So I recently just used the paper clip method on my unesrponsive bearing and although I accidentally threw it behind my bed, I cleaned it and it didn’t have any black gunk, and yet plays responsive with a lot of noise.
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Possibly a piece of the paper got stuck in the bearing, or maybe a hair?
Thanks for reminding me about that for cleaning bearings though, I had completely forgotten about that
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Sometimes bearings just go bad… 
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this is why I don’t do stainless
I don’t know how well other people would agree with this, but I actually use an ultra-sonic cleaner to clean my bearings once every few months to get all the old lube and dirt out of them…it actually works amazing.
You can get them on amazon for like $50 or so, just a small jewelry one, and some jewelry ultra sonic cleaning solution (I use blitz but you can use whatever)
Then I use an electric blower that is used to clean dust from electronics to remove all the excess moisture and make sure they’re super dry (you can probably also used a can of compressed air), and then just apply a little thin lube.
Makes the bearing good as new.
Edit: I know some people advocate using solvents and other harsh chemicals in this process instead of water and solution, but…that’s an absurd amount of work, and risks damaging the ultrasonic and you.
If you’re vigilant about getting the bearing dry and applying lube corrosion shouldn’t be an issue.
$2.99 Have zero knowledge about it.
Plus $5.00 shipping…
Yeah man; I’m not really sure how much I would trust a $2.99 anything like that…
I mean, the cleaner is reasonably complicated and needs an ultrasonic generator, if it’s $2.99 it’s probably a piece of junk.
For reference the one I actually own is here:
And the solution I use is here:
If you’re going to go this route, like most things in life, spend a little bit more money and get something that’s going to do the job right, it’ll end up saving you a lot of trouble in the end.
Keep in mind, you can use these things to clean pretty much anything metal that can fit in it, I use mine to also do my glasses, small metal parts to various things, etc.
Anything that can stand to get wet and will fit will get incredibly clean inside one of these, it uses ultra sonic pulses to remove grease, dirt, oil, etc.
This one looks good, appears to be a clone of the name brand one that I purchased years ago, has good reviews:
I’d consider this one if you’re interested in going this route and want to save a little money.
I’d definitely avoid the $3 one though, for sure.