So I'm gearing up for my first reel maintenance attempt. Will practice first on an old junk reel.

 

I've watched a bunch of videos and read a bunch of threads, problem is everything talks about certain aspects at varying times and sometimes in conflict.

 

Some people scatter a thousand tiny parts on a table and use an ultrasonic cleaner, and some people just open a reel and slab some grease all over everything. 

 

I'm hoping the reel maintenance pros here could offer me their "checklist" for a typical late model reel basic maintenance.

 

What parts need to be cleaned and lubed?

What parts need to just be lubed?

What parts can almost always be left alone, maybe better for a newb to leave alone?

What parts can maybe just be examined, and then if I need to tear down further but not necessarily for each breakdown?

 

Do I have to clean ABSOLUTELY everything the first time for a reel in order to avoid mixing original grease with my grease of choice? ( @Delaware Valley Tackle i know you told me not to lose sleep, but that's not my style. I've been digging for hours across platforms for who recommends what grease and weeding out the junk, still haven't purchased a grease yet. Deuthlon has me reel curious, but a little expensive for my first forray into maintenance).

 

Should I soak gears and bearings in 90% isopropyl alcohol? Nail polish remover? Use a tooth brush on them? Never use anything abrasive on them? Need safe suggestions for totally non ventilated area.

 

How do I clean off old grease from gears? From a drag washer?

 

Whats the basic checklist for a basic clean and lubed?

 

Does it look different if the reel hasn't been cleaned in a few years?

 

Pics are helpful! Recommendations for well done videos too!

Appreciate any insight yall can offer

Best suggestion I can give you is to lay out the parts as you disassemble the reel in the order you take them off. Take a pic and you will know, not only what goes where, but in what order. Most parts, whether greased or oiled, can be cleaned with a degreasing cleaner like SimpleGreen. Just be sure to rinse and allow to dry completely. With the exception of the worm gear, grease gears and oil bearings.

Speaking of bearings, you'll need a special pair of removal 'pliers' for the spool shaft bearing. You can  damage the spool and the shaft attempting the task with a pair of long nose. Use a quality, light oil for the bearings, I use one made by Lucas. For drag washers I recommend Cal's and for gears any good reel grease will do. Don't over grease the gears as they will throw the excess all over the inside of the reel. Hope that helps

Ultrasonic cleaner is useless on a fishing reel unless you need to clean a bearing. When you're disassembling, record yourself, or take pics. Then, when you're disassembling the level wind assembly, put all the parts related to the level wind together so you don't mix it up with everything else. Do it on all section of the reel, and it becomes much easier to reassemble. And best reels to learn are the OG daiwa reels from the 2000s. Stuff like the og alphas, tdz, pixy, og steez, etc. They're extremely simple, and this is also what i've used to learn reel service myself.

Find this channel on you tube: "second chance tackle"

Find the vid you want for low profile baitcaster. He has great, thorough vids.

TAKE PICS of disassembly!!! Take your time and have the correct tools.

12 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Best suggestion I can give you is to lay out the parts as you disassemble the reel in the order you take them off. Take a pic and you will know, not only what goes where, but in what order. Most parts, whether greased or oiled, can be cleaned with a degreasing cleaner like SimpleGreen. Just be sure to rinse and allow to dry completely. With the exception of the worm gear, grease gears and oil bearings.

Speaking of bearings, you'll need a special pair of removal 'pliers' for the spool shaft bearing. You can  damage the spool and the shaft attempting the task with a pair of long nose. Use a quality, light oil for the bearings, I use one made by Lucas. For drag washers I recommend Cal's and for gears any good reel grease will do. Don't over grease the gears as they will throw the excess all over the inside of the reel. Hope that helps

 

even better, before you remove a part take a picture of the whole assembly.  Then you know what orientation and order everything goes in.

 

Also, if your reel needs more than a basic external clean and lube just send it off to DVT.  The first time you break a part, strip a screw, or lose a widget you've just paid more than sending it off.

Basic reel maintenance means something else to me.  

 

i wipe with damp towel, small brush the greck out of the line roller, and put drops of oil in key spots.  

