Penn Grease on Side Plates / Chrome Rings

[maine guide]

I may have gone crazy as I strip / lube my Senators.  I thought I saw it being done in the tutorials but maybe not.

On the Senators - do any of you brush grease (I am using Penn) on the side plates and/or inside of chrome rings before you put the reels all back together?  As I have acquired some older ones over the years, a couple of have come with cracked rings, which I understand to be the result of the side plates swelling.  What causes the side plates to swell?  Should I not put any grease in there and if I do, will that contribute to potential swelling/cracking down the road?

Thanks in advance.

[Bryan Young]

I will always apply a very thin coat of grease to the rings before re-installing (assuming that they just fall off).  I brush it on with a toothbrush and then wipe it off with a cloth so that a thin layer is present to seal the rings from contaminants.

Sideplates swell from maily oils and moisture that is absorbed in the sideplates.  Sometimes, there's nothing you can do.  it's a composition of UV breaking down the material allowing moisure to enter.  Once expanded, if the moisure is expelled, it produces microscopic air gaps.  Kind of like if you take a window screen and stretch it.  after somepoint, it will loose its shape and not return to the original shape.