This is getting annoying.
After a few kite landboarding beach sessions my bearings
always wear out.
I recently got a new set that I've tried very hard to take care of.
I remove the wheels from the board and give them a good freshwater rinse and let them dry.
After just 2 sessions they are already showing a lot of rust.

I recently bought some White Lightning Lube (Wet Ride)
http://www.whitelightningco.com/products/wet-ride.htm
to see if putting some on before and after riding during low tide
fixes some of the issues.

Anyone successful with their methods of bearing care?
Share anything you know.

Try using the thick blue salt water wheel bearing greese used to pack boat trailer wheel bearings.

Rinsing the bearings with fresh water and the letting them dry is not good. Blow out the water and let the compressed air dry them. I use WD-40 to clean the bearings after a water exposure, the WD-40 displaces water and keeps the bearing lasting a good long while. Letting them air dry only allows the rust to start and then eat up the insides.

You could force dirt and moisture through the seals with compressed air. I've heard that wd 40 can dissolve the grease too. Popeyethewelder says he has had the same bearings for 5 years and just rinses them and sprays with wd 40, so its hard to argue with success.

It's only a couple dollars more for stainless bearings and definately last longer. Just a thought

do what JAYMZ said, it works like a charm, salwater marine greese.

Pack your bearings (clean first ) they will never rust out after that.

The key to not getting rust is not getting the bearings wet and NEVER rinsing them.

I pack my bearings with marine grease and goop it in thick. When you press the seals back on grease should get pushed out and when that does NEVER whipe it off. Push the bearings back in the hubs and screw the wheel nut on and leave the grease out or swirl it around the nut. It looks messy but that extra bit of grease on the outside catches all the sand and salt outside the bearing. I've been riding on the same set for a year now and they don't even make noise. They look all sandy and crappy but they run smooth as silk.

I stopped rinsing my bearings 2 years ago - it was the best thing I ever did to prolong their life.

B-rock hit the nail right on the head, i couldnt have said it better my self.

I have used LPS rust inhibitor out at sea and it works great. They have a bearing product that would be worth looking into.
LPS Thermaplex Aqua

Do they still turn? If the outside of your bearings are rusted, they are not necessarily worn. I drive my buggy through the salty surf all the time on the beach and it gets caked with sand. They are very rusty looking on the outside. I will sometimes spray the outside with Teflon spray as recommended but I do not do it often enough. I leave the bug outside in the elements 24/7 so it gets an occasional rainwater rinse. My bearings last for years and I replace them when they get loud- long before they stop turning.

B-Roc any reccommendations on marine grease? or is it all the same?

also, if there is some rust on it, is it too late to pack with marine grease?
should I just wait to get a new set?

not getting them wet ever is out of the question -unfortunately...

naw the rust is ok, i would though how ever , clean them, take off the shields, and soak in paint thinner 5 or so minutes shake then repeat. let them completely dry out.

if they still spin then your ready to pack with greese. the best way to do this is put a glob on the palm of your hand and scrape the greese into them. your just trying to fill all the space with greese. GOODLUCK, sorry for bad punctuation and spelling i got me the flu:yawn:

you could get these http://www.coastalwindsports.com/servlet/the-591/Stainless-S...

When I repack my bearings I take all the shields off (both sides preferrably but can do one only if you want) and let them soak in a cup of mineral spirits over night. In the morning scrub off any grease that did not dissolve with a toothbrush. Spray the bearings down with wd40 to dissolve any last bit of grease and dip them back in clean mineral spirits to dissolve off the wd40.

Let them dry on a paper towel (let them dry completely so your mineral spirits or wd40 residue doesn't dissolve your new grease. In many cases the mineral spirit soak also does a good job on dissolving the rust.

If the bearings spin cleanly, put on some latex gloves (or simply sandwhich bags over your hand if that all you've got) and (if you have a grease gun) pump the grease into the bearings and / or press the grease into the bearings as Houston Airhead described. You want to pack the bearings. The more grease in the more dirt kept out.

If you've only taken one shield off each bearing pack the one side and keep pressing it in so that it is overpacked and the grease squishes out of both sides when the shield is restored.

When restoring the shield, press it on snuggly but before you do that (this is a great tip free from me to you ) put the bearing down on a paper towel or cloth towel and lay a quarter on top of it. Now press that quarter down evenly and run your finger all over it. If down with care, you will completely flatten the shield out and remove any bend or curve that you put into the shield when removing it (to remove the shield use care and caution and a super sharp / fine blade and lift gently to pry it off making sure not to bend it any more than necessary).

Once the shield(s) are back on push them back in the hub. If no grease came out when you put the shields on you did not pack enough grease in them. Put the hub nut on and then swirl the grease around the bearing shield and nut edge. This will collect all / most of your sand and salt and help keep water out.

As far as marine grease, I don't know if one is any better than another. My brother has a boat so I just use whatever he has in the grease gun he uses on the boat trailer. The grease itself is red.

It takes me about an hour in the morning to scrub, pack and reassemble my bearings after they soak. I always tell myself I'll just buy new bearings next time but they seem to last so much longer when I do my own that I never buy a new one. The current set of bearings I've used has been packed 3 times and the shields and bearings are still good.

If you take off only one shield, try to remember which one it is and when putting the bearing back in the hub, keep the non-removed side facing out.