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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 05 Oct 2008, 16:12 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/20/07
Posts: 407
Location: US-CT
I have a couple Michell's, one marked 350 and the other not marked with a number but otherwise looks like the same size. I love my reels from Dam Quick, to Atlas, to modern Shimano Sidestab. However, while all my reels turn freely and are easy to use, the Mitchel's are gummed up. How free should they be? I assume they should work nicely, but they don't. Anyone interested in cleaning/refurbing these venerable old reels? Also, a Daiwa 2600X needs cleaning. Glenn


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 06 Oct 2008, 16:56 • #2 
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Joined: 05/20/07
Posts: 407
Location: US-CT
Don't everybody jump at once. There's gotta be somebody that wants to ruin an evening douching out a crud crammed somebody else's reel for $10 bucks. I'd do it myself, cept I know better and I want somebody else to gain some experience getting frustrated and ticked off cause there are extra parts left over and it works worse later than before. G


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 06 Oct 2008, 18:20 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/20/07
Posts: 2544
Location: Wofford Heights, Calif. Kern River
Its not that, its just not cost effective, Ive repaired Mitchell reels for nearly 4 decades. A major problem with the original lubricant is that if its not been flushed and properly maintained sense new the orignal breakin lubricant has turned to something akin to melted crayola's or cosmolene. Then there is the problem of week or damaged parts long out of production. Something simple as the bail springs will run you $3.50 plus shipping.
Simply put with round trip shipping and lets say your reel is perfect, absolutely new in the box just sticky, cleaning time, materials, and appropriate lubricants ( I like Garcia Silicot lube and oil, at $10 an ounce, a good cleaning, lubrication and round trip shipping will run you around $45 not including parts. Thats for a new reel in the box without problems.
I used to do such repairs alot before I retired, many hundreds if not thousands on Mitchell, Penn and Dam spinning reels, but frankly unless its a sentimental thing, its not real cost effective. Just my opinion.
If the reel has some sentimental connection let me know, I can restore it to better than new at my costs, plus $15 an hour labor, about an hour and a half in cleanup and assembly without parts or best lubricants, I only charge what the parts cost me to locate from dealers plus shipping to me. Shipping is exactly what the USPS charges for round trip to me and back, plus insurance at least on the return trip.
Example, cleaning no parts with proper lubricants $28.50 plus return shipping. But be advised parts can run it up quickly!
Im only qualified to do down to scratch repairs on Mitchell, Penn and Dam Spinning reels, Mitchell conventional and Penn Conventiional Salt water reels, as well as Mitchell fly reels and Abu Garcia fly reels. That just happens to be what I did for many years long before retirement.
Also be advised that If I have to sourse parts, I have a few sourses, we would have to wait on delivery for return timming and those costs would be mine plus shipping to me. The time it takes to assemble and properly lubricate would be the same.
Richard


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 06 Oct 2008, 23:28 • #4 
Master Guide
Joined: 10/16/06
Posts: 526
Location: US-MD
Hi Glenn;

Flyfishing4goldentrout is pointing you inthe right direction. I can't count the number of times dried up grease and dirt inhibited the function of my mitchell reels. The bail assembly is very sensitive to dirt, sometimes one small speck was all it took to get it to act up. when I was a teen and went fishing by bicyle, I always carried 3 in one oil and a couple of q-tips for when mine would start acting up. when I got back into fishing as an adult, I started off with a mitcheel 300 & 308 but now we have hot sauce and after a thorough cleaning and using hot sauce my mitchell reels function waay better.

