THE makers of Tef-Gel say the well known corrosion inhibitor/lubricant's range of suitable applications now includes fishing reel maintenance.
According to Reg Turner from Maynes Marine in Tasmania, Tef-gel is ideal for servicing spin reel bail arms and he's put together a helpful step by step guide on how to go about it. |
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Reg’s reel story: Sometimes we all get a bit lazy when it comes to fishing reel maintenance, and for whatever reason what is often overlooked is the little roller in the end of the bail arm. If the roller is not moving then the line tends to abrade the roller in one spot and then in turn the groove damages the line.
I usually take out the screw and try and remove the roller and find it is seized to the shaft, so either use some penetrant or give a paint stripper gun or hair dryer a go to shift it. I then place it on some flat glass with some fine sandpaper to polish the sides. I roll the sandpaper into a cone shape and spin the roller on it to try and clean the roller centre; once it fits back onto the shaft without having to force it, i coat the roller shaft with Tef-Gel.
Then mount the reel in a vice and wrap some fishing line around the roller. Hold the ends of the fishing line in either hand and draw from side to side so as to make the roller spin at high speed back and forth so as to polish the centre shaft.
Once spinning freely, remove roller and clean centre and shaft as paste may contain debris and could act like valve grinding paste. Apply a new coating of Tef-Gel and assemble roller to bail arm with screw.
Tef-Gel is also a good alternative product to use on the gearbox and moving parts as it stands up better to repeated dunking in water and does not wash off.
Maynes Marine has been very happy with the results we achieve in our workshop with Tef-Gel and we are constantly experimenting with new uses and keep coming up trumps. It has been refreshing to find a product that actually works in a marine environment easily and has so many uses.