If you were to soak your bearing in lighter fluid and acetone then pull it out and catch it on fire with a match (sounds crazy, I know) but just the little burst of flame, would it clean your bearing at all?
It’d certainly be dangerous.
Agreed. But wouldn’t it burn all of the old lube and debris out?
Ehhh… since combustion creates a chemical reaction, my intuition (without actual science or evidence) is that it would be MORE likely to leave some remnants behind in the form of carbon and other byproducts of the reaction.
That was quite popular in some circles a few years back. My impression is that what it mainly achieved was a lot of soot in the bearing. And it probably wrecked them as well. Think about it. The heat probably removes the temper from the steel, causing it to be softer. It also promotes rust, as rust is oxidation - a slow burning process.
I received a yoyo in trade once that had a burned bearing. I replaced it shortly as it was a pretty crummy bearing.
But don’t take my word for it - go ahead and try it.
Report back with the results.
Thanks.
I’ll try it on a bad bearing I had. I don’t be just setting it on fire. Like in the way you light axe (or another aerosol) it would be a quick burst and it wouldn’t burn, just a quick light.
Unless you blow the solvent out before hand, burning it off is going to be more than just quick flash. The bearing cage holds it in well.
I’ll have to experiment with it and ill see if I can find something that works
Haha I often do that to reduce the gasoline scent. (I cleaned my bearings in gasoline)