I still don’t know.
What is the best thing to clean your bearings in? Acetone, Lighter fluid, or Mineral Spirits? Is canned air a good thing to use on your bearings?
Also, any 100% Kitchen and bath silicone is okay to use as a response right?
Mostly preference on bearing cleaning. I like acetone, others like different things.
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I used mineral spirits or break cleaner. Now I don’t even clean bearings I just lube and play them.
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I usually just give mine a soak and swish in some mineral turp, tiny drop of lube, and away I go.
Yuki
I’m currently using Mineral Spirits because hey were cheapest.
I use mineral spirits. It’s all preference.
As for the response, any sort of silicone or rubbery sealant. Or any sealant.
Honestly, after 3 years I have never cleaned a bearing. Tried once with minerl spirits, seemed to do absolutley nothing.
All of the above…
And if you use solvent, it helps to blow it out with compressed air.
Really any solvent from gasoline to a high tech degreaser will clean a bearing. I don’t clean mine if they are sealed from factory. If I have one open and it hits the dirt then I usually blast it out with brake cleaner and then hit it with the air compressor.
IMO there is way way too much emphasis on the bearing issue especially cleaning. From flat to concave is about the best thing you can do to upgrade. Keeping your string off the response is about the best thing you can do.
I don’t quite understand how it’s about preference but ok. I’m heading over to walmart pretty soon. I have a few messed up bearings. What can I get at walmart to clean a bearing? Money is not an issue. After soaking my bearing in a w/e I buy a blast of canned air is a good idea yes?
I’ve tried mineral spirits. I’ve tried acetone. I have not tried lighter fluid.
I’ve had better results with acetone over mineral spirits. As far as the costs, it’s about the same. I think when I bought the acetone, it was a little bit cheaper that the mineral spirits.
So, I like acetone, it’s what I like to use. All that matters is that you get the results you want.
They are all solvents. Which one you choose to use is pretty arbitrary. They all do the same thing, but some are safer than others (gasoline contains carcinogens). A blast or two from an electronics duster, canned air, or an air compressor helps blow any gunk and left over solvent out of the bearing.
Most people have complained that kitchen and bath sealant flakes off too much when used as a response. Your mileage may vary.
To put that to the test, I’d like to get a pair of Duncan Butterfly XT bearings. I’d like to clean 1 bearing in mineral spirits and 1 in acetone. All other things being equal, I’d like to see what results I get.
However having cleaned a good many bearings recently, I have used some mineral spirits just to kind of compare. While again, not a fair comparison, I did end up getting better results with acetone.
Like it was said, your mileage may vary.
I’ve tried hardware store acetone, laboratory-grade acetone, and hardware store mineral spirits (of the two types of Varsol, this was the “high quality” one. 
)
I prefer mineral spirits slightly, but I don’t know why and have no real scientific or statistical reason for it. I tried the “mineral spirits first, then acetone” thing, and one day I just skipped the acetone part. It was the first time this one problematic bearing started working, which may have been total coincidence. But since then, unless I’m applying DryPlay, I just use mineral spirits.
The people who have never cleaned bearings… man… I would give a lot for that experience! I have had several bearings that have simply become responsive and needed cleaning. I mean, it’s not a preference thing, it’s just a practical thing. The bearings didn’t work any more without cleaning. And this is several bearings, not just a fluke… my understanding is that it’s fairly routine maintenance. I can see how a bearing can continue to “work” without cleaning, but as soon as the string starts “chasing” the axle, it’s cleaning time for me.
Having tried mineral spirits and acetone, i have had way better spin times with acetone. And this is for a bearing that can barely spin to one that spins for 45-60 seconds!! (on a pen)
I just came back. I got some oderless mineral spirits and a can of air. Guess I should’ve gotten acetone. Oh wells.
Woah. Is mineral spirits supposed to look like white paint?
Ehhhhh… not the one I have. The one I have is clear. Can’t speak for any others.
No, it’s supposed to be clear lol
Guess you shoulda got some lighter fluid! 