Hi guys, so I just added some flowable silicone to my supernova and I think I got a small piece inside the bearing (the bearing was off to the side, not in the throw) and I would like to know the best way to get it out of there. It is a twisted trifecta 10 ball bearing and I did a paper cleaning after I noticed the bearing didn’t sound right. Best solution on how to get it out please! Thank you!
You’re not going to like my answer: get a new bearing.
I mean, there are things you can try: blow it out thoroughly with compressed air… put it in a small container 2/3 full of distilled water and shake the living snot out of it… blow it out with more compressed air.
If it spins freely on a chopstick (or whatever), you may have dislodged the silicone.
Otherwise, if the silicone got in there before it was cured, it’s probably formed to part of the bearing and within the cage, which will make it harder to dislodge. Most of the solvents we use for cleaning bearings won’t work effectively on silicone.
So, you can spend a good long while troubleshooting and trying to clean it… or you can get a new bearing.
Disclaimer: I’ve never silicone’d a bearing before… all the above is just conjecture based on what I know of bearings and silicone. If I’m totally out to lunch on this one, someone could have a better answer… but any answer that takes more than an hour to execute and my answer more or less still stands. 
Don’t panic. One of the bad things would be is if you got the silicone in the bearing while still liquid and it cured in there, it may be hard to get out.
First, that silicone is pretty darn tough, so the regular solvents for cleaning bearings will have little effect. Your best bet is as you’re trying, the paper slip method as well as using a sharp metal object(say, a needle) to dig it under some bright light. If you have one of those magnifier/lights on an arm, that would be ideal. Blowing it out a lot is also going to help.
If you in fact siliconed your yoyo with the bearing OUTSIDE of it(congratulations, you’re better than a lot of other people who can’t figure out to remove their bearings first), it would be very odd that there would be silicone INSIDE the bearing.
Here’s my thoughts:
You siliconed your yoyo a bit sloppy. This is not a big deal. After you put in the silicone, you use some sort of stuff cardboard to remove the excess. After it cures, you can remove additional excess, some of which often gets on the edge of the bearing seat. I think what happened is you didn’t do your “post cure” clean up and didn’t check the bearing seat to ensure it was clear of silicone bits. So, a bit of silicone somehow got into your bearing or is in the seat and/or recess and/or outer bearing rim area and is screwing with your bearing. The good news is that if this is the case, your chances of fixing the issue through cleaning greatly improve. If this is the case, I’d just do a more aggressive regular cleaning(more agitation, then don’t drain, go directly into blowing it out from both sides) and then clean again using paper slips, then one last clean, drain and blow process and you should be fine.
My only question now is: are your shields normally on or off? If the shields are normally ON, then the chances of the silicone getting in are smaller. If the shields are off, then of course it’s easier for little bits of silicone to work their way in.
Otherwise, if the silicone cured in there, it’s just a big pain and it might be simpler and faster to just get a new bearing.
It’s a dried piece of silicone that came off the tube of silicone from last i used it. Whatever sili was left on the tube dried and I tried to get it off, and I think a small piece of that flew off and landed in the bearing. I didn’t touch the bearing with the undried silicone at all, it’s a dry piece stuck in there.
Some hard work with Studio42’s “sharp implement” along with some aggressive shaking in water and/or aggressive compressed air (use a compressor instead of a can if you have access to one) might do the trick, then.
But “I think” means you haven’t actually identified the invader yet!-- have you tried the bearing in another yoyo to confirm it’s not just the sili job/response area rather than the bearing?
Well the bearing was never in the supernova when I did the sili job, it was off to the side and it had pads in it before this. Also, is it ok to put the bearing in water?? Is there anything that may help dislodge what could be stuck in my bearing?
Yes, you can put a bearing in water. But you’ll want to dry it quickly and thoroughly afterwards. Hair dryer will do the trick. Other than water, just the previous suggestions of a sharp thin object (a pin?) if you know where it is… paper slipping… and blowing it through with compressed air.
Have you removed the shields? You never mention that. If not do it. Then it should be quite easy to clean out whatever is in there.
forehead smack Good eye. My advice is ALL predicated on removing the shields.
I’ve had silicone in my bearing. Just clean it. And let it sit a little longer so the silicone will come out.
If your an adventurer like me, then you would have stuck a whole yoyo in mineral spirits and found that the silicone comes right out and thins out.
So, de shield the bearing and let it sit in a solvent of your choice.
I always take off the shields to clean and don’t keep them on, sorry for not mentioning that. Ok, well I paper cleaned the bearing and it spins fine, it is just super loud right now because I need to put lube in it, but I might just clean it in mineral spirits first and then paper clean one more time to make sure whatever is in there, gets out. Where can you normally find mineral spirits and how long should I leave the bearing in there for?
You can probably get better mineral spirits (odorless would be nice…) but I just use “high quality” Varsol from Home Depot. There are two grades of Varsol-brand mineral spirits, and I get the supposedly higher quality stuff for 20 cents more. Not sure if it makes a difference.
Mineral spirits are used as a paint thinner/cleaner, so you should be able to find some at pretty much any home reno store or paint store.
Walmart has some, any paint store, lowes hardware Home Depot ect.
I would leave it in for 10-15 minutes. For a average cleaning 9-10 minutes.
Also, you can use just about any paint thinner, I have tired tons of different kinds and they all worked. Acetone, lighter fluid are good as well,
Ok, and one more thing, could you also put the bearing seat of the yoyo in mineral spirits in order to get rid of any stuff that could be stuck on that as well or no? because I got a little bit of sili on the bearing seat and I think I cleaned it all off before hand, but I dont know if I got all of it. Im thinking about just re-siliconing the throw again because I didn’t do that great of a job. The tube has a chunk of cured silicone inside of it and it blocks me from getting any out, so I can’t do a proper siliconing job.
If you want to clean the bearing seat out, you can dip a Q-tip type device in the solvent and swab the bearing seat. I would recommend not doing this on some plastic yoyos, but any metal will be fine. Also, use a bright light and a toothpick if you have to dig. Depending on what, how much and where, you might be able to just roll it off with your finger.
Neither lighter fluid nor mineral spirits will affect the plastics any name brand yoyo is made of - delrin or polycarb.
Good to know.
How about acetone? Same thing? I’m fairly sure it’s probably the same response.
Acetone will soften polycarb. That’s why it’s used to dye polycarb yoyos. It helps set the dye. It has little if any effect on delrin/celcon.
I am glad I asked before I may have ever tried something. Fortunately, I have plenty of mineral spirits for that purpose.
So, mineral spirits to loosen adhesive, acetone for cleaning bearings for me.
Hopefully I remember that!
Thanks everyone for your help, but one last thing, I mentioned earlier that I have a piece of cured silicone stuck inside the tube, how can I get it out?? Otherwise, I won’t be able to do a good silicone job until I get a new tube.