Paint thinner to clean chain?
 

OK, so I really wanted my chain clean, and I was out of the bio-degreaser that I usually use, so I put paint thinner in my chain cleaner. Did the trick, although it stinks. Question is, was this a stupid thing to do as a one-time solution, or ok and no harm done?

No harm done. A lot of people use solvent to clean their chain including myself.

Was it methyl-ethyl-ketone based? 'Coz if it is, it will probably have removed every last skerrick of lube, which means you have to be especially careful when re-lubing to make sure the links are properly lubricated.

Paint thinner is generally kerosene. That's one of the best solvent to clean your chain with. Leave it hanging outside until it all evaporates before installing it.

Most of the "bio-degradable" stuff if pretty nasty chemicals that you won't want on your skin or the fumes in your lungs.

Oderless spirits, ie paint thinner, is probably the best degreaser to use on your chain.

I have 2 chains, with master links, and rotate them every weekend. The one I take off goes in a container of paint thinner and sits till the following week. Doing that with most other cleaners, including the citrus based 'bio' green ones, are not advised.

I don't think anyone uses kerosene to thin paint. Maybe you mean turpentine, but only some paints can be thinned using turps. Most modern paints use the nasty stuff for thinning, and you don't want that stuff on your chain, bye bye lube.

I agree that kerosene is very good for cleaning chains though.

Ummm, what do you think everyones been talking about ?
The discussion has been about using it AS a cleaner, solvent, degreaser, not a lubricant :)

Kerosene is good (bp 150 - 275 Celsius), mineral spirits (bp 150 - 200 Celsius) is good. Both are mixtures of hydrocarbons; the higher grades of mineral spirits (odorless) have the small amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons removed. Mineral spirits also known as Stoddard solvent or white spirits.

Gasoline a bit too volatile but also works; I don't recommend it. Fumes can get into your clothing and catch fire under the right conditions. [Saw a buddy turn into a fireball for a second after he was trying to start a car by pouring gas into the carbuerator. He backed away from the car but we're guessing a spark from a wrench hitting the concrete is what ignited him. ]

Kerosene isn't as clean as mineral spirits but it's cheaper.

Be sure to use gloves when working with this stuff. It'll go through your skin. Also not a good idea to be huffing the stuff.

Turpentine is distilled from wood sap and can leave a sticky residue.

Once you get that chain perfectly clean, use a spray or liquid lube to protect it.

I discovered a new favorite method the other day..


Starter fluid. Not only does it break up the grease like no other, evaporate nice and fast...but the force at which it comes out of the can enables a VERY quick cleaning.

^^^ I agree. Starter fluid tastes good too.

I like to use "gunscrubber" an aerosol degreaser that dries after a few seconds. I clean it good, let it dry then re-lube.

I'll be sure and test that out next time lol

Start the pool now. How long before sombody sets their garage on fire :eek:

:rolleyes:

The garage is the only place to work on a bike...

"Paint thinner" is too generic a term. Avoid toluene-it's toxic. Some thinners strip all oils off the chain, and some bio-degreasers contain acids, which is bad for any metal.
I use varsol-it doesn't over-dry the chain or attack the new lube, with the Park Tool tornado, this is a 15 second job. Varsol will not damage the bike paint, and its not as flammable as paint thinner.

Mineral spirits (paint thinner) is generally more refined and lower boiling than kerosene. Kerosene is closer to diesel or fuel oil than to mineral spirits. Kerosene also isn't that volatile so it would leave a residue behind on brushes which is not desirable. Both kerosene and mineral spirits (as well as white gas) are excellent grease cutters although they are flammable. If I were to choose however, I'd use mineral spirits over kerosene because it dries much, much quicker and cleaner.

Mineral spirits are not ketones as some other posters have stated although some formulations may have some ketone in them. Generally ketones are not very good grease cutters because they are too polar. Ketones also tend to make oil base paints 'gummy' when the bush is cleaned which is why they aren't generally used in thinners.

