So today, I got s YoYoJoker Uroboros in the mail, and the bearing was all lubed up, so I cleaned it. Put n in a jar of mineral spirits for 10 minutes, let it dry for 5 minutes, then spun it around to get rid of the rest of the mineral spirit. So I tried the cleanign thing again. Exact same procedure. STILL RESPONSIVE. I also cleaned 2 other KK bearings with it, and all three are responsive…
Can someone please tell me what is going on?
When you clean using mineral spirits, did you shake it up, or flip it or both? I prefer a longer soak, but we’re talking like 15-20 minutes total time, but I don’t think that’s the issue. When I remove a bearing, it goes onto a paper towel for a bit(less than a minute), then flipped to get the other side, then spun for 2 minutes by hand on the top of a pen or pencil while being hit with a few blasts of compressed air. I don’t really let it “air dry”.
After you’re done, do you lube or you in the dry bearing camp? I wont go there, you know your preferences and the arguments for and against lube or dry running.
I’m sure you did the typical “check the bearing seat” stuff.
Lastly, just for the heck of it, have you tried the swapping then bearings from a different yoyo that is dead unresponsive? I’m just trying to isolate things. If the bearing acts the same regardless, it’s the bearing. See where the problem follows. Also, use a Sharpie to put a dot or mark on the bearings to keep track of them. All bearings look very similar at a glance, so do what you can to keep things straight. You have to isolate the problem. But I’m basing this on doing audio. I had a pair of bad cables last night setting for a gig, so I had my crew swap it out. I can always test the cable later. New cables resolved the problem.
Narrow it down. Swap bearings with KNOWN working bearings. Once yo start swapping parts around, you should be able t find the problem.
bearing needs breaking in
When you flick the bearing does it spin smoothly or does it spin the same way that it was before you cleaned it.
I only ruled out breaking the bearing as a factor mainly since I think he knows enough to know about that. Not saying it isn’t valid.
But, I find even if a clean a broken in bearing and/or lube it, I kind of have to break it in, but we’re talking a MUCH shorter period of time. 5-10 minutes, even for a noob such as myself.
I usually only soak my bearings for 1 min and that works fine. Check the bearing seat for dust or silicone.
Like it did before. Not very smooth…
and it still smells like mineral spirits. It was old mineral spirit I had use about 2 months before though
Should be fine. I guess the bearing can’t be used in that condition.
I don’t think you dried it properly. Normally they will stop smelling like mineral spirits after a that dry.
I’ve used acetone, mineral spirits and lighter fluid for cleaning bearings and I’ve noticed different bearings like different cleaners. For example Duncan bearings seem to like acetone or mineral spirits but when I cleaned my yyf centertrac with acetone it was super responsive. When I cleaned the yyf with lighter fluid it was perfect. I thought something was stuck in it so I cleaned it 3 times with the acetone and it didn’t go back unresponsive until the lighter fluid. Weird right?
Also I’m assuming u did remove the shields? Right?
One more thing regarding breaking in the bearing. What I do is clean and then play with the dry bearing until it becomes responsive again and then I clean and repeat. After 2 or 3 times I will clean and then lube with a very light lube. I use REM oil its a very light aerosol gun oil with teflon its super thin and I know my bearing has some lubrication without sacrificing the life of the bearing or good play.
Well that’s my 2 cents hope it helps. 
From what I see, your bearing isn’t dried completely yet. I think 5 minutes of drying isn’t enough for your bearing to be completely dry. Personally, I leave my bearing for at least a day, to make sure it is completely dry, before spinning it for 5 minutes to get rid of the excess solvent.
Blow it out w/compressed air to dry the bearing. The small aerosol cans used to clean electronics work great.
This is going to sound like a stupid question, but the mineral spirits were clean, right? I mean, no one had cleaned paint brushes in it or anything? If the “cleaning” was OK, then I agree it must have been the “drying”.
