so sorry to hear about your pheasant yoyo, I think this would be avoided if the manufacturer didn’t include to coat the bearing seat area and leave it raw. I’ve tried the moon rock coating from a different yoyo brand but it feels chalky to hold in my hands until it starts to cutting strings on the profile edge after few throws until i decided to strip the ano coating with a drain cleaner and it surprisingly it eliminates the string cutting issue.
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So more or less we having all the same experience, I read about it but tempted from the look I wanted to try, thought I have been lucky but after open it couple of times than the issues came and the vibe as well, it is such a shame as I really like how the Pheasant play, I would not say that is unusable but I will have to keep changing strings and keep ruining the coating itself which is crazy thinking that I am just playing with it normally, think it will stay in the collection as “look” but probably will not get the play it deserve.
Sad to hear this.
If it were mine in this state (already vibey, cutting strings), I would try to remove the problematic coating around the bearing posts and response area (after removing the pads).
For some rough finishes, denim can be used to smooth things down. I’ve used steel wool and even fine grit sandpaper (very carefully) on the edge of the response to stop string cutting. Whatever is the least aggressive approach to solve the problem.
But if the appearance of the rest of the yoyo can not hold up to regular use, that’s a harder problem.
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I tried also the jeans trick and didn’t worked much, I can see it took out a bit of the coating but probably still not enough or I was scared to ruin it more.
I did not wanted to mess around with solvents and similar as make me a bit scared to ruin the whole yoyo but at this point I think I have to do it as I like how it play.
I think it is my fault, I read about all those issues but wanted to try the same as I was very into the look of it, probably doesn’t worth it at the end of the day, also because there was that beautiful blue or red acid wash that I liked a lot.
The finishing on the halves is having a bit of issues as well, I am one that play hard and for long time, I can already see some black bits like I am consuming the finishing with my hands (clean hands as I wash them with warm water before yoyoing), in the second pictures you can see them zooming it and it became even worst (I can take pictures), this picture is taken after maybe 2 hours of play
My method is to brace the steel wool or sandpaper on the edge of a table and press the response area down onto it with the bearing post hanging over the edge to keep it from being ground down. Then twist the half in a circles.
This (hopefully) removes material as evenly as possible to minimize the chance of throwing off the balance. I’ve kept very smooth yo-yos like new, but there’s always a risk.
Are the black marks from foreign material getting stuck in the finish, or the finish getting removed? A (white) rubber eraser might be able to remove smudges.
Sounds like moonrock, white cerakote and whatever they use to protect magnesium can all get dark marks.
if you have a cutting string issue try the emery board, I used it for sanding down my ding spot on my ss rims instead of using the regular sandpaper. These sold on my local pharmacy at the nails section for under 1 dollar and you can also use it to file down the area where it cuts your string while doing long sleeper. Hope this helps.
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I think it is the finishing getting removed, the yoyo hasn’t been in my pockets or anywhere else, just on the table and my hands, no hits or nothing else until now, I also do not have nails (I bite them, yes I know bad habit) so it cannot be that, I think in some ways is literally the string removing the finishing or me handling it in general.
I can try with a white rubber but I think this is all “too much work” as I am one used to take a yoyo and play with it and less on the “maintenance” side.
I think after this experience that moon rock is really something made for collection and less for play (except if you do not want to literally destroy it)
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I am in complete agreement!
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The “weathered” look on these moonrocks might turn out to look nice after a while.
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You do not want a raw bearing post. Galling easily happens between SS (bearing) and raw Aluminum, and will likey result in a similarly destroyed bearing seat over time.
You want an anodized bearing seat, similar to what OneDrop is doing with their cerakote finishes.
Customers being unintentional beta testers leaves a bad taste in my mouth. @Albertino sorry you had to go through this, but I appreciate the full write up on your experiences. I only hope more players become aware of the drawbacks of this finish.
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Has anybody ever had a bearing gall to a yoyo? I’ve seen more than a couple galled axles, so it’s easy to believe it can happen, but I’m just curious about if anybody has actually had that happen.
There’s raw YYRs from a decade ago still seeing play. Does 7075 have a reduced tendency to gall with SS? I’m thinking of all the Japanese companies that release raw designs, and they seem to be fine, even if it’s one of those things you “shouldn’t” do. Is it maybe because bearings sit a bit looser on raw posts?
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I wouldnt say so. Ive only tried my shortcut which has never cut strings nor does it have any wear on the bearing post.
This does dull my excitement about this finish as well though since so many people are having issues.
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Ms. Mable,
This goes back to our Galvanic Corrosion conversation.
The ion exchange from Stainless to Aluminum is a lot smaller than Carbon steel to Aluminum.
Plus the concept of lub in this area effectively stopping the process. (If lube is used on the bearing).
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Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for refreshing my memory.
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I guess I’m lucky. I have a moonrock peregrine and it’s absolutely perfect. Glass smooth with no discoloration or marks or string issues and I’ve had it in my pocket and play with it every day. I have taken it apart a few times and replaced the bearing with a nsk and it’s still glass smooth. It’s a close tie with my favorite yoyo because of the silky smooth texture.
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I’ve seen yoyo addict anglam and yyr sleipnir had a raw finish at the bearing area but ive never heard from players who owned these yoyos had a bearing seat issue overtime.
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I contacted the shop yesterday to see if I can do something about it or have a replacement as it seems my one is defective by all the post here (I mean 6 hours of play and all those issues should not happen, also because 60$ are not exactly low) .
I took some videos as with the original bearing it started to vibe quite a lot I can see the halves vibing and it show also on video, if I change bearing with a YYF center track it is a bit less but still there and visible on video, other than that seems the original bearing doesn’t fit anymore properly in the bearing sit, I tried the bearing in other yoyos and it is fine so it is not the bearing damaged.
I asked for a replacement not in a moon rock finishing, I do not care if the price of the moon rock was higher, I do not mind to lose couple of dollars but do not want another lottery with a moon rock, it is not for me or I have been unlucky.
As @Marioyo said probably we are all beta testers as I can see many different experiences and issues and is kind of a newish finishing, let’s see how it get solved but it is nice to have this thread at least to alert everyone that want to buy a yoyo in this finishing and actually play with it and not only collect
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