how to clean skateboard bearings
If you want to learn how to keep your skate bearings in good shape, you should know that they’re the most fragile part of your skates, so you should take the most care of them. As long as you take good care of your bearings, you won’t have to buy new ones as often. To save money and time in the long run, do this now. Corroded bearings can cause a lot of problems in the long run, so do this now.
Taking your bearings off of your wheels.
There is the best way to do this. You should get a bearing pusher/puller. Most skate tools that can be used for many things have them. How to get them out is shown in this video. It moves in a wiggling or round-and-round way. Getting at the wheel from the back is the easiest way. Then, you can push your tool through the middle of your wheel to get another one out.
A dirty thing will make grinding noises or not even spin to the count of 1 if you hold it between your fingers and spin it. This means it is dirty.
As long as you don’t get any small particles of dirt stuck between the balls in your bearings, you can just wipe them clean with a damp cloth.
Before clean, a quick check up.
As a last step, you should also look at your bearings for loose parts and make sure they don’t lean one way or another. It is important to remember that we are putting a lot of stress on our bearings because we lean in one direction almost all the time. My bearings have never bent in the direction I’m leaning in, but I think that will happen over time, especially if I don’t rotate them. I haven’t had this happen to me yet, though. So if they’re clean and lubed, but they still don’t roll well, they should be thrown away or turned into a keychain.
Take your bearings out and look at them.
It’s important to clean the surface of your bearings with a towel before you start taking them apart. My bearings have removable crowns on the back of them, so I can change the look of them. You have to be careful when you take them off, because you don’t want to break or crack the shield. When I want to remove the crown from the back, I use a small screwdriver for eyeglasses.
They come in a lot of different styles, and how you take them apart varies. Above, you can see bearings that have a crown that is very easy to take off! Then, if you also take off the rubber shield on the other side, the little balls will fall out and roll around on your floor, too. In that case, don’t do that. It’s usually easier to remove the rubber shield and keep the crown in place with these types of bearings. Then, do what is best for you.
Bearings that have two rubber shields on both sides usually have spacers between the bearing balls to keep them in place and keep them from rolling away. Pull out both sides of the rubber shields with a safety pin. Metal-encased bearings can’t be taken apart so they can be cleaned, so they can’t be cleaned.
What you should use to clean your bearings?
After I remove all of my crowns, I put all of my bearings in 70% rubbing alcohol. It’s even better if you can find 99 percent alcohol. You usually have to ask for it behind a pharmacy counter. Paint thinner and kerosene also work, but they smell bad and they can be bad for your skin. Bearing-specific cleaner can also be bought at your local skate shop. If there is any film or residue left on the little balls, they won’t roll well. Some people use environmentally friendly options as well. When it comes to bearings, dish soap isn’t the best thing to put on them
In the beginning, I made a lot of mistakes.
To clean my bearings for the first time, I used soap and water to clean them. I let them soak for too long, and the little balls were rusting in front of my eyes. In this case, make sure you have a way to dry them quickly. As soon as I saw that they were rusting, I grabbed my hair dryer and started blow drying them on the hottest setting as quickly as I could. Don’t do that, either, because it makes the outside rubber shield that helps keep your bearings together shrink. Go for it. If your hairdryer comes with a cool setting and you want to try that out, you can do that. Below, we’ll talk more about how to keep your bearings dry.
Cleaned the crowns
It can damage the crowns if I use chemicals or rubbing alcohol to clean them. One of my teammates told me not to do that. Now, I give them warm soapy water baths and get the lube and dirt off with a toothbrush while my bearings soak in alcohol. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but now I do both. They’re then washed in water. A quick rinse in rubbing alcohol makes sure there is no residue left on the crowns. Then I use a towel to dry them off and they are done!
Keeping the bearings clean
Then, with a toothbrush, give them a good scrub. Shake them in the alcohol, and keep going until they are clean. Then I dry them with a towel to get rid of the extra water.
Drying out the bearings
There is very little of it left when you use paint thinner, so it goes away very quickly. It might be hard for other cleaners to dry on their own. Before the bearings start to rust, they might need some help. As a last resort, I use canned air to blow them clean if I can’t find 100% rubbing alcohol. But if you happen to know someone who owns a small air compressor, that’s a cheaper way to get the job done. Give them a good whack to make sure there is no water in the bearing.
Check your bearings
When you play, make sure the balls don’t have holes in them, and that the inside track is free of debris or other problems. This will help you have a better game.
The process of putting your bearings back together.
This is how I put each ball in the sockets of each of my teeth with the screwdriver I used to get them off.
I then push the crown in. The thing should be easy to put in if everything is lined up right. Make sure not to push too hard and break or crack your crown. In this case, all you have to do is put on the rubber shield and snap it in place.
Add the lube
Putting on shields and crowns can happen before or after. Bearings and how they’re put together also play a role in whether or not your car will run well. I’ve done it both ways, mostly because I sometimes forget to put the shields back on. I put one drop on each side of the bearing that is exposed. I’ve been told that one drop is also good enough, or I could even put three drops on each side for good measure. You don’t need to use skateboard lube to do this, but you can. Go to Canadian Tire and get a bottle of 3 in 1 automotive oil. You can also buy some there and use that as well. Speed cream, which hairdressers use to keep their clippers and other tools clean, is also good for your hair. Your bearings can use any kind of lubricant that is meant to cut down on heat and friction, so you can use any of them! Another Coach Pauly thing.
Try them out.
When it’s done, put it between your fingers and spin it! Take a smooth stop and roll for a while. If you hear strange noises coming from your bearing or if it stops suddenly while spinning, you might not want to keep it. Then, you could try to soak them overnight and give them another shake or brush to see if that makes them come back to life.
Keep your bearings clean and well-maintained to help them last longer, which means you can save money. Take a couple of hours to do this process, and it’s more fun to do it with a group.