How to Get Back Into Cubing

[3ACuber]

I was super into cubing around 2 years ago. Because of this I have a lot of cubes (over 100). However, almost all of them are super gummy because I used to use traxxas 50k to lube the pieces and use DNM to speed it up temporarily. Do you think it would be better to clean out these cubes, or to sell them and buy a new set.

Also does cleaning your cube actually get rid of all the lube?

 

[randomness...]

depending on how you clean
if you like to sit and clean something for a long time then yes, you should clean them over getting new ones
If you dont like to and you know it, then just get a new set and approach someone with OCD to clean them.

 

[SkewbIsTheBestEvent]

approach someone with OCD to clean them.

That wasn't very nice to say.

 

[randomness...]

That wasn't very nice to say.

i apologize but people with ocd clean the best, i can confirm because i HATE my cubes being dirty. i will spend hours cleaning my cubes because OCD.

 

[3ACuber]

How should I clean my cubes so that they are lube free? Everytime I clean my GAN XS (which I dumped traxxas into), it stays slow.

 

[OreKehStrah]

I use stickerless cubes, so when a cube is obvi gummy slow from lube, I literally go to the kitchen sink, turn on warm (NOT hot) water, then add 3-4 drops of Dawn dish soap (more for bigger cubes) as if it were lube, then do lots of turns to spread it around, then more turns under the running water til I think its clear of soap... you can smell the Dawn soap if its still in there, so more rinsing...
Then dry outer surface with paper towel and let air~dry...

then I guess repeat for the other cubes you want to start using soonest...
for bigger cubes, I submerge om a big oot ofnwarm soapy water 20-30mins to let the dishsoap soak in and then rinsed... FWIW, YMMV

Yeah that’s gonna rust your hardware so I pray to god that this was a shitpost.

For the OP, just take the cube apart and wipe the pieces off with (wet) paper towel until it feels clean then dry them off. Your cube is now clean.

 

[DuckubingCuber347]

I use stickerless cubes, so when a cube is obvi gummy slow from lube, I literally go to the kitchen sink, turn on warm (NOT hot) water, then add 3-4 drops of Dawn dish soap (more for bigger cubes) as if it were lube, then do lots of turns to spread it around, then more turns under the running water til I think its clear of soap... you can smell the Dawn soap if its still in there, so more rinsing...
Then dry outer surface with paper towel and let air~dry...

This statement makes me question if you are who you say you are.

 

[artless1der]

How should I clean my cubes so that they are lube free? Everytime I clean my GAN XS (which I dumped traxxas into), it stays slow.

I use stickerless cubes, so when a cube is obvi gummy slow from lube, I literally go to the kitchen sink, turn on warm (NOT hot) water, then add 3-4 drops of Dawn dish soap (more for bigger cubes) as if it were lube, then do lots of turns to spread it around, then more turns under the running water til I think its clear of soap... you can smell the Dawn soap if its still in there, so more rinsing...
Then dry outer surface with paper towel and let air~dry...

then I guess repeat for the other cubes you want to start using soonest...
for bigger cubes, I submerge om a big oot ofnwarm soapy water 20-30mins to let the dishsoap soak in and then rinsed...

FWIW & YMMV... but this method literally brought my Spark 7M, MGC 7, MGC 6, and XMan Tomato v3 back to life once they got waaay toooo sloooow ƪ⁠(⁠‾⁠.⁠‾⁠“⁠)⁠┐

 

[artless1der]

Yeah that’s gonna rust your hardware so I pray to god that this was a shitpost.

For the OP, just take the cube apart and wipe the pieces off with (wet) paper towel until it feels clean then dry them off. Your cube is now clean.

plastic doesn't rust, so the only hardware parts you might be thinking of in a cube are: stainless steel screw, stainless steel washers, and stainless springs/magnets (all of which are pretty much rust-proof)...
The only downside I have found to doing this to clean my cubes is that cheaper cubes aren't engineered so great and the pieces don't fit together tight enough to prevent short-term exposure from leaking some water inside some of the pieces... and it has only caused that on 3×3s

PLUS, the commercials don't lie: "DAWN Takes Grease Outta The Way"

 

[DuckubingCuber347]

plastic doesn't ruaty, so the only hardware you might be thinking of in a cube are: stainless steel screw, stainless steel washers, and stainless springs/magnets (all of which are pretty much rust-proof)...
The only downside I have found to doing this to clean my cubes is that cheaper cubes aren't engineered so great and the pieces don't fit together tight enough to prevent short-term exposure from leaking some water inside some of the pieces... and it has only caused that on 3×3s

I can vouch to the phenomenon that Rubik's cubes rust. This is a strange thing to recommend.

