mackgoo

Years ago I believe I remember reading a Velo News article regarding chain waxing. As good as the article was with all the explained benefits I just couldn't wrap my head around "all that work". Fas forward a decade or so the advent of COVID working from home and watching You Tube I came across ozcycling this guy, again brought out the benefits, but also made the process seem so easy. So I jumped in and can't see going back.



Let's share our experiences process and what we use here for the sharing of information as well as a resource for others.



For me, I'm using Oz Cyclings mix 500g of paraffin wax and 50g of PTFE (<1.6µm).



For cleaning the chain I used his process, Soaked the chain in petrol then a degreaser and then Mentholated spirits to get the chain nice and clean for the wax to stick.



Swished the chain in the warm liquid wax mix until the bubbles stopped implying all air was displaced and the wax got into the important areas.



Take the chain out let it cool some and then free up the links and install.



After the initial laborious clean, now I remove the chain and pour boiled water over the chain. This removes the old wax and it's ready for the waxing process. That all takes less than 10 minutes.



I bought a cheap crock pot for the waxing, cost about 15 bucks.



More to come.

shelbyfv

Good to hear!

cyccommute 

Oh, let’s not. It’s a dead horse that has been be beaten so much that there aren’t even bones left.

I will comment on this part: First, the whole process is overly complicated and unnecessary as well as back assward. If anything, use polarity of the solvents as your guide and start with the polar solvents…water based degreaser and methanol…first, then use the nonpolar mineral spirits. Or save yourself a lot of time and skip to the mineral spirits first.

But, far more importantly, DO NOT USE PETROL (OR GASOLINE IN THE US)!!! As a chemist, I know how to handle petrol safely in a laboratory situation. Also as a chemist, I know the hazards of gasoline in a laboratory setting and what can happen if it is used anywhere. It is a dangerous material that can easily ignite and is known to burn down houses and kill…yes, kill!…people who use it carelessly. There are other solvents that are just as effective, yet far safer to use.

Wattsup

Gulf Wax, no additives. New chain, a couple of rinses of mineral spirits, and then a wash with isopropyl. Melt wax in crockpot, attach chain to homemade "hangar", (a hangar bent into a J-shape. Lay on top of wax. heat wax to at least 185 degrees, no more than 210. Pull chain out, slip off of J-shape, hang to dry, break links. Simple. When wax gets dirty, replace with another two sticks of Gulf wax....costs about $ 4 bucks I think.

Kontact 

Put chain in saucepan, melt wax on top. When wax completely liquid, hang chain over pan to drip and cool. The wax will have displaced the old lube - no need for cleaning.

When wax in pan is cold, turn over pan and tap - the wax puck will fall out.


Total cost - the wax.
Time needed - 30 minutes from chain off to chain back on.


Don't over think it.

grumpus

Why bother? It's already been done to death in other places.Petrol is extremely hazardous. Kerosene works fine to remove old lube, followed by hot soapy water to remove grit. Mentholated spirits may be fun (Jägermeister is described as such) but methylated spirits is probably what you meant.
Really?

maddog34

a quick search brought up Three Pages of threads on this same subject.

SMH.

soyabean

Agreed.

I love gasoline.

Nothing cleans faster. It melts everything.

It's cheap, can be reused almost indefinitely. Glass jars are my friends.

I endorse it as one of the best cleaners out there.

As for the haters, don't worry about it. I'm good.

squirtdad

Or just use a dry wax lube...... have just tried the Silca Super Secret and so far it has been great. of course they wanted the clean of mineral spirits/turpentine, orange degreaser and then acetone

GhostRider62

I prefer SP260 racing gas (unleaded of course) to regular 87 octane myself. I read somewhere it is less flammable and therefore, you might have another second or two before dying. Mineral spirits seem to work good, if you want it to squeek, dunk it in denatured alcohol and then into the wax but I skip the last step. I can get 10,000 miles from a chain and 30,000+ on a cassette.

