How to Clean Skateboard Wheels | Complete Guide Step by Step

Do you ever stress over how your skateboard wheels appear after each ride? Your skateboards need to be polished and any messes cleaned up.

There are many ways to clean your skateboard wheels.  Be sure to read how to clean skateboard wheels to catch it. You can use this information to determine the best procedure that goes into making a clean skateboard wheel.

Fortunately, cleaning your wheels and bearings is rather simple and simply necessitates minimal disassembly and cleaning agent. You’ll be cruising about in no time once you’ve cleaned the built-up dirt off of your bearings and wheels.

In this article, we will inform you about how to clean skateboard wheels. You have to follow the steps given below:

Protect Your Workplace

Cleaning anything implies becoming dirty, but for something like a skateboard that spends most of its time on dirty cement, it’s especially true. So that you don’t create an unneeded mess, secure your workplace in the appropriate location. This typically refers to a level area with lots of space for movement. 

The wheels and bearings will be completely removed, so you’ll need to put them someplace safe so they won’t be misplaced. Everything listed above is also present, along with a sink or a bucket of water for accessing the water. 

Overall, you’ll probably become somewhat soaked along with the surroundings around you. Put down a towel to keep the space tidy, or go outside or over.

Take Out the Wheels and Bearings

Ensure that each wheel has two bearings, and store them safely. You may also want to clean your bearings at this point.  In either case, remove each wheel and its bearing so that your four wheels are prepared for cleaning.

To avoid getting your bearings wet at all costs, keep in mind to put them in a secure location or container.

Flip the skateboard over so the wheels are facing up and it is sitting on the deck. The axle nuts on the outside of the skateboard wheels can be twisted off and placed away with a 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) socket wrench. 

Put all the components for the wheels (nuts, washers, etc.) in one location so you can quickly locate and install them afterward. Don’t lose them because you’ll need every piece you peel off.

Pry the Bearings off the Wheels with the Axle of a Truck

The center of one wheel should be placed against the metal rod it is fastened to (called the truck axle). Use the rod to pop the bearing out of the wheel as you would with a bottle opener. Keep the bearings in the same location so you don’t lose track of them and use the same prying approach on all four of your wheels. 

Keep the wheels and wheel bearings apart so that they are simpler to clean. Try using a screwdriver to pry out the bearings if you are unable to successfully remove them in this manner.

To release the bearing, grasp the wheel’s sides and place the screwdriver’s tip inside the wheel. Pull the handle to the side to release it. 

A bearing spacer will drop out of the center of the wheel when the bearings are removed from the wheels or skateboard wheel cover. So that you may subsequently reassemble the wheel and bearings, keep this in a secure location.

Clean the Surface of the Wheels and Bearings

Any rock’s grit can be broken up with your fingers before being thoroughly scrubbed with a rag. Whenever you need to wash particularly nasty areas, grab a toothbrush and use it instead. Wheels should be cleaned this way.

While the skateboard wheel cleaner process put the removed bearings into a cup of isopropyl alcohol. By simply doing this, your bearings will be much improved for a quicker and smoother ride.

Don’t worry if you can’t clean your wheels, this is only the first step. 

Soak Wheels in Water

In this step, you have to soak your wheels in soapy water. Around 0.5 US gal of warm water and 1 to 2 tsp of dish soap should be added to a bucket or your sink.

After the liquid is sudsy, add your wheels and let them sit in the mixture for about 10 minutes. Don’t soak the bearings; just the wheel, your bearings could corrode if you soak them in water.

Any clinging filth and grime will be helped to remove by the warm water. The most harmful dirt and debris really hide inside the wheels, despite the fact that we were aware there was a tonne of crud on the wheel track that meets the ground. Make sure to properly clean them with a cloth, rag, or piece of paper once they have soaked. 

The wheel track and the sides of the stuff with wheels can be cleaned once the interior has been thoroughly cleaned. We should be able to simply scrape the grime from the wheel track after your skateboard wheels have soaked long enough. So it gets us to the next and most important step.

Use a Toothbrush or Rag to Clean the Wheels

Use a used toothbrush or a piece of grip tape that was left over if you want to go the extra skate route. With a little attention to detail, this important step is as straightforward as it appears.

Remove your wheels from the soapy water, then scrub them thoroughly. Here is where you may put in a lot of extra effort to make sure they are spotless and shiny.

Before using the brush to remove any embedded debris, run your wheels under hot water to assist loosen the gunk that has built up on the tire tracks.

Make sure to clean the inside of the wheels in addition to the outside. Each nook or crevice might become a home for tiny rocks.

We specifically don’t want soap, which can leave questionable chemicals or stickiness, on our wheels. Once you’re happy with the way your wheels look after cleaning them, it’s time for the next step.

