Some of y’all make very valid points, and contribute to the conversation. However, some of y’all are in such a rush to leave a smarmy comment,that you miss the point entirely.
Bearing do not come optimized and ready for use, You need to clean and lubricate them before you use them. Since most of you have never cleaned your bearings, it’s something to consider.
Do your wheels roll longer than mine? http://stream0.net/roll.html
isn’t wd-40 supposed to be bad for this kind of stuff? at least for bikes they say never use it on your chain
I would avoid WD40.
Acetone also works for cleaning.
But you need to take off those plastic guards (round covers) off bearing before puting them into jar. I use some needle to take them off.
WD40 is crap for this tipe of thing, if you want just feel real love and speed from your skateboard, you should use special bearing lubricant, just 1-2 drops in bearing and it will act like a beast. I can suggest this one, it’s awesome 
And if you use some oil, like mineral oil it will act like crap, so use proper lubricant 
WD40 is a lubricant, however it is probably not a great choice for lubricating your bearings in the long run. May deteriotate quickly at which point your bearings will run with more resistance and wear out quickly.
Also, I doubt skate bearings come improperly lubricated, most are even sealed so you’d expect them to be lubricated.
I love my little ultra-sonic cleaner from harbor freight for bearings! Pop them in, run a few cycles, and then lube them up with some good light weight oil / speed cream / Tri-Flow / sewing machine oil / etc. White lithium grease - whatever you have on hand will likely work fine (some are better and you’ll figure it out). I would not use WD-40.
If you have metal shields - done. if you have the plastic/rubber ones - remove and replace after lubricating them.
if you have good bearings - this is great to do and extends life. I personally don’t know i’d do it on el-cheapo bearings and simply swap.
my .02
GL!
I used to feel the same way, I used to buy specialized bearing cleaner and expensive oils, and this method is on par with them. Most people aren’t going to buy an ultrasonic cleaner for their bearings.
Why wouldn’t you use wd-40?
Do your wheels roll longer than this? http://stream0.net/roll.html I made you a video.
these guys do a good job of explaining a good way to clean and lube bearings. I used to put wd-40 on everything too, once upon a time. It is not the best lube for the job though, as others in the thread already pointed out.
good post though, Leroy! I clean my bearings in a similar manner.
WD 40 is NOT a lubricant. It’s a solvent. Look up what WD in WD-40 stands for. Not only is it not a lubricant, the residue left behind attracts dirt.
I thought this was going to be a troll thread. I would avoid WD40
How to baptise your bearings: Leave them in water to rust for as long as possible, take them out and you have baptised bearings
SORRY IF THIS COMES ACROSS OFFENSIVE TO ANYONE. Not that I think it will but just in case
WD40 is good for repairing cars, but as lubricant it’s bad.
For the record. WD-40 was never designed to be a lubricant for bearings. WD-40 is not even a cleaner. Acetone is not listed within their MSDS. Not using the appropriate lubricant will shorten the lifespan of your bearings especially damaging the steel balls and races. Skateboard wheels roll fast but you don’t use lubricant. Wheels move slower with lubricated bearings.
WD40- is for breaking loose extremely rusted bolts for cars.
wheel roll time with no load is cool, but not necessarily equal to better bearings or longer roll time when you are on the board. I’m not a mechanical engineer - and perhaps one can break it down better… but here’s how i understand it.
When a little worn (used bearings) and cleaned/lubed they can roll better than new. The tolerances aren’t as tight (from wear) - especially a lighter oil vs grease - the older bearings will roll longer. the size of your wheels and rotating mass will make a difference in roll time too. And roll time under load (you on the board) may not actually be longer.
And as @PXSS said - wd40 isn’t a lube - it’s a cleaner and leaves behind a tacky residue that then attracts dirt. Go onto silverfish and do a search - the best from their consensus seems to be the lightweight oils like sewing machine oil, bones speed cream, etc.
I still love to see my bearings roll time after a fresh clean and re-lube!
WD-40 is a degreaser lol. It will work good temporarily after a while your bearings will almost lock up. It will just collect dirt and probably end up just buying new bearings. Use white lithium if you really want to grease bearings but honestly a pack of bones reds will be just fine unless your doing extreme downhill or trying to get insane speeds.
I somewhat agree - but there are a lot of myths around WD-40 and it’s not as black and white as “it’s a lube” vs “it’s not a lube”
Official site has some interesting info
Myth: WD-40® Multi-Use Product should not be used on bike chains.
Fact: While WD-40® Multi-Use Product it is not a grease, it is formulated with strong lubricating oils and other ingredients, and is a terrific product to use for bike maintenance. It does not attract dirt or moisture to metal surfaces – just be sure to wipe off any excess WD-40® Multi-Use Product before riding.
Myth: WD-40® Multi-Use Product is not really a lubricant.
Fact: While the “W-D” in WD-40® stands for Water Displacement, WD-40® Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal.
It’s not a purpose built lubricant and while it may work for short term lubrication, there are better products out there for long term lubricant. I wouldn’t use it on skateboard bearings.
I have used a lot of cleaners and lubes for my dj/studio set ups for over 30 years and best place/maker i know for all types of lube is Deoxit, the link below is a list of all the products they make i would suggest that if you want a super lube the product you want is this one http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.190/.f
Full list of products http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/.f
Exactly. Good luck “wiping off any excess” inside your bearings. on a surface - sure - inside bearings - it will gum up with dirt.
Please dude don’t throw this chemicals trough the WC please don’t