Hey,
I just wanted to discuss cleaning methods and see how other people get their gear clean after a session.

How do you guys clean your boards and do you do it after every session?

I've just been rinsing the sand off with freshwater and then dry the deck off with a towel.
Is this the best thing to do?
How will the bearings hold up to this after time?

How do you guys deal with your kite afterwards?
I've just been rinsing the bar and bridle with freshwater.
Do you guys wash the whole kite or rinse anything?

How do you guys deal with your shoes?
So far I've had a separate pair of shoes that I rinse off and leave outside to dry for the next few days.

Hello, the guys I've talked with do just what your doing. Fresh water rinse and let dry.

I have washed a couple kites and they feel ok afterwards. But the beach goers seem to let them dry and shake off the sand.

I let my kite dry then go after it with a shop vac with one of those brush thingmajiger attachments. For the board or buggy I use a stiff brush to brush off the bearings then hose off the rest. I brush the bearings so the hose pressure doesn't push sand into em, I read somewhere that could happen:dunno:.

(gos off in search of where he read that)

My mind is like a rusty iron trap, not very dependable but boy when it works.. Look out.:smug:

Quote:

Originally posted by B-Roc HERE Quote: Originally posted by Superdog when you say rinse it off to you mean with water? because i thought water was what wrecked it in the first place? Unless the board is really gritty I'vs stopped using water as I find even when rinsed with light mist (I use to use a 2gallon pump sprayer set on a fine setting) water always got into the bearings and usually managed to push some fine sand in there too. So if the board need a good rinsing I take the wheels off first but for the most part I don't rinse any more. I carry a paint brush and brush the sand off the deck and truck and wheels and if the sand is really stuck I've used my vaccuum to clean it off. It takes longer but it keeps water and sand out of the bearings.

this has worked pretty well,

salt water/BEACH SAND -- wash with fresh, really soak it, spin the wheels all sides and hit the all the bearing with a lube spray and spin. wd40 works fine. everytime!

if the session is completely "dry" zero splash, i'll skip the fresh water, and quick with the lube.

if you let it sit without lube after a wash it will get stiff and crunchy. if it locks up ..spray with a little lube and work it out. with regular daily riding (beach ) bearings can last 4-5months and the drier you keep everything longer the bearings will last. first lick of salt water is the beginning of the end. hard to avoid sometimes but wash and lube everytime after.

Well, Willard beat me to it with my own post.. I was going to say, like I said before, I think the light washing of the board (with the wheels still on it) is the worst thing you can do for your bearings. I've repacked my bearings 3 times (with marine grease) and what I now do is pack them so when I replace the shield, grease squishes out. That's common but now I no longer wipe the grease away. I swirl it with my finger around the bearing and the nut. Now when I ride, sand cakes to the grease but it never gets in the bearing itself unless it is pushed in there by a hose, a finger or an overly aggressive swipe of the paint brush. Over the past two years, since I've been doing that the only time I ever get sand in my bearings now is if I have to take the wheel off and the socket wrench pushes the sand in when I'm snugging the nut back in place.

So, in my experience, unless you are riding your board in a salty water puddles and salt water sprays on to it, I revert to what I said before - use a stiff paint brush to brush most of the sand off your board. Let it thoroughly dry and do that again or hit it with a vacuum. If that still doesn't work take your wheels off and spray the board down. If your bearings get gritty or squeaky, repack them (or replace them) but if you repack them don't worry so much about cleaning them off totally when the grease comes out. That extra bit of grease serves as a great sand shield to keep the dirt out of the bearings but on the shield itself (and lets face it, that sand that's sticking to the grease is hitting the shield anyway, its just that the grease keeps it where you can see it and without that it will work its way past the shield and into the bearing itself).

To clean the kite I find its always best to just let it sit in the sun a bit so all the sand is totally dry and then flip it over and shake it vigorously to let the sand fall out. I have used a light spray and light sponging to clean stains and heavy sand deposits but once the sand is dry enough it usually shakes out. I have also used a vacuum with the brush attachment to get the sand out of the seams with some luck.

Thanks for all the replies!
To the comment about using WD-40 - I'm no expert, but I have heard using WD-40 is bad for bearings.
Has anyone else heard this? Has this been working well for you for a long time PHREERIDER?

And about shoes:
Any thoughts?
Do most of you do what I do or is there another way?
(It's usually a bit of saltwater/sand that gets stuck on them)
Do any of you use some kite of foam shoes that are easier to wash?
Anyone use foam instead of griptape and ride barefooted?(not sure if it's a good idea - but I've never tried)

wd40 is made from fish oil and s very sticky. It attracts sand and will gum up the parts (for sand use). Best lubricant/snad blocker is a silicon bicycle grease.

If the board is just sandy I jsut let it try and broom the sand off. If the board gets really wet, i give a quick wash with fresh water. While water is not the best of bearings, fresh water is a whole let better than letting the salt dry and rust the parts.

I thought I read that WD40 also dissolves the grease in the bearings and read to use Triple or Tri-Lube(?)

wd40 is a degreaser. You can use it to free stuck bearings and you can use it as an on-the-spot lubricant. However, once you use it there's no way of knowing how much grease remains in the bearing without removing the shield so my guess is that if you start using it you are going to need to continue to use it as it will dissolve the grease out and in and of itself, its a light lubricant so it won't last as long as grease.

FWIW, I use it to dissovle the grease in my bearings when I am repacking them. I first soak them in mineral spirits and then hit them with WD40 to clear the rest of the stuck grease out. The bearings spin like crazy when the only lubricant is WD40 but as I said, its a light, non-lasting lubricant in need of frequent redosing if that's what you are doing.

after the OME grease is gone roughly 50 -100hours.

wd-40 helps clean and lube but you commit to it every ride.

silicone is an option some brands are very expensive about the same as the full set of bearings. i do use it or what ever rolling around in the truck .

i do reserve the silicone for zippers on kites. it seems too light for bearings, imho.

once its wet! esp. salt water, rinse then lube, spin, AFTER each session.

the bearings about 15-20 bucks a go about 2 sets a year. without lube is about 3/4 sets a year.

the break down can messy and about half can be rerun or used back up . always ALL fresh per wheel OR ALL reruns per wheel never mix. after a while you get a bank of spares you can rotate into action to stretch usable service. marine grease is excellent way to stretch and care for them.

if i ran SS (or ceramic$$$ ) its worth a repack or 2. but shielded steel =disposable

got about 3 years on WD40 . effort and results seem ok to me

the key is DRY ..keep them dry and they will be good for years.

www.kanolabs.com/


Stuff is awesome. Cleans, oils,....wipe it dry...the oil impregnates the surface of the metal. I have not specifically used it on bearings but it is great on guns, motorcycle chains, where you need lube but don't want to attract dirt/gunpowder. It is a great un-seize product as well! If it is not what you want for the bearings you will for sure use it on everything else.

Flexifoil and other recommend Teflon spray from the bike shop for the bearings. It is not a de-greaser but leaves a protective film. Spray on after a fresh water rinse when dry.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell Flexifoil and other recommend Teflon spray from the bike shop for the bearings. It is not a de-greaser but leaves a protective film. Spray on after a fresh water rinse when dry.

I've found VxB has good quality cheap bulk bearings. I have a pack of about 40 more for my hockey skates