How to Clean Skateboard Bearings | Tactics 

Do you clean your bearings or do you just get new ones? 🤔 If you have any questions, check out the full guide here: www.tactics.com/info/how-to-clean-skateboard-bearings

When I was 7 years old, I just took the wheels off and then just wash them with water. God I was stupid.

nothing more satisfying than gripping a board for me.

After skating on & off for 25 years, I just learned You don't have to leave that wiggle room between each wheel if you use bearing spacers. They're not pointless after all lol. This is one of the best videos I've seen for cleaning bearings, rubbing alcohol is also a good solvent.

I watched this at least 10 times even though I just cleaned my bearings last month. This is ASMR for skaters

I think it’s important to note that if you decide to use rubbing alcohol, PLEASE make sure the percentage is high. Let’s say you use 70% rubbing alcohol. Your wheels will rust from the 30% water. 91% and up is the best for cleaning bearings.

Literally just cleaned my bearings last week 😂 but I saved this video for next time! That bones bearing cleaner is amazing & that bones speed cream 👌

i've been using the same bearings for a year almost without cleaning them idk how they even work still

Low key the best tutorial for cleaning bearings out there

I'd recommend to not use a plastic container for your acetone. its likely to dissolve it if highly concentrated or in contact for long enough. Also, any alcohol like ethanol or methanol will probably remove oil and grease much more easily. In the lab we often use alcohol, then water, then acetone. And a little tip is that blowing on it or any other Nitrogen source will speed up the drying of the acetone. Good luck. :)

Tactics really is the best , their product descriptions on the site are the best down to the mm , and now these vids super thorough helping out the newbs

I dont know why the bones bearing cleaner kit is so expensive. Good video though.

Dayum I've skated for 15 years and have never done this

good video. i recently discovered wrapping a thick cloth over the wheel makes prying the bearings out SO MUCH EASIER.

With Bones reds (what I do is....) take out the dust covers with a pin. Then use the pin to very carefully lift out the clasp holding all of the ball bearings. Push all of the ball bearings together in one spot and they, and the centre, will dop out . Now all parts can be cleaned more effectively. To put them back together again reverse the process. Put all ball bearings together at the bottom of the outer ring, sit the centre on the top and push the balls apart to lock in place. Space them out to match the clasp and click back in......job done 😊

Soaking them in windex overnight works wonders. I had to skate home in the rain and my bearings were trashed the next day. I went down to the local shop planning to replace them, but the guy told me to try that first. It made them good as new

I've used wd40 to rinse and clean my bearings and then lubed them up with 3 in one oil and it's worked well for me

Damn the intro tho

if there's one thing i've learned from working in maintenance, it's that cleaning a bearing doesnt fix the damage already done to the bearing. I personaly perfer to just swap my bearings out since they arent all that expensive anyways. if you'd really want to clean the bearings you would have to clean them a multiple times to get rid of most filth which to me doesnt seem time efficient. also, if im going to spend money on cleaning utencils i might aswell get new bearings :^)

i remember how skaters would just drown their bearings with wd-40 and they wouldn’t believe me that it would dry and wreck them without lubricant

Thank you very much for this comprehensive lesson I found it extremely informative easy to follow and I easy to understand I had the sealed abec 7 bearings but I was able to clean them and they're performing just like you thank you so much I will be watching other videos shortly

Damn I’ve been washing them with water and using wd-40 while making them tight with no washer in between I can’t believe it

Six months later I finally find a bearings cleaning video that is simple to follow. 👌🏿

so satisfying, thanks for sharing, now i'm gonna go clean my bearings.

I used regular household orange cleaners to clean my bearings, have done it twice, works great, even deals with rust lol

thanks, I'm just learning how to skate and I wanna learn to take care of my board too. really good video.

