Reel cleaning tip from the Fishwife.

[jimbofish]

I got this reel from the ORCA Jan. auction. Since the pillars are riveted, it was a bit more difficult to remove the rust and corrosion than if it were broken down into individual parts. I decided to try the vinegar soak mentioned here as I'd never done it before.

I started work in the afternoon, then took a break for dinner. I forget what we ate but there were two jars of pickles on the table... one sweet, one dill. There were only a few pickles left in each jar, so they were both empty after dinner.

Knowing that I usually put a spoonful of pickle juice in our 'Free-Bloody Mary-Sunday' drinks, Fishwife asked if I wanted to save the juice. I declined and she asked if I wanted it for cleaning the reels. Hmmm? Well, why not try it. We're only going to dump it out anyway.

So, I dumped both jars into one and took it down to the workbench where the reel was, poured enough into a can to submerge most of the reel frame and let it sit. It actually worked as well as the straight vinegar I had been using. Naturally, it needs to be rinsed off but it was free which is always good.







This the picture of the reel as it was auctioned.


I still need to do more buffing but my compounds have all gone hard and need to be replaced. Until I get more the reel is temporarily in the collection.

[spinyeel]

Looking a lot nicer.Especially the spool. Are you going to fish it?

[jimbofish]

Probably not, although everything on the inside was surprisingly clean and corrosion free. I'm sure it could be fished but there's not much fishing here that I could use it for. Maybe the pickle juice would give scent to the line and catch more fish?

The sunlight in the picture magnifies every little flaw. It looks better in person.

[john elder]

Nice, environmentallyc friendly cleanup, jimbo!