Waynebh


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 06 Oct 2008, 23:57 • #5 
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Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Richard, I'll take you up on cleaning my MIB Mitchell 440 - it needs the old lube removed.
It definitely doesn't need any parts.
pm me your contact information.
thanks,
Ron Mc


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 07 Oct 2008, 03:19 • #6 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/20/07
Posts: 407
Location: US-CT
This "cost effective" business sure gets us, at least me, in a lot of trouble. Now that I am retired, and married, I have to systematically weed out the projects I had invested in to "finish out" when I retire." Why---cause in the light of retirement I am just not going to mess with, or pour more money down the rathole of this "loser stuff nobody else wants" that I thought was a good idea at the time. I kind of like the Mitchells, but I think you gentlemen have convinced me that it will pay to wait until I can pick another one up at a garage sale that is not only identical, or similar to those I have, but, has already been cleaned and slicked up on somebody else's time. (Picture a blubbering widow saying "ole Fred sure took care of those reels, you can have the whole bunch for 10 bucks." This fine tribute to ole Fred is something we should all keep in mind.) A couple examples pending, a 29' Columbia sailboat about to be chopped up for the lead in the keel and aluminum in the mast, about 15 Kodak slide projecters and lenses (real winners there), and all my Nikon manual cameras, lenses and such. (I never thought digital cameras would work.) Glenn----My war cry "Upwards and Onwards"


Last edited by flyboy912 on 07 Oct 2008, 03:21, edited 1 time in total.

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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 07 Oct 2008, 03:22 • #7 
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Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
do what I'm too lazy to do, take it on yourself.
http://www.networkdimension.com/gmschematics.htm
take the handle and cover plate off and clean it out.


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 07 Oct 2008, 12:06 • #8 
Sport
Joined: 04/18/08
Posts: 54
Location: central, pa
boy! am i gonna get the negative feedback on this:
How I relube my reels: 1.Take off the handle(unscrew usually). 2. remove the sideplate carefully making sure nothing falls out of place. 3. Use a trimmed down wooden coffee stirrer and dig out all the old hardened lube possible. 4.Spray engine degreaser from wal-mart on the insides. Mine foams to show where it is being applied. 5. When the foam disappears use Q-tips and soak out the remaining degreaser. 6. Use compressed air to blow out the degreaser that the Q-tips won't get. 7. dig out the rest of the old lube-it will have softened considerably. repeat steps #4 thru 6 until you are happy. 8. relube, lubing everything that moves.(I use Penn reel grease). 9. put the reel back together in reverse order. This has improved my old gunked up reels considerably. warning! I admit a few reels I have not been able to get back together because my fumblefingers dropped a part or I let something shift out of position -this has not happened often but it has happened. Warning #2 try at your own risk. The alternate method is to buy another reel which I must admit is lots more fun. fingers stink less also.
Arley


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 07 Oct 2008, 15:08 • #9 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/20/07
Posts: 407
Location: US-CT
OK, I promise I will not give up on the 350. I hereby promote the issue of cleaning the reels to "Rainy day" status. nuff said. G


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 07 Oct 2008, 16:33 • #10 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/20/07
Posts: 2544
Location: Wofford Heights, Calif. Kern River
Hi Ron, sending you contact info, your auto bail is in alot of demand, when I finished my little side line business before retiring and moving up here to my ex summer home I had several hundred parts for the auto-bail rods, put them up on eBay and was absolutely dumb struck with what they brought. The same group of guys in Hawwaii also bought my entire collection of Nep-Tuna rods and reels and all the protype reel seats I still had.
Seems they are some sort of Marlin club but that they fished the local rivers and ponds with the Mitchell auto-bails alot. Small world for sure.
Richard


