Oil/Grease for spinning reels

cseng123 · November 2014

Hey all, I have a question on how to apply reel oil and reel grease onto my spinning reels. I used to just spray corrosion block on the bearings and the inside of the reel, and it would keep the reels relatively smooth. I havent been able to find corrosion block in stores, so I got some reel oil and reel grease. How do I apply these? Where does the grease go vs the oil? Do I need both to keep my reels maintained properly? Its getting to that time in the year where I slow down on the wading and I want to keep my reels clean and up to par. Thanks in advance.

Jack Hexter · November 2014

You didn't look too hard for Corrosion Block. We sell it at Tarpon Fishing Outfitters, and it's also sold at West Marine.

To answer your question, oil the bearings and grease the gears Also grease all the screws that hold the reel together. This avoids corrosion between different metals and thus avoids having to drill a screw out, making a routine maintenance overhaul into an expensive one

Be careful not to get oil in the anti-reverse clutch bearing as too much oil will cause it to fail

FibberMckee · November 2014

Corrosion Block is EZ to find online. But is the Walmart link correct? Costs $41 & has a shipping weight over 6 lbs?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Or-Products-CB12-Corrosion-Block-12-Oz./33278613

However, nothing I've ever read about Corrosion Block suggests it's suitable instead of oil & grease.

johnD · November 2014

Both of these can be found on ebay as "buy it now" items , cheap.

A light film of grease on the inside of the reel , then apply Reelx to the bearings.

Corrosion Block Multi-Purpose Grease.

Corrosion X / Reel X oil.

cseng123 · November 2014

You didn't look too hard for Corrosion Block. We sell it at Tarpon Fishing Outfitters, and it's also sold at West Marine.

I stopped by today and got a bottle of the big stuff. Ive been down in Fort Myers and Bass Pro Shops, ****, as well as the other local tackle shops didnt carry it. Thanks for the advice everyone. Oil=Bearings Grease=Gears is what I got out of it

lemaymiami · November 2014

Since I've repaired a bunch of reels over the years.... here's my best advice about your spinning reels... Use only a tiny drop of oil on each moving part (the spool shaft, the reel handle where the plastic handle meets the metal portion, at the base of your anti-reverse lever (if your reel has one...), each side where your bail has a screw... Lastly a tiny drop of oil on the edge of any line roller (on each end of the roller). This will do for a start and keep most of your critical moving parts working properly. Once you're done oiling turn the handle severa times, open and close the bail, turn the anti-reverse lever off and on... All of this is to aid your oil in working down where it's needed -afterwards use a dry paper towel to pick up any excess oil -and remember a little oil goes a long, long way on any fishing reel (my favorite oils are Break Free or Gunslik - avoid at all costs any "3 in 1" oil, period).

As far as grease goes the only time you'll really need grease is if you take apart and clean the gearcase.... Greasing all the sideplate screws is a good idea but use just a tiny amount, wiping off any excessl... Hope this helps -the best thing any angler can do is to take your reel to a pro and ask as nicely as possible if you can watch while they go through the reel - that's how I got started back in 1972....

bonephish · November 2014

Smoothdrag sells the best oils and grease for fishing reels.

http://www.smoothdrag.com/price.html

Cal’s Drag Grease oz $7.00
Cal’s Light Grease oz $7.00
Cal’s Grease Pound $30.00 Regular or Light
TSI 321 Bearing Oil $9.50 4 oz.
Reel X Oil $6.50 1 oz.
Corrosion X $9.25 4 oz.

duckmanJR · November 2014

Most gun oils are good for reels...

There is one called " tri-flow" which many waterfowl hunters use on guns because it works well on guns used around salt water.

territuna · December 2014

There is a new product out called Get Some. It was based off Inox and has done a really nice job. It loosens up frozen bearrings and has done a great job on getting off corroded bearings off under the line guides on shimano reels. You can get it a Kel's rod & reel or at alot of Ace Hardware. Its actually produced here in Central Florida.

johnD · December 2014

territuna wrote: »

There is a new product out called Get Some. It was based off Inox and has done a really nice job. It loosens up frozen bearrings and has done a great job on getting off corroded bearings off under the line guides on shimano reels. You can get it a Kel's rod & reel or at alot of Ace Hardware. Its actually produced here in Central Florida.

thanks for the heads up.

cseng123 · December 2014

Thanks for all the help everyone.

DCB_WVU · December 2014

I just took apart a Penn 550 SS that I found in my boathouse tonight. It was packed full of White Lithium grease, and I do mean full. so much that I had to break it loose to get it to move. I could tell the gears were not damaged so I opened it up. took an entire can of carb clean to get the sludge out of there. I clean it up and regreased (sparingly) and applied some light oil to the surfaces. Works like a charm and saved me from having to buy a new reel that I was desperately needing. So, the lesson, is a little grease! I used the G96 synthetic gun oil and a grease from Krieghoff for the gears. Gonna check out some of these new products listed here, thanks.

Symetre · December 2014

duckmanJR · December 2014

DCB_WVU wrote: »

I a grease from Krieghoff for the gears.

Probably the only thing I could afford to buy that comes from Krieghoff....:grin

duckmanJR · December 2014

Symetre wrote: »

Yes...for all your household fishing reels...especially good for the reel that you fish in your toilet with...:grin

lemaymiami · December 2014

Any time someone brings me a reel that's got "3 in 1" oil on it... I can spot it at a glance since the stuff turns into varnish/glue over time. I can usually restore function just by a thorough cleaning to remove every bit of that stuff. Can't say it enough -avoid "3 in 1" oil for any fishing reel (or anything else that you want to work properly over the long term....). It works just fine initially but a year or two down the road you'll be learning the hard way....

Turner River Terror · December 2014

Never knew that. I've been wearing the 3 in 1 oil out on all my reels.
Next teardown it'll be Carb Cleaner and Gun oil / Rem oil.

FibberMckee · December 2014

3 In 1 isn't as bad & Carb Cleaner, and Gun oil / Rem oil aren't as good - as they've often been portrayed.

Turner River Terror wrote: »

Never knew that. I've been wearing the 3 in 1 oil out on all my reels.
Next teardown it'll be Carb Cleaner and Gun oil / Rem oil.

Plain old WD or Gunk aerosol lubes are better for cleaning reels. They're cheap, you probably always have some in your house. And it's both very effective & safer than Carb Cleaner around reels.

Save the expensive little bottles of Gun oil for guns. Get a 10 or 15 CC syringe & 18 size needle to use as a precision oiler, then simply fill with synthetic motor oil.

The trick is to regularly put a little very good oil exactly in all the right spots after cleaning/drying salt water reels.

Permit Rat · December 2014

Another tip is to avoid Teflon grease. I haven't seen this much recently, as Teflon drags aren't used much these days, at least in the better reels, but if you're like me and have a hard time throwing anything away (just in case!)...then you might have some still lying around. Anyway, Teflon grease is for Teflon drags only, as it has actual particles of Teflon in it (you can feel the "grit" when you rub your fingers together), which are designed to create space between the washers and prevent sticking of the drag surfaces. While I don't think any permanent damage would occur, those same particles will wreck havoc with the smoothness of your reel.

Oil/Grease for spinning reels

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