I decided to clean my shortcuts bearing since it started responding randomly when it shouldn’t have. I popped open one side and soaked it in mineral spirits. After leaving it there for about 30 minutes I brought it out and paper cleaned it then also air blasted it. However it seems to be spinning slower than before. Do I just have to break it in?
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Pop out both sides, soak in spirits, then rinse under tap while spinning with your fingers, and finally blow it out with air. This is what I do with alcohol and it’s very reliable for smooth and quiet results. I also like to go over the bearing seat with a damp toothbrush and then blow it out with the air for good measure.
By leaving one side on its much harder for any particles to get rinsed out of the bearing.
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sometimes you gotta spin a couple remaining drops out that may be stuck in the raceway. put it on ur bearing puller or a pencil and flick it 10 or 15 times and you should hit one time where it just spins like normal all of a sudden
also this 
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take out both sides of the shielding and make sure its dry.
the pre-2024 models had center trak which i think usually needs breaking in but the concave bearings are already really smooth stock imo
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I had this issue the other day. I cleaned mine in acetone and then hit it with the air compressor. After that the flick test was pretty weak. I cleaned it in Acetone again and didn’t air compress it and it seemed to do the trick. I was wondering if the humidity with the air compressor messed it up as I noticed condensation all over it at first when I brought it in the garage. Not sure if that’s what did it or not though.
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honestly that’s why I’ve never used compressed air on mine. shouldn’t be necessary, though. solvents like acetone, isopropyl alcohol, mineral spirits, all evaporate extremely quickly. just gently blow on it 
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Yeah I have been wondering about what kind of air is getting shot into my bearing from my air compressor. I think I might not do that anymore. I thought that blowing compressed air might be like a second form of cleaning but not so sure anymore unless its from like a can of compressed air.
I use an electric PC duster and it works perfectly.
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even those have moisture involved. it’s condensation and it’s just a result of compression. the only way to do it without moisture is like @Tempura says, an electric duster. they have powerful blower motors instead of relying on compression to accelerate the air
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The gas in a “can of air” is actually a liquid when compressed in the can, when you spray the can you release the pressure so some of the liquid boils off and comes out of the can as a gas. This reaction requires energy, so heat from the surroundings is absorbed, meaning the can gets cold and can form condensation. The can isn’t shooting out vapour or anything like that so it’s safe to use with electronics and won’t leave a residue, just make sure you hold it right side up.
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I’ve pulled out the air bed pump before. Works just as well as anything else just loud
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Just grab iso alcohol . Let it sit a min, take it out put it on a paper towel to dry just a little then put it on like a pen or whatever u have that the bearing that can sit on and just spin it… u literally can just keep spinning it completely dry;
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If you’re using compressed air from a can it can get very cold, especially if you hold the tube close to the bearing, and condensation will build up after. Just let it warm up a bit, try not to blow on it with warm moist air from your lungs or hot humid weather.
The other posters advice will probably service you fine, but for future reference, this is a bad order for cleaning. If you’re going to do the paper method, do it before the acetone so that any paper particles can be dissolved in the solvent.
I also don’t think the paper method is particularly useful unless you have inorganic debris in the bearing, which is a pretty weird issue to have and probably won’t be solved by paper. I’ve had good results using the paper method in the past, I’m just not convinced it would have gone worse with just acetone.
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I’m thinking, based on his follow up post that he uses plain canned air as used to dust electronics.
I’ve found the paper method is useful if I get a bearing literally dunked in grease from the factory. It’s that or multiple acetone baths or heck even dawn dish soap and water first. Sometimes the crud they use in bulk bearings is a mess.
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sry I’m lost and not sure who ur referring to. personally i was only aware of one kind of compressed air in a can and i was talking about how its cold and produces instant condensation. that’s why you never use them to dust the inside of a computer thats on. electric dusters that use blower motors are more eco friendly and dont come with the added hassel of condensation.
but ultimately i stand by the statement that all of these solvents are extremely volatile and dont need air blown on them at all. esp things like acetone evaporates in a matter of seconds to a min. not really worthy of extra effort or gear imo
For me, I don’t see the air so much as a drying agent, but rather to blow out any remaining particulates that may be floating in the solvent.
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ah yes I’ve heard ppl mention that reasoning. i think i started one of those noobs that fell into the bearing trap. as a new player so much info is centered on bearings and bearing maintenance and which bearing and what shape, lube, no lube, which lube…etc. and i fussed and obsessed over bearings and had a really frustrating time. my reaction seems to have been a 180 lol now im like oh yea these things have bearings and occasionally i may have to address something. I’m a converted minimalist 
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It helped me to get a bunch of bulk bearings so I can just swap them if they feel crunchy and address it later
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