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 07 Oct 2008, 16:51 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/20/07
Posts: 2544
Location: Wofford Heights, Calif. Kern River
Gearboy,
The Mitchells I think were packed with WWI tank axle grease as a break in medium. If you look at your owners manual it was recommended that you return your reel after one year of use to your authorized Mitchell repair center for maintance. That consisted of cleaning and re lubrication. The preferred material was the Silicote Silicon based grease and oil not subject to temperature or heat, or friction. It takes quite a bit of grease to lubricate a reel after cleaning properly. Its a simple but very abrasive aluminum and often brass gear system in these reels.
Most solvents will melt the plastic parts so it takes some doing to completely clean one of the reels. I use stodard safety solvent where paint and materials dictate, in a sonic bath. On some parts that contain plastic, decals and such its a slow process of had cleaning without solvents. Honestly it takes my over an hour to clean these reels and Ive done perhaps many thousands. Another half hour to lubricate and assemble. Time is money of course, but I feel $15 an hour is a very reasonable rate for such skilled hands on labor intensive work.
Frankly before I retired was getting many times that not working on fishing equipment or living where I could fish every day.
As a side note a couple of years ago I purchased perhaps a couple of dozen 406, 402 reels and converted them to PUMs also 396-496 and 498 reels online and overhalled them and sold them all for quite a tidy sum, with full online photos of the rebuild and overhaul involved, none has come back except for additional maintance.
Again frankly its alot cheaper at todays prices just to chuck the reel and buy a new one when your considering honest maintance. Unless its vintage and nothing is made like it today or you like to fish vintage tackle. I sure do, but thats a preference from someone who has the knowledge to maintain it properly. Again frankly the last few years I did repairs was spent replacing parts and cleaning reels that had been assembled incorrectly and damaged.
Just the way it is. Thats why I only consider accepting Mitchell, Penn and Dam reels today, those are the only ones I really know intimately and can feel comfortable with doing the job right.
Penn lube is temperature effected. If your fishing Alaska it will become thick, if your fishing high temps it will flow. The Silicote is very similiar to the red lube we use on fly reels just a little cheaper at $10 an ounce.
Richard


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 07 Oct 2008, 23:52 • #12 
Master Guide
Joined: 10/16/06
Posts: 526
Location: US-MD
Hi All;

Years ago, I remember the first time(and last time) I used carburator cleaner on a fishing reel. Had to buy a new one, it melted all the plastic parts. I had to mow quite a few yards to buy a new fishing reel after melting the first one. After that, I used paper towels & qtips to get most of the dirt and grease out and then cleaned the rest up with dishwashing detergent.

From what I recall the Mitchell reels had some plastic gears in them.

Waynebh


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 08 Oct 2008, 00:13 • #13 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Boeshield.


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 08 Oct 2008, 00:33 • #14 
Master Guide
Joined: 10/16/06
Posts: 526
Location: US-MD
Hi Ron;
Are you recommending boeshield?

Or is that the waxy stuff you find in Mitchell reels?

Waynebh


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 08 Oct 2008, 00:35 • #15 
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Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Boeshield is a great cleaner - I find myself using it more and more, and using the vinegar bath only when it's really needed.

the waxy stuff in a Mitchell reel is wax. It's decomposed lubricant that has broken down into wax and acid.


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 08 Oct 2008, 00:38 • #16 
Master Guide
Joined: 10/16/06
Posts: 526
Location: US-MD
Hi Ron;

Looked up boeshield online, is it kinda like WD-40 with longer lasting effects?

I've always found wd good for loosening old solvent and grease but it's lubricating value is very short lived.

Waynebh


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 08 Oct 2008, 00:57 • #17 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19077
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
it displaces water. it dehydrates and reduces corrosion products. It inhibits against corrosion. I don't think WD-40 does these.
You don't see me recommending it as a lubricant, but as a cleaner and corrosion inhibitor.
You can spray it on your reels and take them into the salt.

It was developed by Boeing Aerospace as a quick way to address all the problems that aluminum has with planet earth.


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Sticky Mitchell 350
Post 08 Oct 2008, 01:27 • #18 
Master Guide
Joined: 10/16/06
Posts: 526
Location: US-MD
Hi Ron;

WD-40 is supposed to displace water and inhibit rust. I've heard that WD-40 stands for water displacement formula #40. I think it does work for a very short term but qickly wipes off and/or looses it's effectiveness. I never had the desire to try that,water and electricity just don't mix in my mind!

I remember hearing of people taking a drop light and spraying it liberally with wd then placing the assembly underwater and the light will work.

I'm definetly going to give boeshield a try.

Waynebh


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