Many people wonder how to clean skateboard wheels. This is because; most skateboard users rely on the wheels of their board to have a smooth ride. If there’s any build-up of dirt, mud or sand, this will keep your skateboard from having a smooth motion.
Such as, if your board has a grimy grip tape the chances of you slipping and falling is high. This is dangerous, because there is a high chance that you might injure yourself. This is why knowing how to clean your skateboard wheels, bearings and grip tape is important.
So, if you’re one of those people who are searching how to clean skateboard wheels, you’re reading the right article. This article will give you insight on how to clean skateboard wheels, with simple steps.
You will also come across: how to clean bearings skateboard, how to maintain them, how to lubricate them, and more.
How to Clean Skateboard Wheels?
Before starting off on the tips to clean your skateboard, there is some good news. And that is, the wheels of your board are the easiest part to clean. So, a chance of you having difficulty in cleaning it is quite low.
The first step to start cleaning your wheels is unscrewing the axel nuts with the use of a socket wrench. You must unscrew them from either side of the wheels before removing the wheels gently.
Afterwards you must pry the wheel bearings from the wheels in a gentle way. You need to clean this in a separate way (which will be discussed later on). After you remove them, you can use an old cloth or toothbrush to scrub off any mud or dirt.
And then you must leave them to soak in a bucket of hot soap water for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes you can remove them. Once you do, you must give another gentle scrub to the wheels with the toothbrush or rag. And then dry them with paper towels.
After you do this you need to reassemble the wheels to reuse the skateboard. Now, if you’re wondering how to clean longboard wheels, note that it’s the same method as the skateboard.
How to Clean Skateboard Bearings
With time grit and dust collects on the bearings of the skateboard. This makes doing tricks on the board difficult. But once you clean the bearings of your board, it will improve the speed and avoid wear and tear.
So, how to clean a skateboard bearing? The following is the step by step process.
Before starting it, it is important that you gather the required materials. Some items you will need are, screwdrivers, socket wrench, skate tool and bearing pole.
Step 1: The first thing you must do is, remove the wheels of the skateboard. For this, you will need a socket wrench, skate tool or a ratchet to remove the nuts. To break the bolts lose you will have to apply firm pressure while holding your board steady.
Step 2: Make sure to keep the parts you remove in a safe place. Since the parts are small, it’s easy to misplace them. Try putting them in a plastic bag for safety.
Step 3: Next, you must free the bearings from the wheels. The bearing occupies the wheels core and is circular in shape. With a screwdriver, you can pry out the bearings or you can pull it out with a needle-nose plier.
Some skateboards have speed rings between bearings. After you remove the first bearing, remove the speed rings.
Step 4: After you remove the bearings you must clean dirt and grime off it. To avoid the dirt from grinding into the bearings, you must clean them in a gentle way. You can use a paper towel or a dry rag to do this.
If the amount of grime is bad, you can use a small amount of solvent to help cut through the grime.
Step 5: Next is, you must prepare a cleansing solution. The best solvent for cleaning bearings is Acetone. But when you use this solvent make sure to wear gloves to be safe. Start off by filling a clean bowl with acetone.
Step 6: Afterwards, you must remove the shield caps of the bearing. To remove this you can use a pin, paper clip or the point of a knife. Pry the rubber shield off the bearing. To help recognize it, these caps are either red or black.
Step 7: After you remove the shield caps, you must dip the bearing into the solvent. Swirl the bearings for 5 minutes in the solvent. Afterwards, let it sit for 10 minutes in the liquid. If the solvent changes into a darker color you will have to drain the solution and add more.
Step 8: Lay out a cloth on a flat surface and remove the bearings from the solvent. Thereafter, lay the bearings on the cloth and leave it till it’s dry.
Step 9: What you must do next is apply the lubricant. Put two or three drops onto each bearing. After you apply it, make sure to spin the bearing so that lubricant will distribute throughout it.
Step 10: Afterwards, replace the bearing shields. This is not hard to do as you can put it into place without any experience. Make sure to check if there are any gaps.
