Ever since I used vaseline on my responsive OneStar, it’s been playing perfectly for a long time. With normal thick lube, I had to relubricate once every day (at least). But vaseline seems to go on and on.
The problem is that now when I look at my bearing, there’s dirt all around. Is this a bad thing in general? If the dirt makes the bearing play responsive, is there any disadvantage to have it stuck into the vaseline around the bearing?
Basically I’m asking if I need to clean my bearing with several days of dirt mixed with vaseline inside it. Am I harming the yoyo?
I would prefer to not clean it since that would decrease the response…
you wanted a responsive yoyo so i would leave it dirty to suit your needs… but dont even expect the bearing to be unresponsive ever again…
I can’t believe im actually saying that… I would never expect someone to buy an unresponsive yoyo cram a bearing full of vaseline then wonder if the dirt getting attached to the vaseline is going to do anything more then the vaseline did to ruin a good bearing…
but no i wouldnt worry about the dirt too much… if you want you can clean it with mineral oil, lighter fluid, or finger nail polish remover and that should work just find. Then you can re apply the vaseline…
Well, actually it’s the Sage sold by some other site which is a OneStar with a responsive bearing. I normally had to lube it every few hours to keep it responsive, but vaseline is so awesome, it just stays and stays.
Great to know that the dirt won’t harm the bearing. Thanks!
Actually it could, depending on what goes inside the bearing. A piece of cloth lint or little string “fur” can jam the inside and you won’t be able to simply clean it with solvent, because you can’t dissolve cloth, unless with some nasty chemical that probably will also ruin the bearing itself. Using vaseline itself won’t harm the bearing though, only more difficult to clean.
I’d recommend putting the bearing cap back on, or find the ones that have one.
Dirt is never gonna help anything yoyo related. If its dirty, clean it. grit will do nothing but harm to all parts involved. I couldn’t imagine greasing a bearing up with Vaseline. Makes me cringe.
I believe it’s been said, but if you’re looking for responsive, you are headed down the right track. Just brush surface junk away, and clean it when the inside vasoline looks dirty in any way, so you don’t cause damage. Your lube job should last a while, most people rarely have to lube, even with thin lube, so vasoline should be there for a while
If the dirt is around the outside of the bearing and in the bearing seats, you can clean it up pretty easily with a Q-Tip and be just fine. Vaseline used to be the go-to back in the day when you wanted to make nylon sleeved yoyos more responsive. It can get pretty gunky and coat the yoyo over time and you might find yourself cleaning the whole thing more often.
If you’d like to try different lubes. Maybe give the YYJ “Thick-Lube” a try. It will increase the response of the yoyo without gumming up the bearing too much. This is a good alternative to petroleum jelly, just in case you decide to clean it an go unresponsive later down the road. The thick lube might not be as much of a chore to maintain.
