Freshwater spinning reel maintenance question.

[dttomcat]

Hey guys. I have five ultralight spinning reels that need a little tlc. Nothing really fancy. Just reasonably priced usable ultralight reels from a few different manufacturers. Anyway, they've been in storage for awhile and have collected quite a bit of dust and dirt. I would like to clean them up and make sure they will be ready to go when I need them. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[fishshooter]

I just disassemble them, wash and clean everything using an old toothbrush. Old gunky oil can usually be removed with Greased Lightning. Let it all dry out and and lube the moving parts with 'Reel Butter' and reassemble. That Reel Butter is pretty good stuff. I keep most my rods and reels in a little outside closet, so I put little plastic bags around the reels. Keeps the dirt, dust and spiders at bay. Unless I drop one in the sand, it's usually a long time between needing to take them apart.

 

[Erasmus]

I washed out all the old grease, and then regreased w/ spedometer cable grease.

Don't melt your reel's plastic body w/ brake cleaner

 

[dttomcat]

I just took the spools off and cleaned them up with paper towels, Q-tips, and water. Sunday I will be stopping by Cabela's and I will get some lubricant and use it sparingly. I have five of these reels, mostly inexpensive Shakespeare stuff but they serve my purposes fine. One reel has a problem with the drag. Even with the spool totally loose it won't drag at all. Any ideas? This one is a little Daiwa long cast x.

 

[dttomcat]

Never mind about the problem with the drag. It was just frozen up because I haven't used that reel in a long time. I just twisted it really hard and it broke loose. Works fine now. A little lubricant and it should be good to go.