We covered general bar maintenance in our last article. Now that you know about the general care and maintenance of your weights, we’ll dive into a deeper cleaning of your Olympic weight sleeves. The ‘sleeves’ of a bar are the rotating ends where the discs are added to the bar. A newer bar shouldn’t require such careful cleaning and care of the sleeves; this will be for your older, well-used weights. Rod sleeves are likely to be attached using one of two methods: snap rings or a pin and end cap. This article will cover those types of sleeves. There are bar manufacturers that have it made so the sleeve doesn’t come off, you’ll need to contact them directly for any questions and/or maintenance concerns.

First, if you have a snap ring style bar, you will need some snap ring pliers to remove it. You will need to remove the outer snap ring, end cap, and inner snap ring to loosen the rod sleeve. You want to grab the two holes in the ring and compress it to get it off the bar. Your end cap should come off next, and you can remove your end lock ring.

Second, the pinned barbell sleeves. If the sleeves are pinned, there is a steel disk, or end cap, and a pin that prevents them from falling off the bar. The end cap is about 2 inches in diameter and about 1/2″ thick. To hold the end cap in place, a pin runs through the diameter of the bar. You can use a hammer and small screwdriver to drive the pin out. Once the pin is out, the end cap should come off and the sleeve can be removed.

Next you need to take a clean rag and wipe off any excess dirt, corrosion and grease on the bar and on the inside of the sleeve ends. If some of the dirt is caked on, you may want to use some steel wool to smooth things out. You can use the steel wool again, on the now bare bar and inside the ends of the sleeve. Be sure to clean the bar again to remove any residue from the steel wool.

You should use Teflon grease on the inside ends of the sleeve and on either end of the sleeve portion of your bar. You want to use a high pressure type of grease that will hold bar pressure. The grease should keep the sleeve turning longer and will keep it cleaner than using oil. You don’t need to use a lot of fat on the bar, a little goes a long way. Finally you can put the sleeve back on, remove any excess fat that may be around it. Rotate the sleeve several times, again wiping off any excess fat.

As we said in our last article, you need to make sure that you are taking good care of your bar. You don’t want to let it hit the ground after you remove the weights. Do not drop an empty bar, letting the bar hit the ground can damage the bearings/bushings. Remember to remove the weights from the bar when you’re done. Storing weights on hanging bars can cause the bar to bend over time. Be sure to check your training area for any sharp edges that could damage your bar. Wear collars at all times to prevent movement of the plates on the bars. Proper care and maintenance of your weights can keep them performing well for a lifetime.