I’m new to bearing YoYo’s. I changed my stock response pads out of my YYF Horizon.
It left a heavy residue of adhesive behind. I picked out the pads with a toothpick and then broke q-tips in half. I used the stick part of the q-tips and the tooth picks to clean out the adhesive then put the new response pads in. Everything went well, it just seemed like a big hassle and was wondering it that was common. Thanks. Anthony
I see I should have put this in maintenance…sorry
It seems to depend heavily on the brand of response pads and age of pads. I’ve removed several varieties that left lots of residue. An old YYF’s stock pads (several years old) and some cheap unknown brand of rtv silicone pads. I’ve also removed plenty of pads that come off incredibly easy and cleanly, so it all depends.
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For me, the yoyo factory always leave a residue. I use some kind of pin or needle to stick underneath it and it peals away very easy. That’s the main kind of response pad that I’ve used…
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The same acetone you use to clean the bearing should be good to clean the response pad groove, BUT make sure it is completely dry, or the new pads will not stick.
I thought about an adhesive remover, but I was more concerned about the finish. I mean, I’ve spent more time picking my nose in one sitting than I did picking out the adhesive. One is just for satisfying than the other. (I’ll let you guys decided which)
Acetone should not hurt the finish on an anodized metal yoyo. On the other hand, don’t use acetone on plastics. It will soften the polycarbonate plastic used in a lot of plastic yoyos.
Lighter fluid is a good alternative. It doesn’t affect polycarbonate or delrin, or probably most any plastic you will encounter.
Pretty normal process you’ve described. I tend to just pick at it and then use alcohol for final removal. I don’t even know if alcohol is a proper solvent for that adhesive. Doesn’t seem to do very much. Lighter fluid would probably be better. 
Anything that will dry the sticky substance out will work well.
WD-40 would be the most effective thing, but I’m pretty sure you would never get another response pad to stick 