The Right Stuff and Where to Apply It - Solvents & Lubricants

[MBSURF]

I am new to surf fishing and this is a great forum.  I found a couple of my father's old reels and am surf fishing on Miami Beach.  I am refurbishing a Black Penn 704Z.  All of the grease is dried and caked on the gears. Through reading the postings I have determined that reel oil should be used for the bearings, grease (preferably Yamaha marine grease) for gears, specified drag grease for the drag and corrosion x for all other parts.   However, what should I use to actually CLEAN the parts with before applying all of the lubricants?  Also, what should I definitely avoid applying to the wrong areas?  For instance, should grease and corrosion x be applied to the entire spool shaft? Or just grease the lower part in the housing and just corrosion x the part in the rotor cup?  Maybe I'm thinking too much but, I do not want to irreparably damage anything.  Thanks.

[Nessie Hunter]

Spinning reels are good with Grease in all areas (except drags)...

Casting reels cast with spool spinning so need light lube in Spool bearings to spin fast..

Spinning reels dont have that issue.   
Pack bearings with good quality MARINE grease (it has corrosion inhibitors in it for saltwater use).
Clean all the old grease out (many choices in how & what to use)..
R-grease all internal areas, shafts & gears.
Paint everything with same grease (prevents water intrusion or water contact with metals etc).

Use Drag Grease (Cals or Shimano) in Drag stack...  Your done...   :-)



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[MBSURF]

Great. Sounds simple enough. Thanks!!

[johndtuttle]

I am new to surf fishing and this is a great forum.  I found a couple of my father's old reels and am surf fishing on Miami Beach.  I am refurbishing a Black Penn 704Z.  All of the grease is dried and caked on the gears. Through reading the postings I have determined that reel oil should be used for the bearings, grease (preferably Yamaha marine grease) for gears, specified drag grease for the drag and corrosion x for all other parts.   However, what should I use to actually CLEAN the parts with before applying all of the lubricants?  Also, what should I definitely avoid applying to the wrong areas?  For instance, should grease and corrosion x be applied to the entire spool shaft? Or just grease the lower part in the housing and just corrosion x the part in the rotor cup?  Maybe I'm thinking too much but, I do not want to irreparably damage anything.  Thanks.

Don't stress as you cannot hurt anything permanently with some caveats.

1. There is nothing that you can't put Cal's grease on. When in doubt, use Cal's.

2. The drag is the only thing that is truly sensitive to the wrong stuff. You need a Teflon based grease for it's temperature stability (ie Cal's). If other stuff gets in there, the worst case scenario is the drag gets a little jerky and you have to clean it and apply Cal's (or other teflon/ptfe drag grease).

3. However, Cal's does not have Marine additives, so a Marine Bearing grease is ideal for nearly every thing else.

4. Oil is ideal for the Line Roller, because you want a fast lube that does not attract sand and rinses easily.

5. You can also use Oil (corrosion-x is ideal) anywhere other than the drag, but it does not last as long as heavier greases.

So, a couple of things....

Cleaning with Carb or Brake cleaner will get damn near any gunk out...but it also strips bearings of any remaining lube. This is the only way you can hurt bearings or anything else in the reel, stripping the part of lube and not replacing it.

If they are working well, I simply clean the outside (whereas the Pros will remove the shields and do a really good job on them) and make sure they get a coat of grease on all exterior surfaces and pop them back in. Any of them I really want to spin freely I apply Corrosion-X to from the outside as the shields will allow it to pass into them and improve their free spinning. Excessive grease can make spinning reels "sluggish" so try to find a lighter marine grease if you have options.

I'm not a pro reel tech, just a guy who works on his own reels. The real deal Techs have punches to pull shields and bearing packers for grease etc. to do a proper job....So take my half way solutions for what they are worth.

best

ps great post by Nessie above