Our 100% surgical stainless steel sent to each player directly from sterile factory conditions. You will not need to worry about cleaning your SuperScoops, SuperGrooves or SuperTracks for a long time under regular playing conditions. To learn more about the factory bearing that originally came in your yo-yo click here. The following guide is provided to help users maintain their Lotus Bearings for years of play.
Proper cleaning
Your Lotus SuperGroove, SuperGrooveXD, SuperScoop, and SuperTrack are precise instruments. Elements mere microns in size such as dust can accumulate and interfere with spin and rotation. At Lotus, we have tried quite literally every method that exists for cleaning bearings. Below are the recommended methods that are most effective and easy.
A Quick mention
- All Lotus Bearings are dry lubed (except XDs) and intended to run WITHOUT any yo-yo lube, even lube marketed as "light", "thin", or "unresponsive." Using lube on unresponsive bearings almost always makes the bearing responsive requiring long break-in times to return back to being fully unresponsive. Accumulated lube inside the bearing becomes like a magnet for microscopic dust and debris particles.
- At Lotus Bearings we employ the use of industrial medical/scientific grade cleaners along with a combination of all pure, all natural, industrial grade degreasers used as a solvent to clean large batches of bearings. This is by far the best way to ensure clean bearings. This is the exact process used on our SuperGrooveXD bearings. The downside is even small cleaners can be rather large and industrial degreasing agents are only sold by the gallons. We realize that this is not the most economic or convenient method for most players to maintain their bearings so the recommendations below place emphasis on ease of use as well as results.
YOU WILL NEED:
BEARING REMOVAL TOOL OR NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS
Used to remove the bearing from the bearing seat and post.
SOLVENT
1st CHOICE: Light petroleum distillates AKA lighter fluid. It's fairly inexpensive, sold everywhere, cleans well and comes in small sizes, which is great. Lotus recommends lighter fluid because it takes longer to evaporate therefore it's less prone to leaving residue. If you are not using an industrial medical/scientific grade cleaner and industrial grade degreaser, this should always be your first choice.
OR
2nd CHOICE: 100% Pure acetone. Acetone evaporates rapidly compared to lighter fluid and tends to leave greater residue. Additionally, even 100% "pure" acetone has Denatonium Benzoate, which is a bittering agent so that people don't drink it. It's often considered less pure than lighter fluid as a solvent because of the additional additives. Regular "nail polish remover" is NOT advised as it has less than 100% acetone and includes several additives (mostly oils) for nail strength. Any oil will leave a residue that will negatively affect performance and possibly damage the bearing.
Some acetone is listed as 99% pure. You might be thinking, "That's only a 1% difference and I can still use it!" Please do not. It must be listed as 100% pure. Due to the overwhelming variants that exist for acetone and nail polish removers, we hesitated to even list acetone as a solvent.
Some acetone is listed as 99% pure. You might be thinking, "That's only a 1% difference and I can still use it!" Please do not. It must be listed as 100% pure. Due to the overwhelming variants that exist for acetone and nail polish removers, we hesitated to even list acetone as a solvent.
*You should NOT use anything that reads, "grill fluid" or "charcoal fluid." While great for grilling burgers and dogs, it's less than optimal for cleaning your Lotus Bearings. *
CONTAINER
Anything from a small glass or shot glass works well for cleaning your bearing. Best results are always achieved by placing only one bearing in a container at a time. Placing two or more bearings in the same container creates cross contamination. The dirt and dust dislodged from one bearing can easily be absorbed by the other bearings soaking in the same solvent.
You may also use an empty pill bottle however, not all are airtight. Be sure to test it with water first rather than shaking it with lighter fluid and having it spray everywhere.
You may also use an empty pill bottle however, not all are airtight. Be sure to test it with water first rather than shaking it with lighter fluid and having it spray everywhere.
COMPRESSED AIR
Compressed air will allow you to quickly dry your bearing after cleaning and prevent solvent residue from drying.