Step 11: After this, you can reinsert the bearings by pushing each with your finger in to the wheels.
Step 12: Refasten the wheels. Now since the bearings are in the wheels, you can reattach the wheels to the truck. After you attach it, make sure to tighten the bolt until the wheels are firm but not too tight. If you tighten the bolts too much the wheels will not spin smoothly.
So avoid over tightening the bolts, if you notice it’s too tight you can readjust it. And if you’re thinking how to clean skateboard wheels, cleaning the bearings is a part of the process.
Now, you have learnt how to clean skateboard bearings. The question is how to clean longboard bearings? The will make you feel relieved.
Cleaning longboard bearings is no different to cleaning skateboard bearings. So you can use the above method to clean your longboard as well.
How to Clean Skateboard bearings with household Items
You can clean the bearings with house hold items. But it is best if you could use lubricants that are made specifically for skateboards. But, there are some items you can use as a substitute.
Acetone nail polish remover is a good option to clean bearings. Petroleum jelly, bicycle oil or silicone based personal lubricants are also good options. You can use these to grease the bearings before reassembling them.
But if you’re wondering how to clean skateboard bearings with WD40, the answer is don’t. This type of lubricant is too thick for greasing the bearings. There is a high chance that the wheel will become damaged in the long run. Also, WD40 attracts more dirt.
A question asked by people is, can you use coconut oil for skateboard bearings as a skateboard bearing lubricant. Yes you can, but coconut oil tends to break down under heat and pressure. So using coconut oil as a lubricant is not that suitable as using an actual lubricant.
How to Clean Roller Skate Bearings
There are several methods you can use to clean your roller skate bearing. But the following one is one of the most effective methods.
The first step is to remove the bearings from the wheels. But when you do this make sure not to use a hammer or chisel as this will damage the bearings. Also be careful not to damage the shield. Because if you do, once you reassemble, the bearings will not move in the proper way.
Afterwards get ready to use the bearing remover tool. Press the top button and keep the tool on the center of the bearing. After this, release the button and remove the bearing out of the wheel.
Place the bearings in a cup with bearing cleaner such as Bionic cleaner and leave it overnight. Next morning, after you make sure that the lid of the cup is secured, shake it will. And then drain out the chemical and replace with fresh bearing cleaner liquid.
Let it sit for few minutes and then shake it again. Keep repeating this until the solvent is clear. Drain the solvent and leave the bearings in a towel to dry. After making sure that the bearings are dry you can put some bearing oil. And the final step is reinstalling the bearings onto the wheels.
Once you do this your skateboard is ready to go.
How to Clean Pressed in Metal Shield Bearings
If you have a metal bearings shield, you can use a pin to pry out the C ring. The C ring is between the outer race ring and the bearing shield. You can tap the bearing on a table, face down to remove the shield.
But in some cases the bearing shields are not removable. You can try to remove one of the shields. But if you can’t remove any shields the best option is to buy new bearings. If you have removed the shields with success you must see the nylon retainer.
You can remove this retainer with a pin or even a razor. Make sure not to leave it on when you are putting the bearings in the cleaning solution.
But after you open the bearing shields and if you see a metal cage, this means you can’t remove it. In this case just clean the bearing with the metal cage on.
Afterwards you can continue cleaning the bearings in the normal way as mentioned above.
Conclusion
The answer to how to clean skateboard trucks is simple. Just follow the steps mentioned and you will get a clean skateboard in no time.
Said in short, cleaning skateboard wheels are not a difficult task. But cleaning the bearings is a long process. But doing the correct cleaning process for the wheels will help you to have a smooth ride.
It will also avoid unnecessary accidents because of unclean wheels and bearings. Also, if you use household items to clean your skate board wheels, this will help you to save a lot of money.
But keep in mind that using household items to clean wheel bearings is not recommended. This is because the effect is not long lasting. You will have to clean the bearings again after few days.
Avoid using coconut oil as a lubricator as it attracts dirt and worsens the state of the bearings. This is the same with WD40. Hope this article on how to clean skateboard wheels gave you the insight you were looking for.
