1 hour ago, MickD said:

A now deceased expert reel serviceman used to charge extra for reels that had been serviced with hot sauce, the red contaminated his operation.   The red is a gimmick, IMHO, and natural greases without the dyes make more sense.  

LOL, one of our mechanics used to own his own shop in Mexico, and he loved to tell the story of when guys with expensive bicycles came in he had three different grades of grease, the brown automotive grease, the blue marine grease, and the red aviation grease, they would always go for the most expensive red one, funny part is they were all the same grease. 

Always used Penn reel grease, ReelX for oil and Cal's for drag.  Never had a reason to switch.

On 8/26/2022 at 5:38 AM, GRiver said:

 

I only tear mine down once a year though.

 I only tear mine down to the innards if there is a noticable problem which has only happened 1 time with my pfleuguer supreme and greased it with Hot Sauce reel grease, problem solved for over a year now.

Just now, throttleplate said:

 I only tear mine down to the innards if there is a noticable problem which has only happened 1 time with my pfleuguer supreme and greased it with Hot Sauce reel grease, problem solved for over a year now.

 

I wonder if theres a difference in formulation as that tube looks different than the one i had. I bought a two pack when they first came out with the hot sauce oil/grease and the grease came in a clear tube and was terrible as it dried to a gummy substance. Outside of the staining, the oil is one of the few i think is as good as TSI. 

On 8/26/2022 at 8:51 AM, Deleted account said:

And go blind...

and get hairy palms. Any of your friends back in high school ever look at your palms?

5 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

 

I wonder if theres a difference in formulation as that tube looks different than the one i had. I bought a two pack when they first came out with the hot sauce oil/grease and the grease came in a clear tube and was terrible as it dried to a gummy substance. Outside of the staining, the oil is one of the few i think is as good as TSI. 

I dont have any staining problems because my reels dont stain and if they did would i care? probably not.

I take care of the functionability of the reel but fish em like i stole em.

I fish the supreme which was giving me problems from the factory in low temps freezing water.

It was binding during reel in every few turns. Tore it down cleaned out all factory grease, did not grease the ball bearings with hot sauce but did so with drops of Rem oil.

I also didnt glob the lube inside like a stuffed taco, i put in the right places sparingly. Problem immediatly gone.

Was it the factory lube? was there a tiny piece of debris i couldnt see as the problem? Dont really know for sure.

 But thats why I like hot sauce, its the first lube i seen on display at fleetfarm at a good price in a nice compact size, ingrediants that convinced me and the tubes labeling sealed the deal. But most of all it fixed my reel so i am now a advocate for hot sauce.

 

I used to use Lucas Red n Tacky grease and was pretty happy with it. Last year I gave Shimano drag grease a try, and I like it better. Reels run smoother and it migrates less, so they run smooth for longer. TSI on the bearings.

For those who use Superlube, is this the stuff?

 

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiv9PCK58z9AhU8bG8EHXJjAnkYABANGgJqZg&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESa-D2OiFMg1x2Ttvt5x8yLFedfFaLnO8Y5FsGBstkXRISCUEVkrjz9EnjF0sUmHkOdlPlDNRGBHuH2ToyFkqnU2pSEN_m8FpGu7E2xZelC-9Ljv5Ul015Xr_ZjQPTwbp1WQbfr0p8BAFGdJfL&sig=AOD64_2ziUdqB-RVsIlQ5fw4uV_vNuE0Gg&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwi_peiK58z9AhWFjIkEHc6rAkUQ9aACKAB6BAgEEBE&adurl=

I use Ardent Reel Butter and Lucas Reel Oil for quick lube jobs. Dont have much to compare them to, but I have zero complaints about them.

The question is - do grease the drag stack or not? 

 

I don't think it is necessary for really any form of freshwater fishing but is probably necessary for a lot of salt water fishing. 

10 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

For those who use Superlube, is this the stuff?

 

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiv9PCK58z9AhU8bG8EHXJjAnkYABANGgJqZg&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESa-D2OiFMg1x2Ttvt5x8yLFedfFaLnO8Y5FsGBstkXRISCUEVkrjz9EnjF0sUmHkOdlPlDNRGBHuH2ToyFkqnU2pSEN_m8FpGu7E2xZelC-9Ljv5Ul015Xr_ZjQPTwbp1WQbfr0p8BAFGdJfL&sig=AOD64_2ziUdqB-RVsIlQ5fw4uV_vNuE0Gg&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwi_peiK58z9AhWFjIkEHc6rAkUQ9aACKAB6BAgEEBE&adurl=

 

That is what I use on my reels, I just have the 14.1 oz canister size.

