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Many of the reels I've bought in the past (mainly for my wife ) quite casting good after a couple of years. Most of them when you take the cover off and look at the top of the bell, they have a rubber or plastic ring the string rides against. This piece gets wear spots and nicks over time. I try to smooth them out with a SOS pad, but can never get a really good cast out of them. Is there any tips on maintinance and repair of this piece without just replacing it and trying to order hard to find parts?

I'm no expert on reels, esp. closed faced reels. I have seen them offered in a wide range of prices. Maybe you ought to upgrade to better quality? I'm sure some of the guys can give you advice about that. In this area, we're lucky enough to have a watch repair guy who works on all our reels, just had three of mine cleaned. It also helps that he's a pro-am bass fisherman. Not much help, just a thought. Good luck. Carl

The rubber ring is designed to hold the line via friction when your pressing on the button. As soon as you release the button the spool is relaxed from the rubber ring and line is evacuated via the cast. Any thing you can do to reduce line friction against the ring will extend life of the rubber. A shot of lube on the line once in a while will help. Braided line will be more abrasive to the ring than Mono. I would try using Gamakatsu G power copolymer line as it features a silicone coating and will most likely diminish the rubber ring wear you have experienced.

I don't own a closed face reel but my tournament partner swears by them (Daiwa) and that's all he fishes with.

Hope this helps
Bassin Butch