lube is the only grease that I use in my shop for reel parts other than drag washers. I feel that it's the best grease I have found for moving and sliding reel parts and clutch's. It's impregnated with teflon and is highly lubricious, yet it stays where you put it. It's a dielectric and impervious to salt water. It has a temp range of -45 F to 450 F.

Sandbar33 · December 09, 2010, 11:33:33 PM

Pro Reel

Do you feel like the Super Lube will stand up well to saltwater and hard fishing? How often would you recommend cleaning and lubing with it? Also do you have any comments on 3 IN 1 as an choice for bearings and what not?.......I have several cans of Ballistol that I think would very similar to Corrosion X.

Thanks for the input!

Bryan Young · December 10, 2010, 04:37:27 AM

@ Pro Reel - Thanks for the info. Good to know more about other lubes out there.

@ Sanbar33 - I know a bunch of people in Hawaii uses Super Lube if that says anything. I have never since I was not as High Tech back when I was living in Hawaii. I only became concerned about my reels as my choice of fishing reels stepped up from Penns Senators to Pro Gears.

Pro Reel · December 11, 2010, 01:41:27 AM

super lube is a synthetic grease that is impervious to saltwater. Saltwater will not do anything to it. 3in1 oil is just a light machine oil. It will probably be fine for oiling reel parts and bearings. I use Rocket fuel brand oil. It's a fairly expensive oil compared to some, but it comes in several viscosities and the formulas are the same so you can custom blend them to get whatever viscosity you want. I have several blends that I use.

whalebreath · December 13, 2010, 06:53:32 AM

Thanks for the intel on Superlube-it's easily available here and that counts for a lot.

Sandbar33 · December 13, 2010, 06:10:39 PM

Do you guys typically try and clean everything inside the reel from top to bottom and then re-grease and lube or are there parts I shouldn't attempt to clean? My thought process was to clean everything with mineral spirits and toothbrush, let dry and wipe off.......then re-grease with Penn X-1R and lube the bearings with TSI 301.

kamuwela · December 13, 2010, 07:48:54 PM

thats the best way to do it. i used to use wd40 by the gallon in a metal pot with a screen type collender. now i just wipe off all excess grease with rags,tooth brush and whatever else it takes. i spray a little wd40 to get off what i missed. then ill regrease everything. i also put a light coat on side plates to prevent corrosion. ill spray a little corrosion x on some marine grease and make my own mixture like bryan recomends. it does make it less tacky and easier to apply.

alantani · December 13, 2010, 11:33:01 PM

here's something to consider. how do you know if your grease is failing? the answer is easy. the grease will emulsify. a "greaseless lotion" like lubriderm is an "oil in water" emulsion. oil is surrounded by water so that it does not feel "oily" when it is applied to the skin. there is also a "water in oil" emulsion. have you ever seen an off-color or lighter colored grease. usually it is inside a bearing. the reason it changed color is because water and the salt were incorporated into the grease and the bearing provided the mixing motion. that is why it is important to completely fill a side plate bearing with grease. a partial fill will not to the job.

hey, who says that pharmacy is not a practical profession!

Sandbar33 · December 14, 2010, 03:00:00 PM

Opened the first reel last night and so far so good.......As far as the spool bearings goes they are a pain in the butt to get that shield off (lol). I had to use a sewing needle but finally got them off. Hit them with CRC Brake cleaner a couple times and they seem to be clean. I'm waiting on my can of TSI 301 to come before lubing them.

Seeing as these are saltwater reels would it be a bad idea to leave the shields off? I don't mind servicing the spool bearings 2 or 3 times a year to keep them protected if I don't have to take those shields off everytime.

kamuwela · December 14, 2010, 03:41:03 PM

lock your drags on full when washing and you should be fine. shimano tiagra reels have all open bearings, havent seen problems with any of those

Sandbar33 · December 14, 2010, 05:16:26 PM

Has anybody ever used Penn blue grease and Superlube together? I read somewhere that certain greases don't mix well together. I have both I am just wondering if I should use one or the other. I had planned on degreasing everything well, coating the plates and whatnot with a light coat of Penn grease and then applying the superlube to just the gears. Any thoughts?

Bryan Young · December 14, 2010, 05:41:54 PM

You should be fine. You will have very little mixing of the grease if you apply a think coat of the penn grease to everything and also a thin coat of the superlube to the gear. Don't pack too much grease in the reels. I've done that. Just wasting grease.

alantani · December 15, 2010, 07:44:03 PM

Quote from: kamuwela on December 14, 2010, 03:41:03 PM
lock your drags on full when washing and you should be fine. shimano tiagra reels have all open bearings, havent seen problems with any of those

you know, i was just talking to bryan about that last night. i've got a pair of tiagra 50w's and all the bearings were bad. what happens is that water got into the grease and emulsified. i think that the shimano drag grease does not have enough saltwater resistance.