A SHARPENED #2 PENCIL
This will allow your bearing to easily spin dry after cleaning.
PAPER TOWELS
For drying or resting bearings.
*SMALL NEEDLE OR PIN*
This only applies to shielded bearings. Shielded bearings need to have their shields removed to allow the best cleaning result. While possible to clean a shielded bearing with the shields on, Lotus Bearings does not recommend this. Leaving the shields on for cleaning will make proper drying nearly impossible which leads to solvent residue and an overall reduction in performance.
Click here for instructions on shield removal.
Click here for instructions on shield removal.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Remove the bearing from the yo-yo using a bearing removal tool or needle nose pliers. Most needle nose pliers have a small circular cutout at the joint of the pliers, which perfectly fits a bearing. Begin by gently rocking the bearing back and forth from the bearing seat and off the bearing post.
- Once removed, place bearing into a small container and cover with just enough of your chosen solvent to fully cover the bearing. Allow bearing to soak in solvent. Typically the longer the better using lighter fluid or acetone. Lotus recommends a minimum of 20 minutes for the initial soak. While soaking, agitate the solvent by gently swirling or shaking the container from time to time.
- Remove the bearing from the solvent. You can use a toothpick, tweezers or pencil point to retrieve the bearing so you don't have to physically touch lighter fluid or acetone. Tap excess solvent off over container. Place bearing on a paper towel and pat to dry excess solvent. You can fold the towel over the bearing and gently press in order to soak up solvent inside the bearing.
- Place bearing on the end of a sharpened #2 pencil. The bearing should rest right below the point and be able to spin freely. Using compressed air, spray from around 2 inches away from the top side of the bearing. The force or the compressed air will blow out the solvent. We recommend doing this over a sink due to the amount of solvent that initially discharges from the bearing. After a few sprays of compressed air, flip the bearing over on the end of the pencil to dry the other side. As the bearing begins drying, it should begin to freely spin on the end of the pencil. The dryer it becomes, the higher the RPMs become. A good sign that the bearing is drying is an audible "jet engine" sound produced from the bearing as it spins from the compressed air.
- Leave the bearing seated on the end of the pencil. Using a finger, "flick" spin the bearing. Lotus recommends spinning for 30 second bursts then flipping the bearing over and continuing. You can repeat this process for 3-5 minutes. The bearing will spin longer and longer the closer it is to being completely dry and totally cleaned.
- Place bearing on a paper towel for a few minutes to ensure dryness before reinstalling.
-NOTES-
If during the process or after completion the bearing does not spin freely, spins for only a few seconds and stops or makes what can only be described as a "gritty" sound the entire cleaning process needs to go back to the beginning step #1.
Depending on how dirty the bearing has become, it's not uncommon to repeat steps #1-6 several times. Lotus recommends increasing the time for step #1 for every additional cleaning. Initially, if you only allowed the bearing to soak in solvent for 20 minutes, try closer to 40 minutes the second time. That time would then increase again for each subsequent cleaning.
Cleaning is far from an exact science. There are a ton of factors that could affect your bearing. Players who throw outdoors, at the beach etc. will often have to battle more dust, debris and grime than players who only throw indoors. The dirtier your bearing has become, the more time consuming the cleaning process becomes.
Now that you're a cleaning expert, find out the best way to install your GoodVibes Axles by clicking here.
- Do NOT reuse solvent. The leftover solvent from the first cleaning contains microscopic particles of the debris from your initial soak.
- Additionally, you also might want to use another clean container or fully clean the container you have used. This might seem unnecessary but it is crucial to ensure you are not placing the floating debris back into the bearing.
Depending on how dirty the bearing has become, it's not uncommon to repeat steps #1-6 several times. Lotus recommends increasing the time for step #1 for every additional cleaning. Initially, if you only allowed the bearing to soak in solvent for 20 minutes, try closer to 40 minutes the second time. That time would then increase again for each subsequent cleaning.