Really Great Video. I cleaned like 4 boards today since i had everything already to go. I had to move the bearings a bit to fit the covers back in. They wouldn't just pop in like I saw in the video. Very smooth tutorial. That BearIng Cleaner kit, looks nice to have just sliding them up and then securing with the wing nut and shake. Never seen that before. Thanks again.

havent cleaned my bearings sense 2012 still work perfectly fine, no idea how but im gonna give this a try

You should do a tutorial for a deep clean where you disassemble the bearings

If any of y'all have 2 of these things props😹💯

This was genuinely helpful for everything bearing related thank you very much

Very very good! The steps you talked are very clear!

I’m good at the shaking part

White Lithium Grease is about some of the best lube you can buy for your bearings. Have had a pair of Swiss Adale bearings for 4 years and clean them every so often and lube with them WHITE LITHIUM GREASE and they spin like new each time

Very well presented as well as informed. This video was explained well & quite clear to understand. Great job!

if you have the metal shields you can remove them by gently denting the middle of the shield with a i screw driver of metal punch and it will pop out but it will break the shield.

You saved me bruh ny wife gave me this board and I was devastated when it fell in the Mississippi River and retrieved it and the wheels sounded like death thank you so much

Been using WD-40 my whole life, and it's been working perfectly fine for me

I have a small bottle with a tiny little syringe tip (really tiny like 0.05mm hole) for the lubing part. i touch every single ball slightly with it and it gives much better results. you only want the balls to be lubed, anywhere else it might cut the speed down.

Thanks for this vid. Clear and easy to follow, I appreciate it

This is great! Thanks for giving more details on alternative solutions for cleaning and lubing 🤙🤙

Thank you, this video was really helpful 👍

Safety pin is definitely ideal and NOT a razor blade as the sharp edge has a tendency to cut the shield...just like what happened in this video.

I guess you could say WD-40 will leave those Bones dry

The best Vid on the subject! Ty for your time to put this tutorial together! I just got bones cleaner recently, nice item to add to your online order if you need to reach a certain amount to get free shipping. Otherwise, yeah the brush and open container, or a closed container-shaker is as good.

this was incredibly helpful thank you!! and fast!!!

Thanks for the tutorial. Super helpful!

I just take my bearings apart and deep clean them. Boom roll just like new 🤩

bro that was so weird to see my local park in Eugene Oregon just randomly pop up in a bearing cleaning tutorial, sick shredding

Hmm very cool and helpful tutorial. I’m surprised no spacer between the bearings was needed for each wheel. I really never saw that before.

Very nice vid, clear and informative : good work! I don't know, but some people have probably already did so. I mean, telling you that metal bearing are easy to open, without breaking them down. And just cleaning it without opening it.... God, maaaan! You leave there a lot of filthy crap!!! Anyhow! Thanks for sharing!

Best method/tutorial out there😍

Definitely helpful info! *subscribed*

Walmart super tech red lithium grease is what I use afterwards. It keeps grit out better. For all the longboarders, get S9 blaze bearing and replace their outer shield with a rubber shield and use marine grease instead, it’ll better protect your bearings during wet slide sessions

Good tips 5 stars for me Also very satisfying

Lol I skated seriously for almost 20 years and we all just used wd40 to clean and lube our bearings. And we rode the hell outta those things. Never had any issue. Just cleaned them regularly

Thanks bud! ;)

Am beginner and it's pretty cool what you did thanks much

Hey, my bearings have pressed metal caps, how do i lubricate them?

I’d also recommend giving the old bearings a rinse in warm soap water (dawn/dish soap preferred). Blow dry the bearings dry or let them dry out naturally before oiling. Acetone destroys your bearings and isn’t as effective as rubbing alcohol or citrus cleaner.

Great video man!

Thank you! this video is perfect!

Rode my first and brand new skateboard into a muddy puddle, now the wheel is all locked up. Gonna try this

God bless you! Never give up thanks for the information this helps alor

Thank you sooo much for this video

This was super helpful thank you!!!!

very helpful, thank you!

