Salvaging Bearings

edited December 2011 in Bones Bearings®
I'm trying to clean out an old longboard I got for free from a friend, its full of rust and dirt. To clean the bearings and any other metal parts, I used to use rubbing alcohol, followed by Bones speed cream. I was out of rubbing alcohol this time around, so I soaked the bearings in De-Solv-It Contractor's Solvent, which I found in my garage, and plan to use speed cream on them once they've dried after the solvent. What do people think of this method? Is there a better way to get rust/dirt (the black stuff) out of bearings?

I have two bearings that won't turn almost at all, only pushing a little after a lot of force is applied to them, obviously they're rusted out more than this method can fix. Any way to make these work again? Or is there any appliance, piece of equipment, or anything house or garage item that uses ABEC bearings? I'm pretty pressed for money right now, so I'd rather try and salvage bearings than buy new ones.

Thanks, Jon

Comments

  • Back in the day, I would soak bearings in PB Blaster, spinning them in the solution a few times over a few hours.  Then remove them, blow them out with compressed air, then lube them.
  • i do a bearing cleaning service and what i do is use the terminator bearing cleaner (citrus based) and put it into a tin can or u can use a bin or whatever u want then i take the cleaner and put some in the container and let them soak for about a day and shake them back and forth occasionally then flip them over then i apply teflon speed oil to lube them up and after awhile they feel like new again i cleaned my friend's bones bearings one time and when he got them back later on in the week he said they were too fast now hahaha
  • Ive soaked old bearings in WD40, then left them to soak in bearing oil
  • Pop the shield's off WD40 Like Dr Freedom said. Whip the extra off cause when you ride them the WD40 will get all over your wheels. But as I am sure you know once the Bearings start to go, you can make them last a little while. But not forever. And REDS are great and do not cost a lot.
  • Thanks for all the quick replies.

    Chris - Great suggestion

    Brigade_Bill - I googled "terminator bearing cleaner" and couldn't find a thing. Maybe it's off the market.

    Dr Freedom - Do you think WD40 would work better than a solvent/catalyst such as PB Blaster? What about WD40 makes it an effective cleaner as well as lubricant?

    Myren - How do you take the shields off? Use something like a thin flat-head screwdriver? Probably going to get some Reds later today, I forgot how cheap they were.


  • edited December 2011
    At a guess here, you dont have bearings you can pull apart.

    WD40 will make it easier to get them spinning freely, or easier to pull apart.
    PB Blaster is just as good, if not better.
    Once youve done that, you then need to oil or speed cream them.
    Save mucking around & time, buy some bones bearings you can pull apart properly.




  • well if u google bearing cleaner then u can find some good ones
  • I soak 'em in WD40 for 24 hours, spray 'em clean with break cleaner, soak 'em for another 24 hrs in break fluid (Dot3), spray 'em off again,  throw 'em out and buy new bearings. 

    For reals, a set of Bones Reds cost $15.  I ride Swiss, so I'm a bearing snob (I guess).
  • I race rc, cleaning bearings went out years ago for me
  • Hi.. Are you looking for your office cleaning? Township Building Services offers plenty of cleaning services such Office building cleaning services, Medical building cleaning services, Janitorial Services and much more.
    http://townshipservices.com/janitorial-services.php
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