How do you clean rusty trackball rollers ?

[Mamezilla]

Hello guys,

Topic says it all.  I opened yesterday my used trackball, and saw that the rollers and bearings were rusty.  There is also some wear on the rollers, as I can see a small "dimp" in the middle of them, where the ball touches on them.  

I saw Peale's post in another thread  (i think it was on the Buy/Sell/Trade forum) where he provided information on the cleaning  the plastic housing and the ball, as well as the lubrification of the bearings.  I am wondering however how to remove effectively the rust on the rollers.  Should I try a Dremel with a metal brush ?  Some kind of product with a rag ?  Or should I not bother with them and order a new set from Bob Roberts, since there is wear on them, and I noticed on one of the axis that the encoder wheel was turning well one way, and not the other way ?

Thanks

Guy

[Ken Layton]

I generally order new bearings and roller shafts from Bob Roberts. It's just not worth the trouble to try cleaning the rust off the shaft. However, if you want to try, go to the store and buy a container of "C-L-R calcium lime rust remover". Pour it into a shollow PLASTIC pan, lay the rusted roller shafts in there and pour in the CLR (full strength) until the rollers are completely covered. Let sit for ten minutes then scrub with a brass wire brush. The rust will come off, but wear gloves as the CLR is very strong. After a few minutes dump the CLR out and rinse the shafts with hot water.

[MinerAl]

or you can soak them for a few days in a penetrating oil like WD-40.  This has worked wonders for me.

[jcoleman]

WD40 is not penetrating oil...if I recall correctly from my high school science class, it's more akin to bits of wax in a suspension.    

Of course, if WD-40 works, then I guess it makes no difference if it's penetrating oil or not.  

Coleman

[SirPoonga]

From the wd-40 website:
What does WD-40 stand for?
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion

[SirPeale]

To remove the rust from the rollers, you can try Kens approach, or:

Put the roller into a drill, and get some fine steel wool.  Hold the wool around the roller, and start the drill.  You should be able to polish the rust right off.

[jcoleman]

From the wd-40 website:
What does WD-40 stand for?
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion

[Mamezilla]

Thanks guys for all your replies.  I will start with Peale's suggestion, since I got a bag of 00 very fine steel wool I bought last week at my local "Home Depot" type hardware store, for the finishing touch with the chemical paint remover on the side of my used cab I want to mame. I had a bottle of CLR recently but used it for somethig else, so I'll have to get some more.  BTW, it's true that this stuff does wonders.

However, since the rollers have some wear on them as I can see a "dimp" in the center of them where the ball touches ("dimp" is the only word I can think of for what I mean, since english isn't my native language as I'm a french-canadian), I'm wondering if it's worth it.  I guess I'll just have to check it.

I'll have to start another topic to see if optic boards can be tested or checked without plugging them into a mouse hack or an encoder (with a multimeter for example), since I tried to do a mouse hack yesterday with a cheap PS/2 mouse I got at the local Wal-Mart, but while doing so I fried the PS/2 port on my second computer I use in my workshop.  This is the trackaball I was reffering to in my post a few days ago that has different optic boads.

Thanks again.

[MonitorGuru]

Repeat after me: WD-40 is not a lubricant!  

But you CAN use it as a part of cleaning them, if you don't want to spend the money buying new ones.

Honestly, if the bearings are locked up, just throw them. If they spin very rough, consider throwing them.  If they spin but just not for long and are rough, there may be hope.  Consider time/materials vs new cost.  You will not make them feel like new ones in most cases, but you can salvage some of the bearings if you pick your battles

Here's what I did:

1-Soak them in WD-40 to help remove the old grease/dirt/oil

2- Soak them in CLR (Note: this is the most dangerous step as too long and it will eat away at the metal since it's corrosive, too little and you won't get enough rust off)

3-Rinse in water, or ideally 90%+ isopropal alcohol, to prevent rusting.

4-Soak them more in WD-40 to remove the last of the CLR and other marterials

5-Rinse in 90%+ isopropal alcohol, dry them fully

6-Lubricate with a very fine oil.  3-In-1 oil generally is acceptable but only use a TINY amount, otherwise you will have oil everywhere.


Note: Between each step, take the bearing and put it in a drill and spin it for a long time to help work out the rust and whatever gunk. Be carefull doing this. A battery operated drill wont have enough torque/speed to do much good, and AC powered drills can  be damaging if done too long or too fast, but work better, but of course dangerous to hold the bearing while drilling. If you can drill with the bearing in the liquid(s), it's better to help clean it out, but watch out for splatter.

Also note: If you have sealed bearings (most are), you can either try to remove the cover or just try to clean with the cover on, but you wont get much out of it without removing the cover. Removing it you may bend it and may not get it back on.

Good luck!

PS: If you need to clean the ivory balls... place them in highly concentrated Deck Wash (chlorine bleach).

[SirPeale]

It would depend on how bad the wear spot (dimp) is.  If it's very deep, you will have to replace them.

[NoOne=NBA=]

My standard cleaning method is to soak them in denatured alcohol, and then drill-spin them as described above.

I have always used 120 grit sandpaper though.
If you tear/cut it into strips, you can get alot better pressure against the roller than you can with steel wool, and you can keep your fingers off the part that is polishing and getting hot.

The paper will tear after a bit, but you can usually use several different spots before it does.
The sandpaper also gives you a better edge to the sanding, which helps when you are doing joystick handles.

[MonitorGuru]

Note: I was speaking only to the bearings and not the rollers themselves.

[XtraSmiley]

WD 40 will ruin your bearings if you try to lube with them.  I've got a Marble Madness and a Crystal Castles and IMO it's just not work cleaning them.  Get all new ones from BR and get the newer Stainless Steel Rollers he has.  Trust me, the thought of spending $70 on new parts put me off a bit, but after cleaning and recleaning rusty bearings I just got fed up and bought some.  Man do my balls roll good now!  Trust me it's worth it.

[Ken Layton]

I did the cheap route with a Centipede roll ball and it just didn't last. So I spent the money and got the complete Bob Roberts rebuild kit with all new bearings and shafts. It was money well spent! Works great and zero problems.

[8bit]

Do NOT use WD40 for anything.  Try looking for some sort of teflon lubricant.  I suggest using Triflow

[RayB]

According to either Bob or Randy Fromm, the best lube which also destroys rust is "AeroKroil" from a company called Kano.

Unfortunately it's not available in Canada and Kano won't ship individual aerosol cans to Canada. Anyone here from Canada and know where to get Aerokroil?

~Ray B.