Cleaning is far from an exact science. There are a ton of factors that could affect your bearing. Players who throw outdoors, at the beach etc. will often have to battle more dust, debris and grime than players who only throw indoors. The dirtier your bearing has become, the more time consuming the cleaning process becomes.
Now that you're a cleaning expert, find out the best way to install your GoodVibes Axles by clicking here.
other methods
SOLVENTS
If you have browsed around online you will soon find a plethora of suggestions, advice, debates, arguments, and hurt feelings with regards to solvents. People seem to be very "passionate" about this topic. At Lotus, we have seen users swear by using mineral spirits, trumpet oil, water, pencil shavings...basically anything you could think of to use as a solvent/cleaner. The bottom line is, if you prefer using your solvent of choice, that's great! That said, if a user decides to clean their Lotus Bearing with pine tar because they read about it on a forum, that user should expect problems. Your first choice should always be lighter fluid, which can be found here.
Just like solvents, there are just as many cleaning methods you will discover. Lotus does not recommend using brushes, steel wool, sandpaper etc. Using these can easily damage your bearings. Simply agitate the solvent by gently swirling or shaking the container during the soaking process several times.
Just like solvents, there are just as many cleaning methods you will discover. Lotus does not recommend using brushes, steel wool, sandpaper etc. Using these can easily damage your bearings. Simply agitate the solvent by gently swirling or shaking the container during the soaking process several times.
PAPER CLEANING
Some online resources will suggest paper-cleaning bearings. Paper cleaning can be incredibly effective if properly done. Unfortunately there is a much higher possibility of damage that can exist than is typically mentioned. Firstly, paper cleaning must be done repeatedly in between each round of solvent cleaning making the whole process take much longer. Paper cleaning can tear out nylon cages (Lotus Bearings only use surgical stainless steel), rip or get stuck in the outer race and even dislodge the actual balls that comprise your bearing. It is because of these factors that Lotus does not recommend paper cleaning or provide any resources or instructions. If you do decide to give paper cleaning a shot, please do so using caution.
Dead factory bearings
Sometimes no matter how many times you clean a factory bearing, it won't spin. This can happen after many hours of play or more commonly, on a brand new yo-yo right out of the box. There are many contributing factors that might cause a dead factory bearing. Sometimes, you just need a new bearing. Fear not! Lotus has you covered. All of our bearings arrive from our sterile factory conditions...no need for cleaning. Check out Lotus SuperGroove, SuperGrooveXD, SuperScoop, and SuperTrack bearings.
Deshielding instructions:
Lotus SuperScoop and SuperGrooveXD are unshielded while SuperGroove and SuperTrack have shields. In order to properly clean them you must first remove the C-clips and shields. Using a thin sewing needle will work the best.
- Locate the C-clip on the bearing. These can be notoriously difficult to see and find in certain types of light. All C-clips will have a slight gap. Run the needle around the inner edge of the outer race until you can feel the gap.
- Each clip will have two sides, one that is flush against the outer race and one side that is slightly angled up.
- Lay sewing needle flat with tip under the lip of the raised part of C-clip. You want to point the needle slightly to pry the clip's edge out (in the picture's orientation you would push left, tip of needle to the right) from under the outer case while pulling straight back to snap the clip off.
It might take a few tries to get it removed. Some stubborn clips take many tries. Lotus Bearings use very pronounced clips so that the angled end is fairly easy to find. Be aware that the clips have a tendency to quite literally fly off. Once the C-clips are removed, it only takes a simple tap to remove the circular shields. Your unshielded bearing is now ready for cleaning!
If you would like to use the clips and shields again, keep them in a safe place until cleaning is finished. At Lotus, we usually do not bother with reattaching the clips and shields once they are removed. Our bearings are practically silent and they are much easier to clean without shields. That said, if you would like to button everything back up, feel free!
If you would like to use the clips and shields again, keep them in a safe place until cleaning is finished. At Lotus, we usually do not bother with reattaching the clips and shields once they are removed. Our bearings are practically silent and they are much easier to clean without shields. That said, if you would like to button everything back up, feel free!