Originally Posted by
gregf83
Why are you leaving the chain in the wax for two hours?
To allow the chain, which is at ambient temperature, to reach the temperature of the melted wax (210 *F). Now that the wax has taken the shape of the crock pot, next time I will just heat both wax and chain at the same time.
Originally Posted by
gregf83
I don’t know about acetone, I just use mineral spirits for the initial cleaning. A little oil residue on the chain will dissolve in the hot wax so no need to have it perfectly clean.
After studying chemistry some more, I learned that acetone is too polar to work as a good solvent for bike lube, so that was quite a bit of residual oil and/or grease. I have managed to order odorless mineral spirts from an arts and crafts supply store.