Isn't hot compressed steam okay since they are not sealed? The steam gets the metal piping hot, so when laid out on a dry paper afterwards the bearings are bone dry in a matter of a minute.
At any rate, the update is that the second cleaning seems to have worked. I cleaned the bearings in the ultrasonic and steamed them off, then repacked with synthetic high speed grease that I got from the bike shop next door.
Everything seems to be okay now, the spinning action is a little slower than it was new but I think that is just from the grease, possibly a little too much of it. But whatever grit was in there, its out now and the action is smooth. Thanks for the tips from everyone!
My turntable worked very smoothly, but squeeked and drove the cat & I nuts, so I squirted a little powdered graphite in the gap between the plates. Works great now and Lenny, the one-eyed, diabetic old cat gets his beauty rest.
well you have lots of advice on here, but I had good luck just sending stuff to GRS and having them repair it. The heavy stuff costs money to ship, but...they will fix it, and get it back to you fast.
I took my turntable apart last night, popped the bearings into the ultrasonic and did what was suggested, polished the races. I also put a fine dusting of Teflon powder in the tracks. The results were amazing! This puppy can really spin now! There are no catches or dragging points now. If I can keep it this clean, I'll have no more excuses for "elbows" in my scrolls. Then what am I going to do?