Wednesday afternoon progress update. Saw quite a lot of black gunk on the chain, cassette, jockey wheels, rear derailleur, right chain stay, and chain rings, and almost decided right then to quit waxing. Thankfully, it turns out that this black gunk is waxy, not greasy, and quite easily brushed off with stiff brushes. Boiled the chain in water and Dawn three times to remove the residual black wax, then dragged it over a Sonicare toothbrush with Dawn, rinsed clean with water, then baked in oven at 220 *F to dry. After cooling, the chain was agitated for 10 minutes in, and then left immersed in, odorless mineral spirits but the solvent did not darken; I sure hope this means that the chain is finally clean enough for my next attempt at waxing.
The problem with immersion waxing is that wax is only needed at the pivot points, not in the spaces between the rollers at either ends of a link. How do I minimize the latter? The first time, I unplugged the Crock Pot and waited 10 minutes before I pulled the chain out. Tomorrow, I will unplug the Crock Pot and then pull out the chain right away to let more wax drip off.