# Bearing Help
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106
**Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance
**Created:** [January 30, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106 "2017-01-30T17:45:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Siruta](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Siruta)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/1 "2017-01-30T17:45:01Z")
So I have some silicone gel, specifically Monkey Snot, stuck in my bearing. How can I get it out? I put it in mineral spirits, then in acetone, but my bearing seems to be dead now. How do I get silicone gel out of my bearings?
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### Author:  [@Cannon](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Cannon)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/2 "2017-01-30T18:02:15Z")
I’m personally not too sure but maybe try deshielding the bearing, picking out what you can with a safety pin, clean it, use hpa to attempt to dislodge any material and repeat until it works?
Or if you understand chemistry enough you could probably make some awesome experiment to get it out :wink: probably not a great idea though if you really don’t know what you are doing :wink:
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### Author:  [@jhb8426](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jhb8426)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/3 "2017-01-30T19:20:50Z")
Take the shields off and soak it in vinegar for about an hour, then pick the remaining pieces out. Vinegar is acetic acid, which is used to clean up fresh silicone, It will also soften cured silicone and make it easier to remove. But it won’t dissolve it like a solvent will do on some things.
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### Author:  [@Schnayke](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Schnayke)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/4 "2017-01-30T20:38:28Z")
depends on how it got in there. Did it get in wet and cure inside the bearing? or did it brake off the response and get lodged in there? the second one can be fixed by picking it out and cleaning the bearing out, the other jhb got you handled on that.
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### Author:  [@Siruta](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Siruta)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/5 "2017-01-31T02:04:36Z")
> [@jhb8426](#):
>
> Take the shields off and soak it in vinegar for about an hour, then pick the remaining pieces out. Vinegar is acetic acid, which is used to clean up fresh silicone, It will also soften cured silicone and make it easier to remove. But it won’t dissolve it like a solvent will do on some things.
I will try this. I really hope that it works. I was hoping that I could find something that would dissolve it. Maybe I’ll look into some acids?
> [@Schnayke](#):
>
> depends on how it got in there. Did it get in wet and cure inside the bearing? or did it brake off the response and get lodged in there? the second one can be fixed by picking it out and cleaning the bearing out, the other jhb got you handled on that.
It was cured in the response and broke off during play. Somehow, it got under the shields and under the bearing cage.
> [@Cannon](#):
>
> I’m personally not too sure but maybe try deshielding the bearing, picking out what you can with a safety pin, clean it, use hpa to attempt to dislodge any material and repeat until it works?
>
> Or if you understand chemistry enough you could probably make some awesome experiment to get it out :wink: probably not a great idea though if you really don’t know what you are doing :wink:
I understand it enough to try and find an acid that could probably burn through it but will leave the steel unharmed, hopefully.
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### Author:  [@jhb8426](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/jhb8426)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/6 "2017-01-31T04:29:10Z")
Just take the shields off and pick it out. Wash it with a bit of vinegar, clean and lightly lube.
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### Author:  [@Schnayke](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Schnayke)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2017, 5:43pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/7 "2017-02-03T17:43:34Z")
Yeah shields hold stuff in, if you didn’t run shields it would have probably just fell out. Pick it out.
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### Author:  [@Siruta](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Siruta)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/8 "2017-02-03T20:12:37Z")
> [@Schnayke](#):
>
> Yeah shields hold stuff in, if you didn’t run shields it would have probably just fell out. Pick it out.
Tried. Made it worse. Maybe I’m just unlucky
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### Author:  [@Schnayke](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Schnayke)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/bearing-help/83106/9 "2017-02-03T20:39:54Z")
Well assuming you got it all out and didn’t bend anything try giving it a good cleaning and see how that goes.