I have never cleaned my bearings with acetone. How long should I soak them? I would rather not take the seals off the bearings if possible. Should I blow them out with compressed air after the soak? 

Also, can the little rod bearings on the anti reverse in my spinning reel be soaked in acetone? 

Baitcaster spool bearings are the only ones that benefit from thorough flushing.  Actually, I think the bearing cleaning fad (ultrasonic cleaning, canned air and such) is losing interest.  I occasionally soak mine in mineral spirits, spin and air dry.  A shot of TSI 321 and I'm done.  

4 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

Baitcaster spool bearings are the only ones that benefit from thorough flushing.  Actually, I think the bearing cleaning fad (ultrasonic cleaning, canned air and such) is losing interest.  I occasionally soak mine in mineral spirits, spin and air dry.  A shot of TSI 321 and I'm done.  

I'm really doing it to get all of the grease off of the bearing. The reel is only a few months old and I'm thinking it was greased from the factory and whenfishing in colder temps it thickens and the ARB doesn't work. I have simple green that could do the trick as well. Figured the acetone might do a better job though. What do you think? 

Ballistol might work for you. I use it for cleaning my gun and my fishing equipment. 

45 minutes ago, stk44 said:

I'm really doing it to get all of the grease off of the bearing. The reel is only a few months old and I'm thinking it was greased from the factory and whenfishing in colder temps it thickens and the ARB doesn't work. I have simple green that could do the trick as well. Figured the acetone might do a better job though. What do you think? 

Don't use acetone on an ARB.  The case is plastic.  Stick with spirits. Just soak it longer.  The grease will dissolve if you just swish it around a little. Don't be tempted to take it apart either.  Just clean it intact and lightly oil it.  Again, I'm a big fan of TSI 321.  It's long lasting and corrosion inhibiting.

 

30 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

Don't use acetone on an ARB.  The case is plastic.  Stick with spirits. Just soak it longer.  The grease will dissolve if you just swish it around a little. Don't be tempted to take it apart either.  Just clean it intact and lightly oil it.  Again, I'm a big fan of TSI 321.  It's long lasting and corrosion inhibiting.

 

I was going to put everything but the plastic parts in acetone like the bearing and bearing sleeve. Is the plastic part considered the clutch? That part I was going to clean with simple green and rinse. Will that work? 

That would work but be careful.  I saw a thread in another forum  (can't remember which) that showed how to use a rubber band to keep things from getting lost.  I still say all that is unnecessary.

I soak all steel or ceramic bearings in aerosol starting fluid (ether) because it's the fastest solvent I know of to dissolve oil.  Drop them in a shot glass, swirl them around a few times while soaking for a few minutes, spin by hand on the tip of a pencil to check smoothness, and set them on a paper towel to dry for 5-10 mins.  When clean and dry, they will spin more slowly than they did loaded with solvent.  Then add oil and install.

16 hours ago, stk44 said:

I was going to put everything but the plastic parts in acetone like the bearing and bearing sleeve. Is the plastic part considered the clutch? That part I was going to clean with simple green and rinse. Will that work? 

SIMPLE GREEN will be fine. Lots of us use it all the time for reel maintenance. It's non toxic so you can just dump it when finished.