 

[artless1der]

I can vouch to the phenomenon that Rubik's cubes rust. This is a strange thing to recommend.

I havent used a Rubik's brand puzzle in years, maybe they use cheap materials for their cubes and not stainless steel...

Not sure where you get your science from...
feel free to do a couple Google searches:
1-Does plastic rust
2-Does stainless steel rust

As indicated in my original reply to OP, this method has worked great for multiple big cubes (BOTH of my $60 XMan Spark 7M's are in great shape)
With No Negative Effects on the hardware...
or the software either for that matter

 

[DuckubingCuber347]

I havent used a Rubik's brand puzzle in years, maybe they use cheap materials for their cubes and not stainless steel...

Not sure where you get your science from...
feel free to do a couple Google searches:
1-Does plastic rust
2-Does stainless steel rust

As indicated in my original reply to OP, this method has worked great for multiple big cubes (BOTH of my $60 XMan Spark 7M's are in great shape)
With No Negative Effects on the hardware...
or the software either for that matter

Luckily I have more than just a Rubik's brand to use as an example for my cubes rusting. Rubik's was meant as a generic term but perhaps my terminology is dated.

 

[Kyoobies]

I use stickerless cubes, so when a cube is obvi gummy slow from lube, I literally go to the kitchen sink, turn on warm (NOT hot) water, then add 3-4 drops of Dawn dish soap (more for bigger cubes) as if it were lube, then do lots of turns to spread it around, then more turns under the running water til I think its clear of soap... you can smell the Dawn soap if its still in there, so more rinsing...
Then dry outer surface with paper towel and let air~dry...

then I guess repeat for the other cubes you want to start using soonest...
for bigger cubes, I submerge om a big oot ofnwarm soapy water 20-30mins to let the dishsoap soak in and then rinsed...

FWIW & YMMV... but this method literally brought my Spark 7M, MGC 7, MGC 6, and XMan Tomato v3 back to life once they got waaay toooo sloooow ƪ⁠(⁠‾⁠.⁠‾⁠“⁠)⁠┐

Accidental poisoning by soap products: What to do

Accidental poisoning by soap products can result from swallowing or inhaling any kind of chemical soap product. There may be burn-like symptoms and swelling of the tongue. If symptoms appear, emergency medical help should be sought. All chemicals should be kept away from children, who may be...

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Dish soap is not good on your skin. Don't do that

 

[randomness...]

its not good to ingest.
Dishsoap like Dawn is made to be ok for skin.

 

[3ACuber]

Thanks to everyone for the help, I'll try cleaning out the cube with a wet cloth.

Also sort of related, how often do you have to relube a supernova or angstrom cube? When you do so, is it just some stardust/DNM or actually the more heavy lubes?

 

[abunickabhi]

Both heavy lubes and lighter lubes are used in a setup.

 

[3ACuber]

When relubing, will I need to apply the heavy lubes again? (I'm just wondering how much more convenient a pre-setup cube is rather than a factory one.) For example (for Angstrom), will I need to reapply gravitas and dignities or just DNM?

 

[Thom S.]

plastic doesn't rust, so the only hardware parts you might be thinking of in a cube are: stainless steel screw, stainless steel washers, and stainless springs/magnets (all of which are pretty much rust-proof)...

No they're not.
Rust-proof is a myth. Ferrous metals are never rust-proof, you can make them rust slowly, but they rust nonetheless.

 

[artless1der]

Luckily I have more than just a Rubik's brand to use as an example for my cubes rusting. Rubik's was meant as a generic term but perhaps my terminology is dated.

Gotcha, no prob it is possible that some cubes are mf'd with non-stainless spring steel and washers and that could rust much more easily, and it is also possible that particulate matter (such as mineral content) in the water does to some small extent get left behind as residue after the water evaporates, and that could cause some creaking, squeaking, and other such effects
I literally have used this method to clean cubes (esp big cubes) multiple times with no ill effects except the one 3×3 (Qiyi MS)... or I wouldn't have suggested it at all, Bet