Any tips on cleaning bearings?

hey guys. anyone have any good tips on cleaning bearings? lots of stuff on google, but most of the guys use products that are not available in south africa.

Best Tip: Ride your bearings until your wheels don't turn anymore (which takes surprisingly long) and then get some new ones. It's not wort the effort. I wasted too much of my Newbie days cleaning bearings when I should have been skating. Get new bearings for as little as R150 from First Nature.

If you have Biltins they might be worth cleaning because they are more expensive. Swirl them around in a bit of acetone until they spin freely, let them dry for a few minutes then put 1 or 2 drops (seriously 1 drop is enough) of Bones Speed Cream or any other oil (sewing machine oil is good) into each bearing. If the bearings have rubber seals make sure you remove them, the acetone will eat them. Biltins have steel seals that don't need to be removed. 

i actually just have one bearing that sounds like there is something wrong with it. so figured i would just clean the whole lot while i'm at it. still have my old short skateboard as well and those bearing definitely need some attention.

shot for the tips.

Another thing I should highlight is that cleaning your bearings wont make you any faster. And don't waste money on abec 9 or ceramic bearings, you wont notice the difference.

yeah i just don't like the idea of a bearing stalling. i'm funny that way. have this phobia with human engineering. tall buildings.. eh eh. i'm probably into the wrong sport then? haha!!

Llyod does that advice apply to speedboarding or just freeriding?

Applies to all skate bearings.
Look, obviously you don't want to ride your bearings until they sieze when you're doing 100km/h or whatever so check them every now and then. If they spin between your fingers (doesn't have to spin for ever) they don't need cleaning. If they feel like they have little stones in them you might want a new set. If you can't afford a new set and have time on your hands then clean them.

Good advice! I'm over cleaning bearings, what a waste of time.

i suppose it depends where you ride. water, sand, etc. not good.