Sounds like pretty good stuff to me! I was out and about today and was in the vicinity of Sears so I stopped to see if they had it. The only choice they had was the 12 ounce Boeshield and 8 ounce Rust Free combo so I bought it for $24.99. It seems like I'm often trying to remove rust from things or rusted nuts from bolts. So in addition to using it on reels I'll also use it for that and on my bicycle. I would think that it would really be good for boaters.

In addition to Sears it is probably available here at REI and at West Marine. It can be ordered from the Boeshield website, but they won't ship to Alaska. The websites also listed other places to buy it.

I picked up a used Medalist that was filthy with some sort of gunk on the spool, I assume the old silk line dressing. I dropped it the warm-side-of-hot water with a little Dawn in it, came back fifteen minutes later and proceded to wipe the paint right off the spool.

Was it the Dawn that killed it, or was it the old caked dressing just ate the finish off, and when the dressing left the spool so did the paint? I tried to wipe it as gently as possible, and I'm left with a slightly tacky surface still.

Oops.

Live and learn, this guy was battered up pretty badly so I don't feel too bad, but what a shame to mangle it up. I expected that Dawn would be extra mild.

C'est la vie.

hi friend, in theory, old toothbrushes should be easy to come by, but the process that cleans the reel works very nicely on the toothbrush along the way.
The toothbrush usually comes out looking just like the reel.
I use regular dish soap, dilute, and soak time is very short.
If you've done the vinegar right, you're not going to need that much time in soap to slough the residues.

Vinegar bath before and after photos - this is a Leonard bi-metal.
I also tweaked the spring to restore it to RHW, after someone had spread it to LHW.
I made about 60 little bends up and down the spring with coarse-radius spring bending pliers, and it was a bit unnerving on a 130-y-o rusted steel spring ...

Note that the handle was in the vinegar bath the shortest time, 30 minutes, to keep the ebonite from loosing too much carbon black.

The remaining parts were in the bath for 3 hours. Most of the dealloying was superficial, but there were a few pink spots and pits left in the nickel silver.

as received


sprayed it with Boeshield and let it soak overnight, and with nylon-jaw tubing pliers and hollow-ground driver, it came right apart.


after
Tough little booger to photograph now ...

I do fish my vintage reels, but that one is not mine - I was hired to clean it.
I didn't even try it for size on my Leonard Fairy Catskill - I didn't want to know ...

I have checked a few places locally, but I can't find the Miracle Lemon Oil Polishing Cloths. I do have Old English Lemon Oil. Can you just use that instead? I went to Lowe's and Home Depot, and neither carry the Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax. It is also called BWS Bowling Alley Wax now I believe. I could order it, I know. But since I am cleaning reels, I wanted it for now.

Alright. I guess I will have to order them over the net. I ordered directly from BWS just now. I hope it doesn't take long to get here. One polishing cloth lasts a while I am guessing. I am trying to locate that too. Thanks Bulldog.

I hope so. Thanks for the encouragement. I am chomping at the bit to get my reels in order. I want to take photos of them, once I get them all sparkly. :-) I don't have anything to brag about. But they are nice to ME. I wonder if I should order one or two polishing cloths since they are so hard to come by. I am waiting to hear from a seller. The wax should be here in a few days. The sooner the better. Oh, and I tried that Boeshield, and I really like it. It isn't under pressure as much as the Corrosion X. That stuff will pop back at you if you aren't careful. I did the first vinegar bath ever on an old Pflueger Medalist. (it needed it) I like the results. I was a bit disappointed in the appearance of it when I got it, but I have cleaned it up pretty good. It still needs lubing.

Thanks for the cleaning tips. I've used Remington gun oil in the past to lube the spindles any reason why that might not be a good choice?

I use a Ocean City 35 that has worn spindles (both spool and handle) and I stopped the loose (rattle) and have no seepage by using an aerosol motorcycle chain lube. It applies as light viscosity with a small red tube like a WD-40 can has, but quickly turns into a grease (hey, it's a chain lube) as the volatiles evaporate. It's designed to withstand heavy wear and to be water resistant. It doesn't ooze or seep off onto your hand even after the reel is submerged, and because it's thick, it reduces the "wobble/rattle" of the worn spool spindle.

Ron, I still cannot seem to get the Miracle Cloth with Lemon Oil. I ordered on Ebay. The package didn't come. I let the seller know, he sent another. Still no package. So I gave up on him, and ordered from a place in the USA. The Miracle Cloths came in, I was so excited until I opened the box. They were Miracle Cloths with COCONUT OIL. That is not what I ordered. The seller said that they guessed that Miracle Cloth doesn't make the Lemon Oil ones anymore. I did get that Bowling Alley Wax in, and I used it. You are just wiping the metal parts afterwards with the Miracle Cloth ... after you wax ... then use a chamois on the whole thing? Or after waxing, your wiping the whole reel down with the Miracle Cloth? I sure don't want to take the wax job off with the cloth, if that would happen. I also just got my Chapman screwdrivers in. I like them but haven't used them yet. I will try them out tomorrow.

Thank you. So you are waxing the metal guards etc ... I could of sworn I read you used the cloths on reels, following up after waxing. That was a bit confusing to me, as I figured that would take off the wax. So I thought you weren't waxing the metal pieces, just the painted areas etc ... and then you used the cloth on the rest. So you use the cloth on metal guides and ferrules etc for rods? You aren't running these cloths down the fiberglass of the rod are you? I was going to use a carnauba wax for the rods. (or a marine wax I have on hand) You know so much about reels. I wish you would write a book, or better yet, come out with a video for cleaning and restoration of reels.