I have always cleaned my own reels and put the bearings/entire spool in an ultrasonic cleaner. My cleaner died on me and want to give my most used reel a good cleaning as it has been acting up. I do not own a pair of pin removing pliers for the spool bearings. Can I just spray and pray with a can of brake cleaner?

I don't know, you'd think that might mess with your centrifugal brakes or rotor. The tackle trap has those new hedgehog spool pin removers for $27, though. It seems a lot better than the old style.

I have always cleaned my own reels and put the bearings/entire spool in an ultrasonic cleaner. My cleaner died on me and want to give my most used reel a good cleaning as it has been acting up. I do not own a pair of pin removing pliers for the spool bearings. Can I just spray and pray with a can of brake cleaner?

Take a soda cap and fill it with cleaner. Then put the spool up on end so the bearing is submerged.

The bottle cap works well for full floating spools. On a solid spool shaft blasting with brake clean works.

Thanks guys.

Make sure to use non - chlorinated brake cleaner though to be safe to you and equipment ( available at WM ).

I no longer have a reel with a spool shaft mounted bearing, but when I did, I took a Sharpie pen cover, glued it to a metal washer open end up, filled it with lighter fluid and placed the spool shaft with the bearing in the lighter fluid and it fit perfectly allowing me to spin the spool and clean the bearing and nothing touched the line on the spool.  The Sharpie cover did not hold gallons of fluid and it did a great job.

Neat ideae there Potomac!