 

anything that requires disassembly is elevated to moderate/heavy maintenance

I lay out each part in the order that I take them off... After doing a few, you will get more comfortable with disassembling them... I have about 15 baitcasters so finally being able to tear them down and servicing them myself, sure saves a bunch of money... Ill usually do a full service on the winter.. N a basic clean N lube midway in the summer.. 

Appreciate the input yall

21 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

disassembling the level wind assembly

Do i have to do this?

 

8 hours ago, MRQturbo said:

 

Is that everything i gotta take apart?

33 minutes ago, Banned User said:

Appreciate the input yall

Do i have to do this?

 

Is that everything i gotta take apart?

That's about 60% of everything you can take apart... I rarely take the level wind apart.. And unless my bearings sound really noisy.. I'll just leave them in and just add drop of oil.. 

Dawn dish soap, 90% isopropyl alcohol, or zipper lighter fluid to clean gears and bearings? 

And for how long should they soak? 

I would never use dish soap or lighter fluid.

Use isopropyl or wd40.

Wd40 is a great degreaser and won't harm plastic.

Soak bearings in isopropyl for 15-20 minutes and allow to air dry. Isopropyl evaporates fast. Use soft toothbrush to clean main gear and pinion.

Should I also use isopropyl for cleaning the gears?

I used tooth brushes and Dawn to clean reel parts, except bearings, which go with acetone and ultrasonic cleaner. For extra dirty parts, I use Simple Green sometimes. Like DVT said, it's not about the cleaning materials, it's about how often you clean it. Don't wait until the grease is all dry or you feel the grinding already. 

I decided to go with Super Lube for now, seems across forums and a number of years many people have trusted it and confirm it's efficacy. 

 

Still conflicted about how to wash gears. Bearings consensus seems isopropyl is sufficient, but gears keep getting yay or nay for X or Z and visa versa. 

 

Also got cals for the drags

Simple green scrub and a hot water rinse cleans everything. Alcohol is too mild for bearings especially getting factory line out. Naphtha is unsafe for the user. Acetone is my preference for bearing flush. Levelwinds take a beating due to their exposed position and are a critical assembly to be deep cleaned. I’d take that apart before the clutch if you aren’t doing both.  Superlube works fine. Don’t use it on wet drags. 

Why not use Dawn soap to clean with? I’ve done it for years without any issues from it at all. But I can say after reading this thread that I’ll be switching from what I use for bearings. Was using brake parts cleaner. Worked well and had no issues, but it emits fumes and cannot be used on plastics or allowed to contact them. The acetone is a cheaper and easier to get solution for this. $1 bottle of nail polish remover from the dollar store is 100% acetone. Thanks for the tip DVT and newapti5.

 

For gear grease, I’ve been using Super Lube for nearly two decades. Cheap and effective. Also, on that trapped spool shaft bearing, I never remove it, I just fill a small container (usually the center part of the spray can lid) up with the fluid I use, previously brake parts cleaner, and just stick the shaft down in it so that the spool bearing is submerged. No risk of bending that pin like that. No need for special pliers.

On 4/19/2025 at 11:44 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Acetone is my preference

I'll grab some 

33 minutes ago, The Rooster said:

nail polish remover

 

Too

 

For gears you mean soak in this

https://www.walmart.com/ip/43977497?sid=db538422-09b7-4e27-98e9-7432d4432c81

 

And then use gentle toothbrush? Then rinse and air dry? 

For gears I just use Dawn soap and water and a toothbrush. Or you can use Simple Green if you want. I don’t think it makes any difference. I wouldn’t worry too much about what to use to clean it. Just clean it like you would anything else. 

Simple Green for the win - I use it to clean everything around the house.

Always a good idea to make sure you have all of the tools your going to need before you start cleaning.  I make a check list for those also.

1 hour ago, Bankbeater said:

make a check list for those also.

Whats on that checklist? 

I grabbed a bottle of simple green, hope to tear down either this weekend or next

14 minutes ago, Banned User said:

Whats on that checklist? 

I grabbed a bottle of simple green, hope to tear down either this weekend or next

Tools, cleaner, towels stuff like that.  Anything I need to clean the reel with so I don't have to keep getting up and possibly lose a part.