Cleaning Bearings with Turpentine
Quick Question,
Will using Low Odour Turps (100% LIQUID HYDROCARBONS UN 1993) be an effective cleaning agent when trying to clean my bearings, or do I need to go out and buy some acetone.
Will using Low Odour Turps (100% LIQUID HYDROCARBONS UN 1993) be an effective cleaning agent when trying to clean my bearings, or do I need to go out and buy some acetone.
Tags: Bearings, Clean, Turpentine
Views: 6480
Replies to This Discussion
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Trikes on -
Hi guys. I've done a lot of experimenting with different things. And I've done lots of inspecting of bearings under a microscope to see whats what..
As far as cleaning goes
1 you need to get the crap out and 2 and this is very important we must get the residue of whats left of the cleaner and whatevers left, out.
So Petrol works fine as most of the crud that goes in our bearings is from roadsways and thats bitumen based dust, fine gravels etc. So Petrol does the job here quite well and I'm keeping this simple.
Next we have to get the bearings chemically clean. For that I use Acetone. Methanol / Alcohol quite ok too. Thiners and Lighter Fluid aren't quite as good. Turps is, well, down the list a long way in efficiency.
Drying - never use a compressor as moisture is present in all compressors (just ask a spray painter). I use an up turned flood light on my bench.
Acetone will eat your seals so be careful but won't harm the bearing rings.
The reason we get the bearibgs chemically clean is if you leave a carrier or cleaner behind it will interfere with the Lube. All Lubes have a 'performance envelope'. Meaning they work upto their best performance over a few runs then peak for a few then gradually lose it. You may have noticed this very thing happening but didn't know why that run didn't feel as fast - now you know. Hope this has helped guys.
By Trikes. Fastest Billycart racer in Oz for over ten years. Now a first year Luger and a green horn Stand Up (waiting on my first board an Earthwing Supercharger to arrive.
Alex said:Yeh, I received my bearing cleaning kit yesterday, and after reading the cleaning instructions, It directly states that you should not use turpentine.
In the end I used some methanol purchased from the chemist.
Brad B said:ha ha, yeah I mistakingly used "gum" turps (artist quality) many years ago, doesn't clean well and will eat away at any synthetic components (so remove covers/ clean separately etc). oh, and they seized up real bad ,)
petrol / kero / work best to dissolve/ remove oil, though I will try Fitz' detergent blend next. (sounds better in theory)
Alex said:Has anyone ever actually tried cleaning their bearings with turpentine
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Permalink Reply by Alex on
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Now if only you had answered a little quicker, I would have had ridiculously clean bearings
Scotty Wyman said:Hi guys. I've done a lot of experimenting with different things. And I've done lots of inspecting of bearings under a microscope to see whats what..
As far as cleaning goes 1 you need to get the crap out and 2 and this is very important we must get the residue of whats left of the cleaner and whatevers left, out. So Petrol works fine as most of the crud that goes in our bearings is from roadsways and thats bitumen based dust, fine gravels etc. So Petrol does the job here quite well and I'm keeping this simple.
Next we have to get the bearings chemically clean. For that I use Acetone. Methanol / Alcohol quite ok too. Thiners and Lighter Fluid aren't quite as good. Turps is, well, down the list a long way in efficiency.
Drying - never use a compressor as moisture is present in all compressors (just ask a spray painter). I use an up turned flood light on my bench.
Acetone will eat your seals so be careful but won't harm the bearing rings.
The reason we get the bearibgs chemically clean is if you leave a carrier or cleaner behind it will interfere with the Lube. All Lubes have a 'performance envelope'. Meaning they work upto their best performance over a few runs then peak for a few then gradually lose it. You may have noticed this very thing happening but didn't know why that run didn't feel as fast - now you know. Hope this has helped guys.
By Trikes. Fastest Billycart racer in Oz for over ten years. Now a first year Luger and a green horn Stand Up (waiting on my first board an Earthwing Supercharger to arrive.
Alex said:Yeh, I received my bearing cleaning kit yesterday, and after reading the cleaning instructions, It directly states that you should not use turpentine.
In the end I used some methanol purchased from the chemist.
Brad B said:ha ha, yeah I mistakingly used "gum" turps (artist quality) many years ago, doesn't clean well and will eat away at any synthetic components (so remove covers/ clean separately etc). oh, and they seized up real bad ,)
petrol / kero / work best to dissolve/ remove oil, though I will try Fitz' detergent blend next. (sounds better in theory)
Alex said:Has anyone ever actually tried cleaning their bearings with turpentine
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Permalink Reply by Bozac on
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funnily enough i'm halfway through cleaning my bearings with turps and just spotted this, its definitely oily and stinks real bad. also buying any kind of industrial spirits at 10:30 at night makes it look like you are gonna drink that shit in the carpark once you leave the shop. i might wait til tomorrow and start over with acetone to get rid of the residue before i lube them.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Fitz on -
Hahahaha! Funny bastard!