Drying the Skateboard Wheels

A critical step in the cleaning process is drying your wheels. Because they are porous, wheels that are damp not only attract extra dust and mud but also detract from the smoothness of your ride.

 Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the wheels should be entirely dry before bearing installation and premature attachment of the wheels to the board. Your bearings will rust and your deck will become soggy from water damage, respectively. 

To avoid slipping and falling while riding, make sure your skateboard’s wheels are completely dry before reassembling it.

Grease the Bearings

The smoothness of your ride is significantly influenced by lubrication. Use lubricants of any suggested brand, after drying the bearings. This material will speed up water evaporation in addition to ensuring that your bearings operate smoothly.

Moreover, lubing aids in de-rusting any metal surface’s rust components. You should be awre of the order in which the skateboard’s parts, such as the washers and nuts, should be installed before reinstalling the wheels.

If you’re unsure how to reinstall something, think considering getting help from an expert.

Reinstall Your Wheels and Board

Congratulations! We haven’t left the skatepark yet, but you’ve nearly finished cleaning your skateboard wheels. Rotating your wheels while reassembling your board is a rare opportunity. 

Many fakies or switch stance skaters will discover that their front wheels have started to tilt or bend. If your wheels are particularly old and weathered in this regard, you could be forced to leave them that way in order to prevent an incorrect alignment. If not, rotating your wheels can increase their lifespan and smoothness much like it would with a car.

Here are the Items you’ll Need while Cleaning Skateboard

You will need the following things while cleaning your skateboard wheels:

Bucket of Water

There must be water, whether you’re cleaning your wheels in your laundry room or on a tabletop. One of the best chemicals for removing stains from any surface is this solvent.

Water is a great cleaning agent in addition to being widely available practically everywhere. If you need to moisten the entire surface of the wheel, you should have plenty of water ready.

After brushing the wheels or using other cleaning products, set aside more time for rinsing.

Skateboard

Skateboard wheels should typically be cleaned every two to three months. It would be preferable to polish your wheels once a month if you skate more frequently.

Be aware that exposure to water might weaken or harm your wheels or bearings components. Thus, clean when needed and not whatever you feel it.

Brush

You need a brush nearby because water and soap by themselves won’t be able to erase stains from your wheels without rubbing.

There isn’t a brush that is recommended for use on skateboard wheels. The majority of skateboarders choose a wire brush, while others can get by with a plastic brush or whatever is on hand. Whichever scrub you choose to use, be sure to retain the wheels’ original finish and avoid leaving any scratch marks.

Detaching tool for Wheels

The wheels on your skateboard cannot be taken off with your hands alone. You’ll damage it if you don’t. The hand tool you used to attach your skateboard’s wheels is the ideal one to use while removing them.

A combination wrench, pliers, or any other tool will do as long as it is the right size for the gear on your wheel.

Towel

You cannot leave any liquid on the skateboard wheels after rinsing. Later, it may lead to corrosion and jerky wheel rotation. Any water on the surface needs to be wiped off.

In small locations where a cloth towel cannot fit, it would be preferable to use a paper towel if you have one. Moreover, pick a towel that won’t shed fibers. If not, it will persist in the wheels’ bearings or other components and interfere with the rollers.

Liquid Soap

No type of soap has been created specially for cleaning skateboard wheels. Skateboards typically use household dish soap diluted proportionally in water. Most of the time, grease or road dirt is what gets on your skateboard’s wheels and leaves stains.

Consequently, there is no need to use harsh ingredients like acid-based treatments because they might simply damage your wheels.

Tips for Cleaning Skateboard Wheels

Before your wheels are cleaned on a regular basis, follow these strategies that skateboarders have been using for years to keep them clean.

• Drag your skateboard wheels diagonally and crisscross against the brick to scrape off grime and waxy debris. Brick is your best friend.

• When you skate quickly, your wheels heat up and help shed any debris. Bomb a hill. Choose a gravelly hill that isn’t too steep and try to create the effect of sandpaper there. Be careful!

• Skip the dirt: Locate a puddle. An oil rig or a sand pit? Hop off your board to avoid damaging your wheels.

• Check to see if what you’re feeling is not flat spots. If so, you’ll often require new wheels to stop the ride from becoming jarring.

• Turn the wheels! Your board can profit from changing things up, just like vehicles.

Conclusion

Cleaning your skateboard is the greatest way to preserve it. It doesn’t have to happen often, but it should happen when it needs to. By doing so, you can guarantee both your safety and the high performance of your skateboard.

It’s time to perform independent skateboard maintenance now that you are aware of how to clean skateboard wheels. You can clean any skateboard wheels i.e. vintage skateboard wheels, Independent skateboard wheels, and many others by following the steps we mentioned.

Hope so that this article for you to find your answer on how to clean skateboard wheels.

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