Best video on the subject

I haven't cleaned my bearings once in the ten years I've owned my skateboard, it's also been left out on my deck in the sun without being ridden for years and it's been snowed on countless times too... I really hope I'll be able to ride this poor mistreated thing again lol

Really helpful man thanks

who can tell me how i can clean bearings without special items. i have only aceton and car oil

Pressed in metal shields can be taken off too although more tedious, u can clean the bearings and use them without shields just fine. I skate like 2$ aliexpress bearings like this just fine

I used a tiny needle to remove the rubber layers on the bearings, placed the bearings in gasoline, shaked the container, dried the bearings, applied WD-40 and spinned them. Had some really rusty bearings that didn't move at all, now they are like new again.

This video is great dude I'm broke asf rn and my bearings are super dirty rn

having owned my board for 5 yrs and randomly having the motivation to figure out why my wheels are slow

can i use ethanol to clean bearing?

Nice video, keep up the good work!!

In my country its cheaper to buy new bearings

Thanks mate

Thanks!

0:23 ok thats all i needed

Bearings actually have grease packed in them. Oil repels grease. So WD40 oil will remove the grease from your bearings. Bones Speed Cream might be grease. I never used it. I cleaned a old pair of Independent bearings not knowing they are $3 for new ones. Then I packed them with brake grease, and they work like new 7 out of 8 bearings. Oil wears off in minutes, and you are back to grinding metal. Then steel shielded bearings are best, because your ball bearings will not explode out of the bearings with nylon shields. And steel shields are not always removable. So it might be best to buy Independent or CCS steel shielded bearings. You can also bend the bearings from hard impacts. So it is best to replace them often, and buy cheap steel shielded bearings. Bones bearings are over priced. I bought 26 ABEC 9 bearings for $16 that are red like Bones Reds. Also your polyurethane truck bushings are supposed to have grease between the bushing and metal surface to keep it from squeaking. That is how you install polyurethane plastic bushings for cars. That's why your trucks squeak. My 1993 Gullwing Shadows have rubber bushings that squish out when tightened. Rubber bushings are better than these new plastic ones. Sort of like rubber car suspension bushings verses polyurethane.

I have been skating the same bearings for almost one and a half years. Before that I have always cleaned my bearings, oiled them etc. They never lasted two months. Just dont skate in the rain and in mud, they are allowed to get dusty because if you ride your board enough it'll get clean itself. My bearings are Reds for 20 bucks

Finally probably I've learn how to clean my bearings..

Nice now all I need is all of that stuff

I would add that the shield's should also be washed in the rubbing alcohol. Wash them in the leftover rubbing alcohol after you do the bearings and lift the bearings out of the liquid.

Skate instructors suggest soaking the bearings overnight in engine oil (which isn’t as thin as the lubricants you recommended), maybe you want to give it a try next time?

I used wd-40 on my old bearings I got new ones for no reason and I haven't touched the other one is in like a month so I wonder what they're like

How to clean bearings: Step one: throw old bearings away Step two: buy new bearings because they’re not that expensive and you’ll save a lot of time and effort.

Thanks guys...

Cool install video… got a thread repair video??? Bearing pullers are cheap nowadays

back in Late 1970's we only had nsk german speed bearings..when dirty pop them out ,thrown in coffee can,soak in red gasoline.slam on counter,dry off ....done!!!!!!!

I‘m a mechanic and we learned a lot about bearings. It’s not ur fault that inline skated are designed like this. Bearings are very very sesitive. They have an inner and an outer Ring and a cage where the metal balls are in. If you press them in somewhere or drag them out you should always do that on the part that is mounted. In this case u would push the bearings on the outer Ring into the wheel. Bearings never have oil, they are lubricated with grease. I would dry them with a Hairdryer. But i would recommend to clean them in oil. But thank you.

Another outstanding video by Tactics Boardshop! Will this comment get me some free stickers? Just kidding, great video!

Had no idea tactic had a RU-vid channel! Who else is from Eugene?

You should do a vedio on grip tape cleaning

If y’all don’t got money take them and put under water and spin and clean and use a hair dryer to dry them so no rust and then use lube and it’s amazing

I can't thank you enough I love fast bearings

I used a hair dryer to make sure that they are completely dry before lubing

i love skateboarding