As for the bio-degradable stuff, cyclingtom is right on the money! While I wouldn't use any chemical without gloves (nitrile ones are good, latex less so), I would be doubly careful with the biodegradable solvents. These solvents are usually highly basic and, as such, are very corrosive to the skin. I've looked at the MSDS for them and some of them are caustic enough that they shouldn't be put down a drain (higher than pH 9). If you get some on your skin, it isn't the end of the world but rinse it off with lots of water. You will feel a 'soapy' feeling from the base in the mixture. Keep rinsing until you skin doesn't feel 'soapy' any more and then rinse for a while longer.

There is no problem with removing all of the lubrication. That's what the cleaning process is for. With all of the lubrication (oils) removed all of the contaminants that act as grinding paste in between the links, is removed also. Your chain will last longer that way. Most people over lube their chains anyway so reapply lubrication sparingly.

All of the above is good except for the boiling ranges of mineral spirits. I've seen temperature ranges more in the 120 -200C range but it just a minor quibble;)

Toluene isn't that much more toxic than mineral spirits just a bit more flammable (it's one component of automotive gasoline). I wouldn't bath in the stuff but you aren't going to die tomorrow if you get some on you.

The biodegreasers I've looked at are solutions of citric acids in aqueous alkaline medium. That makes them basic salts rather than acidic. High concentrations of bases are just as bad for metals as acidic medium.

I just recently cleaned my chain thoroughly because I was trying a new lube. I used a chain cleaner (Park) with Zep citrus degreaser. I followed that up with soap and water, then plain water in the chain cleaner. Finally I sprayed the chain and cogs with WD-40 and wiped everything down and let dry before applying the new lube (Pedro's Road Rage). Probably way overkill but I think any degreaser is fine as long as you don't soak the chain in it too long (except for the ones known to be safe for this), don't get too much on you, and remove the residue afterwards. I don't think I've ever gotten a chain so clean that it didn't make a gritty sound when flexing the links, though. That grit is really hard to remove.

The biggest problem I have with any degreaser is how to responsibly dispose of it afterwards. Supposedly you can recycle mineral spirits/kerosene by putting it in a bottle and letting the gunk settle out, but whenever I try this the stuff just remains a thick black mess indefinitely (maybe that's normal, I don't know).

I would avoid WD40-it will affect the new lube and thin it out.
I've been using the same jar of Varsol for years, just let it sit and decant off the clean solvent.

The only thing that will 'settle' out of the cleaner is the bits of minerals (ground rocks and dirt) and the metal that comes from the plates moving past each other with bits of minerals there to lap the metal joints. The lubricant is dissolved in the cleaner. It won't come out unless you were distill the cleaner. In the case of the mineral spirits, you could recover the hydrocarbon fraction and reuse it. If you are using biodegradeable cleaners, the only thing that would distill is water and someother organic bits in the solution. In both cases you'd be left with a solid mass that you would still have to dispose of. The other issue is that this is very energy and labor intensive. It's going to cost you dollars to recover pennies of solvent.

It's best just to collect it, both biodegradeable and hydrocarbon, and turn it in when you community has a household hazardous materials collection.

Sometimes while i clean my chain a bit of product use for cleaning ran into my bike frame (sometimes i use gasoline and somethimes other). In the case of the paint thinner , can be dangerous if it go into a carbon frame?
To be honest with this doubt i prefer take the chain off and wash in the old way (by letting it sink into a jar with degreaser or others).

Here's a nice snapshot of the varieties available of one brand's solvents and thinners. The instructions I followed for cleaning a new chain included first the use OMS, followed by denatured alcohol. Kleen Strip calls theirs "FUEL"

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...381d5e3973.jpg

Mineral spirits won't hurt a carbon fiber frame. I switched to crown brand camp stove fuel from Walmart because it's far less expensive and dries faster. I also use it to make my paraffin base liquid chain lube.