Curious what everyone has used (long term) for degreasing reels. I’ve always used brake cleaner, dried, then applied Quantum Hot Sauce. Last night I had a guy telling me that the brake cleaner will deteriorate any rubber or nylon seals/washers in a reel. I’ve never had a problem,…but this got me to thinking. Considering the cost of quality reels these days, I not looking to replace them anytime soon 
He is correct about brake clean. It will attack any non-metallic and cause it to break down over time. I have been using Gunk Green with good sucess for cleaning. Was using other stuff till I got turned onto the Gunk. It’s non-corrosive also!
X2 on the alcohol.
Once the inside is clean in obvious places you can put alcohol in an air brush and give the inside a blast. Sometimes the pressure helps to unseat stuff that a q tip misses.
The fella is very correct about the break cleaner. That is why I remove all the parts I plan to clean and do it in a separate container. I never spray it on the reels.
To remove grease I typically just use Q-tips to wipe it all off the gears and then re-apply with hot sauce. 
I have used kerosene and WD40, are those a bad idea?
Both have a strong odor but then again WD is based on fish oil and people have been spraying it on lures as an attractant for years.
I use plain hot water and Dawn dishwashing soap..
Rinse with more hot water and your good to go!
PS…I don’t like using Q-Tips because they can leave very small fibers behind….
Interesting info for tetracloroethylene which is the main ingredient in a can of crc brakeleen. Appears your local dry cleaner uses it for clothing etc. too but no mention of it dissolving plastic or rubber.
What is tetrachloroethylene?
Tetrachloroethylene is a manufactured chemical that is widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics and for metal-degreasing. It is also used to make other chemicals and is used in some consumer products.
Other names for tetrachloroethylene include perchloroethylene, PCE, and tetrachloroethene. It is a nonflammable liquid at room temperature. It evaporates easily into the air and has a sharp, sweet odor. Most people can smell tetrachloroethylene when it is present in the air at a level of 1 part tetrachloroethylene per million parts of air (1 ppm) or more, although some can smell it at even lower levels.
Sorry Suzuki it is just not true, there is NO fish oil in WD40, it is just a myth. Contains all petroleum distillates and that is it.
I will not use WD40 for anything once it dries it gets to be a sticky mess attracting more dirt and less lubrication. Do a test for your self spray some WD40 on a piece of metal let it sit for a couple of weeks and see what you have, it is very good at displacing water thou.
I use denatured alcohol for cleaning reels.
X2 On the dawn but you need to dilute with water and rinse with alcohol and use q-tips for both..
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Interesting info for tetracloroethylene which is the main ingredient in a can of crc brakeleen. Appears your local dry cleaner uses it for clothing etc. too but no mention of it dissolving plastic or rubber.
This would be a correct statement since brake components [seals and dust covers] are largely made up of rubber and plastics. The brake cleaner is fine in a reel. Personally I don’t care for the smell in close quarters or inside the house, like now, when I tend to do these little chores. Rubbing alcohol does a good job and is cheaper and way less likely to stink a room up.
As for q-tips, I use them to remove globs of grease the manufacturers dump in there to make the reel quiet. For serious cleaning I have a 1/4″ artist’s brush that I have trimmed the bristles down to about 1/8″. This is still soft enough to not damage anything, leaves not debris behind and is fairly aggressive about getting things clean.
Like you Tom I prefer a soft brush and a lint-free cloth..
With a smaller wood dowel and the cloth I can get anywhere a Q-tip can…
But that’s just me 
Are you getting whiter down your way Mudshark? We’ve had 4″ since last night and its just started to dump again. They say another inch maybe. Gotta admit though….it sure is pretty when its not full of tracks and slop.
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Are you getting whiter down your way Mudshark? We’ve had 4″ since last night and its just started to dump again. They say another inch maybe. Gotta admit though….it sure is pretty when its not full of tracks and slop.
About the same as you Tom…with another inch today..
Your right about it being pretty…but it won’t be so pretty when I get up at 2AM to go plow the stuff 
I just put the snow blower in the garage. Lungs don’t agree with shoveling 4″ but that 1″ extra I can manage ok. Take care behind the plow.
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