Bearing Cleaning

[Astralis]

Well, after reading up online. I think I've gotten more confused that before about cleaning bearings. Some people say its best to leave it to soak, some say its better to shake it, some say both. Some say soaking will not get the zippo into the bearing properly. Some say shaking damages it by... some lodging rust or something as far as i can remember.

So... how do you people clean your bearings. If you have tried both methods is there any difference?

[PinSquid]

The truth is, you can pretty much do whatever you want. I'm not sure there's any way to really prove which method is better than the other, but here's what I've noticed for myself anyway:

I clean with 100% mineral spirits. I've also tried the non-flammable mineral spirits (looks like milk) and I didn't see any difference, but I've only done it once and I'm gonna use my normal mineral spirits until that's gone. Either one is strong stuff that'll break down whatever is currently in the bearing. I haven't tried zippo lighter fluid but I would assume it has similar effects.

Taking off the shields of the bearing DOES make a difference as far as cleaning goes. It's much easier for mineral spirits/zippo fluid/whatever to break down and clean what's in the bearing, mainly because shields are meant to keep stuff out of the bearing, and they do their job pretty well. Personally I just leave my shields off; I find it's easier to clean and lube them when I need to and I haven't really experienced an excess amount of dirt build up because of it.

I generally do a bit of both soaking and shaking. I put it into the thing and shake it for 30 seconds or so, but then I just let it sit for five minutes. When I take it out I dry it first with a paper towel and then with compressed air.

Now whether or not you lube the bearing is up to you. Some people say that dry bearings will lock up if you don't lube them, and they may, but I play all my bearings dry and I've never had it lock up. They play noisy but it doesn't really bother me. There's also the ongoing debate as to how long lube will prolong the life of your bearing. I have a ceramic bearing from my SuperYo Samurai that I got in 2001, that I've always played dry, and it still sleeps like a beast. Unless you buy ceramic KKs for every single yoyo though I don't even see it to be much of an issue (if it takes awhile for bearings to break), but that's just me.

People's experiences will differ, obviously. That's why you get a variety of answers. The best you can do is just try it yourself and find a method you're comfortable with. Chances are you're not gonna break any bearings or screw them up with only one cleaning, so yeah.

[BosK]

Soak, shake, dry, lube.. Brake that sucker in.. (in that order..)

[Marhai]

Would it be a bad idea to keep the same jar of white spirit for a prolonged amount of time to clean bearings in. Or do you change each time?

[bensaddiction]

I always shake it to get the little bits out of the bearing but then I soak it to get any old lube out.. Honestly I think either way works.

[BosK]

Would it be a bad idea to keep the same jar of white spirit for a prolonged amount of time to clean bearings in. Or do you change each time?

To guarantee its as clean at can be.. I always use new stuff to clean with

[Marhai]

thnks Bosk.

[leo87]

I would say you could use the same jar a handful of times, so long as you are using some kind of compressed air on it to remove the small particles.  I have had the best result setting the bearing in shaking it and letting it sit a while.  Once an little bit of time has gone by shake a bit more and take them out, let the bearings dry for a little bit, and finally hit them with compressed air while on a pencil point so they can spin freely.  Finally I add a drop of lube and if they become a bit to responsive I take them to the compressed air again to run break them in.  After a while you just get the hang of how to clean them your own efficient way instead of doing it exactly as someone states.