Not to sound like a smarta**, but you're supposed to install the outer race before you pack the bearing
. And even with a packer, dealing with bearings is going to be a messy job. Virtually all of them fill the center hole, but there's no real need to get it perfectly cleaned out, just get the bulk out and quick wipe with towell will do. One thing you can do to help with the mess is wear latex or nitril gloves. get them fom a pharmacey or medical supply store, much cheaper that the ones they sell at the flaps, and you get 10 times as many.
Now, personally, at work I'll use the packer, but I always go and give them a second packing by hand, gust to be sure that they are fully packed. At home, I just do it by hand.
