Cleaning a bearing with acetone.

Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance
1

I went to walmart today, and i saw acetone so i picked some up. I actually do have a bearing that needs cleaning though. Anyway, i went online to see how to clean a bearing, and i came across this .

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I’ve read at many places that acetone is their favorite thing to use to clean a bearing, but now I’m not so sure. This is the acetone that I got:

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Will the bearing be ok if i clean it with this?

2

Yup, just put it in a jar or bottle, unshield the bearing, put it in the jar or bottle or a few minutes. You could shake it too. Then after a few minutes take it out, spin the bearing a bit and let it dry.

3

Ok thanks!

4

Just want to hear other peooles opinions too.

5

yes. Mineral spirits is usually the preferred option because it’s less dangerous, but acetone works as well. I cleaned skateboard bearing (which get a lot dirtier than yoyo bearings) using fingernail polish remover for years, which contains a percentage of acetone.

6

Acetone is absolutely fine. It’s the recommended solvent of the terrapin guy for bearings. (though you should be careful with acetone and ceramic bearings. Acetone might damage ceramic bearings)

7

Are CTs ceramic?

8

Nope.

A bearing being ceramic is typically a strong selling point, so if the bearing is ceramic, you would probably have been told it was ceramic when you bought it.

9

ceramic is actually more resistant to chemicals than steel is.

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10

Ok i think I’m going to do it tomorow. Tonight I’m going to watch a whole bunch of how to videos first.

11

It’s pretty difficult to mess up cleaning a bearing. Just take off the shields, dunk it in some solvent, swish it around a bit, then take it out and let it dry.

You don’t even have to put the shields back on. Most people don’t.

You learn something new every day.

The reason I said might is because a few years ago cleaning a ceramic bearing with a solvent was considered harmful to the bearing. It was probably just one of those rumors that get spread around without any actual evidence. But, I thought I’d play it safe.

12

I’m going to use pliers to swish it around.

13

it’s fairly simple.

  • Deshield
  • Put in solvent
  • stir it around (or if it’s an air tight case, shake it up) for a while. maybe a minute or two
  • take it out
  • dry it. I usually set it on a paper towel, dry it a bit, then stick it on the end of a 1/4" rod (1/4" is the inner diameter of a c size bearing. the back of a drill bit works nicely) or pen or something that it fits snugly on, and spin it dry.
    And that’s it. I don’t reshield mine, don’t put any lube, just put them back in the yoyo and play. I’ve been running all my bearings dry like this for 2 years, and I have no problems with any of them. You can lube and reshield if you want to though.
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14

I usually just use my YYF multitool to spin my bearings (after i lube and stuff)

15

whatever floats your boat… but yea cleaning a bearing is super easy, you dont need to spend the night watching how to videos :smiley:

16

I think most people were incorrectly cleaning their bearings and looking to blame something. I have a few ceramics, and while they don’t seem to be anything special or amazing to me, they clean up just fine with acetone.

17

The old YYN store description for the ceramic KK bearing said it was recommended to just blow out the bearing, not clean or lube it. I think that’s probably where the “harmful” thing stems from.

18

You’re way over thinking this.

1 Like
19

Ok. Im going to do it tomorow because i don’t have a glass container yet. My little sister’s baby food comes in a little glass jar, so after she eats tomorow my mom sais that I can have the little jar.

20

you don’t even need a glass container. I usually just use a plastic bowl or cup.