My First New Years Resolution

[john elder]

Well, at least the first relevant to reel cleaning/restoring/repair...Use a lot less grease and a lot more oil!

I've been in the habit of slathering on a hefty supply of Quantum Hot Sauce grease on all the gears and inner workings of the reels I've cleaned in the past several years and yes, i'm sure it's good for the gears and keeps them from corrosion, etc. However, in one of my last Well, Duh moments of 2012, I realized that all the reels I've been redoing were running slow as molasses, albeit smoothly! I reasoned that just maybe that was because the grease I was slathering on had the viscosity of molasses! ...what a mind!

So, I broke down a couple little baitcasters that should have been running like tops and weren't...and I wiped off the excess grease and lubed the gears with Pflueger Speede oil (I'm sure any number of other oils are fine)...and voila...they run like speed demons! I'm sure that I would have NO problem in backlashing these reels in a heartbeat!

[Brian F.]

I guess the "add grease" approach always had in mind that the fisherman would do regular maintenance but all the old reels we clean show the eventual reality.

[Don Champion]

I learned several years ago that the grease hardens a bit after time. I didn't put much on to start with. But as it stiffens I just add a couple of drops of oil and it smooths right out. No need to remove the old grease unless you put too much on.

[john elder]

Agreed re aging and hardening, although our best buddy, Colonel Milt swears that the Hot Sauce is an exception. My "resolution" relates to using way too much grease and just bogging down the gears on a reel that otherwise should just tear along!

[robert ellis]

I told ya that when I worked on the Peerless you worked before the auction, and had to open it back up to see why the clicker was sounding so weak, I wiped off that c*%p, and it sounded so much better!

[Bill Sonnett]

It is my take that gears need grease rather than oil if in constant use. The problem is two-fold: very very little grease is needed and most, including me, put too much on and a thin grease seems to be a lot less subject to hardening through age or temperature. Try vasoline on a cold day and see your casting distance cut by half! Hot Sauce grease is designed for modern baitcasters in which the only time gears are moving is when one is cranking in line, not like our vintage baitcasters where every gear is going at warp speed on each and every cast. Oil on gears will make the reel spin faster but after a few minutes of casting centrifugal force has removed it from the gears where a small amount of grease will cling there and do the job. All this assumes of course that you are actually using the fishing reel to fish with and not just picking it up every so often and spinning the handle to feel how smoooooth it spins LOL

[john elder]

LOL...good points, Bill! I was hoping you'd step in! ...and yes, hate to admit it, but i spend a lot more time doing the smooooth test, than fishing!

[Kelly L]

I am sure I am guilty of being a bit too free with the grease as well. I bought a decent paintbrush though, and plan to put on less, and it should be covered nicely by the paintbrush. Not sure what to clean the paintbrush with afterwards though, so I can reuse it. Dawn dish washing liquid maybe? I was using a throw away brush, but that wasn't working too well, not supple enough. Sometimes I just squeezed the tube out, directly onto the gears. For my old reels, they always look, and feel better after I've cleaned and lubed them.

[john elder]

Well, i find a toothbrush works great, both for taking off (dipped in mineral spirits or with soapy water) or for putting new grease on to gears. I'm a good lad and go for my cleanings 2x per year and they give me a new toothbrush every time. Since the whole family uses electric brushes, i'm stocked up on a new supply. I just store the greasy brushes in a baggie, ready for the next use...no need to clean!

[Kelly L]

Good idea John!

[escharfie]

A quick note on grease amount and type. The following is a fully greased vintage Mitchell for fresh water use. For salt water, I paint the grease all over all inside metal parts to be safe.

DSCF1600 -small.JPG

A new soldering flux brush like this one works great to apply the grease.

Most modern greases generally will not "harden" (lose their oil). But some are more thermal sensitive than others in cold weather, which would "stiffen" your reel.

In modern greases fortified with synthetic oil, the oil will actually cling or bond to metal gears. This is great !

This blue grease carries 25 to 30% synthetic oil by volume than a standard everyday lithium grease.

ED

[Don Champion]

Those are called acid brushes. They are available from McMaster-Carr, a box of 100 costs very little. That would hold you for a while and it's cheaper than buying those packs with 3 or 4 of them in a package from the hardware store.

[Charged]

I'm no doubt also a greaser!