 

reels I use all the time I service once a year.  Reels that don’t get much use 2-3 years or when problems arise. 
 

I use penn reel grease.  It’s blue in color. I’m pretty sure it’s just blue lithium marine grade grease.  For oil I use the Lucas reel oil.  
 

I’m servicing my brothers okuma trolling reels at the moment.  I going to try using gear oil for the bearings.  As a rule these don’t get serviced every year or ever. so my thinking the heavier gear oil maybe better.

 

I was also given two bottles of Lucas gun oil.  It’s red I’ve been thinking of using this also for bearings as it seems a bit heavier than the Lucas reel oil. With that said I’ve never had an issue with Lucas reel oil. 
 

I think any quality grease will work.

 

I don’t grease carbon tech washers. 
 

I just did a for hire tear down and lube on a slx DC.  It still had the greased felt drag washer.  Since it was already greased I did add a couple drops of oil to them. 

19 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

For those who use Superlube, is this the stuff?

 

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiv9PCK58z9AhU8bG8EHXJjAnkYABANGgJqZg&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESa-D2OiFMg1x2Ttvt5x8yLFedfFaLnO8Y5FsGBstkXRISCUEVkrjz9EnjF0sUmHkOdlPlDNRGBHuH2ToyFkqnU2pSEN_m8FpGu7E2xZelC-9Ljv5Ul015Xr_ZjQPTwbp1WQbfr0p8BAFGdJfL&sig=AOD64_2ziUdqB-RVsIlQ5fw4uV_vNuE0Gg&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwi_peiK58z9AhWFjIkEHc6rAkUQ9aACKAB6BAgEEBE&adurl=

That's the stuff.  Their products are really nice in general.  It also works great as a drag grease.

14 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

The question is - do grease the drag stack or not? 

 

I don't think it is necessary for really any form of freshwater fishing but is probably necessary for a lot of salt water fishing. 

It depends.  First, it depends on what kind of drag stack it is.  If carbon fiber, then grease isn't needed.  If it's felt, I would use oil instead.  If it's that rubbery plastic stuff (I forgot what they call it exactly), then grease is required.  

 

But you CAN grease carbon fiber drag stacks, if you want.  I find that if you rub them with just a smidgen of thick grease, like Cal's, and then wipe it off as best you can without chemicals, the drag will start up faster and smoother.  You'll lose some of the max drag capacity, so it's a question of if you want smoothness or max drag.  Either way, unless you make the mistake of coating it in too much grease, the difference will be minor.  Though, once you've greased a carbon fiber drag washer, it's really hard to go back.  

Cals. Just picked up some Daiwa grease in the accordion applicator 

An interesting discussion.

 

Hey @Delaware Valley Tackle, you mentioned using yamalube. Is that their moly grease? How do you think that would do on a reel that's starting to be geary vs a standard grease?

On 8/25/2022 at 10:35 PM, CrashVector said:

 

I might have to make the switch.  The bps stuff seems to work pretty well, but I don't get why it gets discolored so fast unless it's reacting with the metals, or not protecting them well.

It may be oxidation, Crash. Just a swag on my part.

FM

Cal's Universal Reel & Star Drag Grease is what I have been using last few years. It just works ...

On 10/23/2025 at 11:05 AM, Bazoo said:

An interesting discussion.

 

Hey @Delaware Valley Tackle, you mentioned using yamalube. Is that their moly grease? How do you think that would do on a reel that's starting to be geary vs a standard grease?

When I say yamalube I’m speaking of any marine grease with a little extra water repellant characteristic. There is no product that will make up for materials and tolerances. My thoughts on reel smoothness: 

its a subjective issue and every user has their own perception and definition of “smooth” 

 

a lot if not most of the “geariness” users refer to is related to the light weight, rigid materials in modern reels. A low weight to stiffness ratio is what makes arid sensitive, and the same holds trust for reels. For example the D series shimano reels were heavy by today’s standard but very smooth over their life by most accounts.  I think it’s unrealistic to expect a light, rigid reel to not transmit any feel or sound, especially with some use. Of course there are some high end models that are better at this I just feel like it’s a little over emphasized.

 

youre doing the right thing taking good care of your equipment.