Bozac said:also buying any kind of industrial spirits at 10:30 at night makes it look like you are gonna drink that shit in the carpark once you leave the shop.
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Permalink Reply by Elliot O on
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How do you guys get your bearing shields out?
I use this funny screwdriver thing that has an end like a thick needle and i just wedge it between the housing and the shield and pry it out.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Adam on -
I tried this for the first time this week end and on suggestions from joe i used a fish hook point. slipped it in on the inner edge about 1mm or 2mm and levered it up and popped out a treat. obviously be gentle.
Elliot O said:How do you guys get your bearing shields out?
I use this funny screwdriver thing that has an end like a thick needle and i just wedge it between the housing and the shield and pry it out.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Shane on
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has anyone had problems cleaning biltins? I tried cleaning them, but because the shields don't come off i got gunk stuck between the balls and the shield. I spent a good hour shaking and shaking the bastards in acetone but the grit just refused to come out. =[ when I spin the bearings.. even after i lubed them.. i can hear something sandy in there killing the poor balls. T_T
ironically the grit fell in cuz i tried to clean them T_T they detached from elsewhere and fell in when i soaked the bearings in acetone.
my two cents: make sure you rinse out your biltins shields up so crap can't fall in. =[
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by DA BEAR on -
Ben,
The shields should come off, they're held in place by a really fine (bout 0.5mm) "C" clip,
look closely at the outside of the shield and you should see the C clip hiding half inside the outer race.
Its there, just hard too see, run a needle/seal pick round the inside of the outer race at the edge of the
shield and you can pick up/hook the c clip and lift/pry it out,
BE CAREFUL DONT LOSE IT
then you can take the shields off and clean them properly.
Another important thing to check is that the shield hasnt crushed/caved/bent in or it willl touch your balls!
The shields are soft and flex a bit, i reshape/reset them so they are clear of my balls.
I use couple of sockets, (or use conduit or whatevers the right size)
sit the shield upside down in the bigger one then fit a smaller one (bout 1.5mm smaller) inside,
GENTLY, read farkin GENTLY press it down to reshape it.
Words of Wisdom from Da Bear cave,
following in,
The Footsteps of Fitz
and the
Raddness of Robbo!
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that, is awesome..
seriously. haha..
thanks wayne!
DA BEAR said:Ben,
The shields should come off, they're held in place by a really fine (bout 0.5mm) "C" clip,
look closely at the outside of the shield and you should see the C clip hiding half inside the outer race.
Its there, just hard too see, run a needle/seal pick round the inside of the outer race at the edge of the
shield and you can pick up/hook the c clip and lift/pry it out,
BE CAREFUL DONT LOSE IT
then you can take the shields off and clean them properly.
Another important thing to check is that the shield hasnt crushed/caved/bent in or it willl touch your balls!
The shields are soft and flex a bit, i reshape/reset them so they are clear of my balls.
I use couple of sockets, (or use conduit or whatevers the right size)
sit the shield upside down in the bigger one then fit a smaller one (bout 1.5mm smaller) inside,
GENTLY, read farkin GENTLY press it down to reshape it.
Words of Wisdom from Da Bear cave,
following in,
The Footsteps of Fitz
and the
Raddness of Robbo!
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Permalink Reply by Geff Gunning on
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Alex said:Has anyone ever actually tried cleaning their bearings with turpentine
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ASRA AdminPermalink Reply by bernie on -
Ben Shane said:
Ben,has anyone had problems cleaning biltins? I tried cleaning them, but because the shields don't come off i got gunk stuck between the balls and the shield. I spent a good hour shaking and shaking the bastards in acetone but the grit just refused to come out. =[ when I spin the bearings.. even after i lubed them.. i can hear something sandy in there killing the poor balls. T_T
ironically the grit fell in cuz i tried to clean them T_T they detached from elsewhere and fell in when i soaked the bearings in acetone.
my two cents: make sure you rinse out your biltins shields up so crap can't fall in. =[
Follow Bear's advice, but don't stop there, completely dismantle the bearings (on an old towel so the balls don't run away under the bench)
when you re-assemble your biltins do it in this order.
1) re-insert shields
2) put centre race in place
3) drop the balls back into the race
4) insert bearing cage
5) put in a bit of grease the size of 2 grains of rice.
Next time you want to clean you will not need to remove the shields.
and
The grease gets squished out of the way of the balls and creates a dust seal/trap between the shield and the inner race.
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