Need Advice On Drag Grease

[jurelometer]

Are you guys saying Super Lube works well as a drag grease?

I really like it on drags.  Lots of saltwater hours  and up to 20 lbs or so of drag, but no experience to share on big game reels.

-J

[nelz]

I really like it on drags.  Lots of saltwater hours  and up to 20 lbs or so of drag, but no experience to share on big game reels.-J

Good to know... and won't be using 20lbs drag ever, lol, heck, I'm struggling to even get out fishing any more 

[alantani]

has anyone ever tried using super lube aerosol on drag washers?

[El Pescador]

...Cal's is the long-time favorite, but it is an older technology mineral oil-based grease.  It got sticky on my cork drag saltwater fly reels, so I switched to Super Lube, which I now use on all types of reels. 
-J

J-man!

How about Abel Reels using pure Neatsfoot Oil on their cork drag washers???

This from Abel Reels Website:  Easy Care Instructions

Apply a light coat of pure neat's- foot to the cork drag only if drag feels unsmooth.

      https://abelreels.com/main/care-instructions/

for a few years around 2015, Abel Reels had a Sealed Drag that required you to send it back to Abel for any adjustments

The Sealed Drag (SD) debuted in 2013, and was discontinued in 2016. Click below to view instructions on the original SD reel. Other than regular rinsing under fresh water to clean debris out, there are currently no care instructions for the SD reel as all changes and adjustments to the internal drag must be factory set.

In your opinion how does Super Lube perform vs. Neatsfoot oil???  I've used Abel reels in Baja and the Bahama Islands, with Neatsfoot oil on the cork drags and they worked FLAWLESSLY!!!

WHAT SAYETH YOU??

TANKS!!!

Wayne

[Walleye Guy]

Has anyone tried Sil-Glyde which is a silicone based grease?

[JasonGotaProblem]

Has anyone tried Sil-Glyde which is a silicone based grease?

I've used the silicone version of super lube. It worked just great but it's near impossible to remove for the next service. Unconfirmed but my suspicion is this one will be similar.

[Walleye Guy]

Sorry to circle back, but out of curiosity I would like to ask you guys (who obviously have a lot or knowledge in this area) what would the drawback be to using the same #2 red Amsoil grease that I use to rebuild reels?  Would it cause a sticky drag?  Or maybe it's not that it wouldn't work well, but like jurelometer said it's more that a grease with teflon would be better because it does a better job minimizing the difference between static and kinetic friction.  Maybe I should just try it and see lol. 

[Midway Tommy]

Maybe I should just try it and see lol.

It's only $8 for a 3oz plastic tube to try it out. That 3oz tube will last a long time and do quite a few reels. I've been using it on freshwater reels since it came out. I brought it up here a few years back. Mo and Chester started using it, too, and now a lot have guys have switched over to it.

[nelz]

Walleye Guy, it has to be the right type of grease, otherwise it will make things really jerky. Strange but true.

[Walleye Guy]

Tom, are you referring to Super Lube or Cal's?

nelz, that's what I was wondering, thank-you for confirming that a traditional grease will still be jerky. 

[Midway Tommy]

Super Lube

[jurelometer]

...Cal's is the long-time favorite, but it is an older technology mineral oil-based grease.  It got sticky on my cork drag saltwater fly reels, so I switched to Super Lube, which I now use on all types of reels. 
-J

J-man!

How about Abel Reels using pure Neatsfoot Oil on their cork drag washers???

This from Abel Reels Website:  Easy Care Instructions

Apply a light coat of pure neat's- foot to the cork drag only if drag feels unsmooth.

      https://abelreels.com/main/care-instructions/

" only if drag feels unsmooth"


That's the problem right there.  Neatsfoot doesn't last that long, especially in hot climates, and you need to time the reapplication.  It doesn't go bad, it just disappears, and a dry cork drag is no fun at all.

Abel is the only cork drag reel maker that I know of that does not use some sort of grease. 

I got turned onto Cal's by reading about what was used in Australia. The Aussies all seemed to use Cal's on cork drags, starting with their reel guru, Jack Erskine.  One time I had a shop put new backing on an Abel, and he greased up the drag with Cal's as a favor without even bothering to ask - like who would use anything else?

I never had to re-lube a drag with Cal's because it was gone, it would just start to get a bit gummy, and the reel would make embarrassing pig squealing noises, but was still much smoother than when a neatsfoot drag about ready for more oil.  A dryed out neatsfoot drag makes  the reel unfishable,  but a gummy Cal's is  plenty fishable if you can  handle all the Deliverance "humor" being dished out.

I switched to Super Lube, because I had some for household use, my tub of Cal's had separated, and folks here told me they used Super Lube on reels. The specs were all good.

With one application of Super Lube, I went one season with 60 plus days of panga bashing for yellowtail, dorado, roosters, tuna, etc. on a pair of  Super 12s.  Then two years of sitting around during the pandemic.  Drag was still perfect.  Cleaned and reapplied to get rid of any accumulated dust and dirt, but it could have kept going.

for a few years around 2015, Abel Reels had a Sealed Drag that required you to send it back to Abel for any adjustments

The Sealed Drag (SD) debuted in 2013, and was discontinued in 2016. Click below to view instructions on the original SD reel. Other than regular rinsing under fresh water to clean debris out, there are currently no care instructions for the SD reel as all changes and adjustments to the internal drag must be factory set.

Everybody likes the latest "maintenance free" fly reel -rave reviews, then in a couple years, they start failing, and some other companies "maintenance free" reel becomes the hot ticket, then in a couple years... rinse,repeat. Some are better than others, but many of the big name brands have failed models. 

Abel is taking another whack at it with the Vaya series.  If somebody gave me one, I would unload it the very next day and buy a used beat up  cork drag model from the 90s.

In your opinion how does Super Lube perform vs. Neatsfoot oil???  I've used Abel reels in Baja and the Bahama Islands, with Neatsfoot oil on the cork drags and they worked FLAWLESSLY!!!

WHAT SAYETH YOU??

TANKS!!!

Wayne

Nothing wrong with neatsfoot if you stay on top of it, and reapply exactly when needed.  If you take a longer trip and forgot to bring your neatsfoot with you, than you are kinda screwed.  I forget stuff when I travel.   I greatly prefer Super Lube.  Abel purists will probably disagree.

-J

[jurelometer]

Super Lube is also rated for incidental food contact, so it is nice to have a not so toxic grease to use around the house.

Your  Amsoil grease might work on drags.  It is missing the Teflon/PTFE additive that the popular drag greases use.  If you are curious, you can give it a try.

Don't want to oversell Super Lube.  It is one of several greases that folks here use on drags.  I just do a dozen or so reels a year, which is nothing compared to our reel repair pros.  I like it because it is cheap, less toxicity risk, and doesn't separate before I use it up.

-J

[jurelometer]

has anyone ever tried using super lube aerosol on drag washers?

Ooh, interesting. Didn't know that they could thin the grease with a solvent, apply with an aerosol, and it would then reconstitute.

There is also  a Super Lube dry film aerosol that could mebbe be an alternative to the TSI product for stuff like bearings?

-J

[ReelClean]

INOX MX6 is my go-to for just about anything in a reel (drags included), and I only reach for MX8 for heavier gearing.
https://www.inoxmx.com/products/mx6-food-grade-grease/