Skateboard bearings are one of the most essential parts of a skateboard, and keeping your bearing maintained and clean is so important to stop your bearings from rusting to fast. Cleaning your skateboard bearings will allow them to allow much longer, so we have created an in-depth guide for you!
What You'll Need:
- Pliers
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Screwdriver
- Socket Wrench
- Skate Tool (T Tool)
- Mineral Spirits or Rubbing Alcohol
- Bowl For Soaking
- Bearing Oil
Follow These Steps:
1. Set up your supplies from the above list
2. Remove the wheels from the skateboard using pliers and a screwdriver, or a T Tool and screwdriver.
3. Free the bearings from the wheel using the needle-nose pliers. You may need to do a small amount of prying the bearing from the wheel but do so gently so that you do not damage the bearing upon removal.
4. Gently wipe the loose dust and dirt from the bearings with a dry cloth or a dry paper towel. If any of the debris is difficult to remove, do not try to do it at this point. You can wipe them again after soaking for the harder to remove debris.
5. Fill a bowl with about 4 inches of either mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol. You can use de-greaser if you don't have mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol, but your soak times will be affected by the solvent that you use. Be sure to check the solvent container for the suggested cleaning times recommended by the manufacturer.
6. Pry the rubber shield from the bearing. The rubber shield is usually red or black.
7. Soak your bearings in your solvent. Follow the suggested times from the manufacturer as listed on the package of the solvent. Generally, the bearings are finished soaking when all of the lube, dust, dirt, and other material is easily wiped off of the bearings, and no excessive rubbing or wiping is necessary.
8. Dry the bearings by first placing them on a paper towel or clean cloth to remove any excess cleaner from the bearings. Then, gently dry each bearing using a soft cloth or dry paper towel, or you can speed this up by blowing each bearing dry with canned air.
9. Lube each bearing individually using two or three drops of bearing oil. You should apply an oil that is made for skateboard bearings, which you can find at a skate or hobby shop or from an online skate retailer.
10. Replace the bearing shields. You can do this with needle-nose pliers if you find that it is challenging to get the bearing shield back onto the bearings.
11. Reinsert each bearing into each wheel. This should be relatively easy to do, but you may need to firmly press the bearing back into the wheel by placing them into the wheel with needle-nose pliers, then gently pressing the bearing down to ensure it is firmly in place.
12. Reattach the wheels to your skateboard, and tighten them down with the screws you removed when detaching the wheels. Ensure that all screws are firmly tightened down and that each wheel spins freely. Although there should be a slight wobble movement from each wheel, there should be no binding, excessive noise, or excessive motion from any wheel. If the movement of the wheel doesn't look correct, or if it sounds funny, take the wheel off, inspect to ensure that the bearing is firmly in place, and then try reattaching the wheel again.
Now you can go back onto your skateboard and be sure your bearings are in the best condition. We hope you were able to clean your bearings and learn something throughout this article!
