How to properly clean your bearings

Domsicle

Steel Member
I've been surfin around on the forum for a while and I have to say there are some ways to clean bearings (soaking stock bearings in alchahol over night) and they dont work. So I decided to share my knowledge with everyone about cleanin ur bearlings an sheyit.

Step one: You need
- 4 bearings with plastic shields (stocks work fine and if you dont know what bearing shilds are your about to find out)
- paint thinner or kerosene
- rubbing alcohol
- 3 Gatorade bottles FOR PAINT THINNER METHOD
- 1 soda can with the top part cut off and a gatorade bottle FOR KAROSENE METHOD
- a pin
- bone swiss speed cream
- rag (i used bandanna because Im hxc bree bree bree)

Step two:
using your pin, take your bearings and take off all the sheilds on like in the pic. No this isn't hurting the bearings you can put the sheilds right back on and if you don't take the shields off your not cleaning them at all, infact it will cause your bearings to seize and break.

Stick the pin on the outer part of the shield
Photo28-1.jpg


It'll pop right out assuming your shields aren't made of metal.
Photo27.jpg


Those are the bearings, there held in by a cage so no they wont fall out
Photo26.jpg


Step three:
- Pour your kerosene into can or paint thinner into a gatorade bottle
- put the bearings into the gatorade bottle or can before you pour
- pour your kerosene/paint thinner so theres enough to cover them by an inch and screw on the cap tight (no cap on can)
- Shake the paint thinner like you have turbo parkinsons
- for the paint thinner method just kinda move the can around
- let them sit for an hour (any longer honestly isn't necessary)

What this will do is clean out all of the dirt and rust and gunk that builds up. This will make your bearings sparkly clean and they will spin amazingly and this is a necessary step, alcohol isn't the proper cleaning agent.

Step four:
I shouldn't have to tell you this but touching paint thinner or kerosene = bad things
And as Briboss warned pouring painthinner down the drain = no bueno


- remove the bearings and ditch the paint thinner/or kerosene
- put the bearings into a gatorade bottle
- fill an inch over the bearings with alcohol and shake them
- you dont need to soak them for long at all. The purpose of this is only to get the paint thinner off for when you handle your bearings.

Step 5:
-dry them off with your rag and lettem sit for like 30 minutes or so.

Step 6:
- CLEAN YOUR SHIELDS WITH THE RAG!!!
- pop a shield on one side of each bearing only
- put only 4 drops of speed creme in each bearing
OR
- put a tiny bit of grease on the inside (very small amount)
- push the all the shields right back on.

NOTE: You will notice how different your bearings will feel after a good cleaning. Remember do NOT lube your bearings unless you have just finished cleaning them, that WILL attract dirt and it'll screw your bearings up pretty bad (assuming you care)

Any questions just shoot.

EDIT: If any additional pics are required then tell me
 

Brian Boston

I got myself banned.
Tommy Tran said:
windex? I never tried that, will it work?
Yeah windex is good shit, my friend told me to use that mad long ago to get bearings out of skateboard wheels.

Guys dont dump paint thinner down drains, not good.
 

demo

Member
why i was 4 i poured 1/2 a gallon of paint down the drain..... but i got in lots of trouble and i didnt know why.. now i do...lol
 

Brian Boston

I got myself banned.
Yeah its bad for the environment, and just think if you did it outside, poured shit down the drain, and a smoker drops a cig but down that same drain, WHEWWW.
 

mat

Steel Member
most street drains go directly into the environment untreated. so whatever goes in that grate goes into your local stream/lake/ocean/woods.
 

GNarNik

Member
dude im gonna clean my bearings like this now man thx but instead of speed cream use wheel bearing grease its better. probably.
 

Domsicle

Steel Member
Nick Darger 951 said:
StevenEsposito. said:
Stock bearings all day <3333.
i love stock bearingS!!!!!!

the speed of your bearings wont matter much, its the pu on your wheels that makes most of the difference

Thats partially true but if your bearings are seized and your wheels dont have any free spin you'll have to push harder to get a decent speed and even then it wont maintain itself. Thats assuming your a street only rider. park doesn't really matter much in my opinion.
 
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