Advice need on reel cleaning

I need a bit of advice. i was fishing yesterday and and a wave knocked over my rod stand and my surf master 850 landed in the water. Once the wave washed away i picked it up and dried it off. When i got home, I rinsed the spool and dried the reel again and sprayed a little WD40 in around it. Should I take it apart and clean in round the gears?. Not sure what is the best thing to do!!

Hi ady i did exactly the same thing with the same reel last saturday. I rinsed it and wd40d the reel but when winding it it definetely is grating a little bit as if sand inside the reel. I only have the reel a little while and am half afraid to open it up cos i reckon it needs to be to clear sand. It seems part of the reel cover of the gears etc is stuck under and wont come out easily. So im in the same boat let me know how you get on or look forward to any advise. I was going to post up the same question pat

thankfully no sand got in as i was on a rock mark. but i am just worried as in was submerged for a while. like wise if you here any tips pass them on

All reels need a bit of TLC every now and again especially if they've been immersed in salt water. You both did the right thing by rinsing with fresh water and using WD40 but it's always worth having a look to make sure that sand hasn't got into the gear mechanism even if you were on a rock mark as sand is suspended in salt water!

Always work clean and take your time. Put some old newspaper on the table to avoid any arguments with loved ones and strip the reel. Place all the parts you remove in order on the newspaper.

Inspect and clean each piece in order making sure you remove any grit or sand. Blue disposable kitchen cloths are very good for this and an old toothbrush and cotton buds help you to reach hard to get at spots.

If you need to clean bearings and dont want to remove them you can flush them with WD40 while in situ. Leave them to dry and then re oil them prior to re assembly.

I like to use molybdenum grease for the gear mechanisms. Its available from car maintenance shops. Its quite expensive but very good quality and you only need a small amount. Use a small artist type paintbrush to apply this to the gears. Always try the gears after you have cleaned them to make sure that you have removed any sand before you apply the new grease as you dont want to have to strip the reel again if you can feel it grating.

Hope this helps.

i have came across a post somewere here saying not to use wd40 as it breaks down the grease in the reels and can do more damage than good.
i stand 2 be corrected

no harm lads, but i would never put wd40 on my reels.
wd40 is used as a looseing agent!!! putting it on your reel could do more harm than good over a period of time, for it will do what its supposed to do, loose'n everything up!!!
you would be better useing 151 mainterance spray, its used for dispelling moisture.
and for the gears and such i use hoppe's lubricating oil, its used for high viscosity and penetration in firearms and fishing reels, i'v used it for years and its is great stuff.
after every fishing trip i wash my reels under the tap, shake off exess water and then spay the whole reel with 151.
one more thing, a couple of friends always used wd40 on their reels,
ended up giving them to me to fix for them. when you shaked the reels
they sounded like a kids rattle, everything inside had worked its way free.....

You're both right about the WD40 lads. I certainly wouldn't use it other than to clean the bearings if i didn't want to remove them as they can be tricky on some reels but its fine to use to flush them in place. You just have to be carefull. I've done that for years with no problems.

If you can you should remove them and clean them immersed in lighter fluid tho.