I actually just throw the chain into the crockpot for about half and hour or so after the first stripping of the factory "grease" or whatever you wish to call the junk on it.

mackgoo

I'll turn the crock pot on low. Exercise then go for a ride. By the time I get back the concoction is melted. I turn off the crock pot take off the chain and boil a kettle of water. Put the chain in a colander and pour the water over the chain throw the chain in the wax swishing it around for 30 seconds or so. Let it sit for five in the wax. pull it out and let it hang for a couple minutes. Loosen the links and put the chain back on. Less than 10 minutes of my time. I can't see doing anything else.

I agree the gas isn't for everyone.

Yes, it's methyl.

cyccommute 

Mineral spirits and/or kerosene will clean just as fast and don’t carry near the risk of gasoline. There is no temperature at which gasoline can be safely used without risk of flammability. The flash point of gasoline is -43°F (-43°C) which means that it takes very little to ignite it. Mineral spirits…which I will reiterate works just as well as gasoline…has a flash point of around 100°F (38°C) or above. It will ignite but is far less likely to do so than gasoline. And if it does ignite, it’s less likely to kill you.

House fires in the US average 160,000 per year. Gasoline accounts for from 6 to 17% of all house fires or from 10,000 to 25,000 house fires started by gasoline that account for 100 of the 200 deaths from home fires per year. Class II flammable liquids like mineral spirits account for 16% of house fires or around 25,000 fires but only 10 of the 200 deaths from house fires per year. Mineral spirits burns but it doesn’t burn as vigorously nor as hot as gasoline.

BCDrums

Are you making with the jokes? My impression has been that you are a sensible fella, forgive me if I am gullible.

As the bikers say in Boston, Are you shifting me?

And yet, some wonder...Immersive waxing/it should be more popular

Polaris OBark

https://www.roadbikereview.com/threa....386097/unread

shelbyfv

Good catch.

Eric F 

I’ve been using the Silca Super Secret, too. My cleaning process included just a good shake and soak in Muc-Off Drivetain Cleaner, and a water rinse. So far, I really like the lube (quiet!), and the fact that my drivetrains stay so much cleaner.

That said, I’m a little worried that SSS is the gateway drug to hardcore waxing, and a paraffin dependency problem.

CrimsonEclipse

Yeah, waxing is fine.
Hurts like hell, but there's less chafing after a long ride and I feel much cooler.
Not to mention the value of having the extra visual in-

Oh the chains!....

Um... yeah sure why not?

bblair

But if you do yourself a hot wax, then the gasoline, how's that workin'?

Camilo

Hooo boy....

Immersive waxing / it should be more popular - Bike Forums

elcruxio

Don't many nonpolar solvents leave an oily film. As in they don't all evaporate fully? At least turpentine and xylene leave a smell that just doesn't seem to disappear.

My impression was that the polar solvent was meant to flush out any residue of the more potent nonpolar solvents. Though that's just what I've read somewhere so I don't really know.

Yeah I need to stop using white gas. It's great for multifuel burners but sloshing it around jars has started giving me the creeps.

Good thing ceramic apeed came out with their UFO cleaner. I hear it's quite effective and completely non flammable.

cyccommute 

Not really nor does it matter. Wax and mineral spirits…and even oil for that matter…are in the same homologous series and are completely compatible. If the solvent did leave residue, it would not interfere with the wax. There is this silly idea floating around that wax is somehow incompatible with solvents or that oil prevent adhesion. That idea is wrong. A new chain doesn’t even really need to be cleaned of the factory lube…which is a wax on its own. Hot wax is a solvent and will remove the factory lube.



White gas or white spirits or mineral turpentine or mineraalitärpätti (in Finnish) are all similar products but are not petrol or gasoline (US). White gas or stove fuel has a lower flash point than mineral spirits…0°F or -17°C vs 70°F or 20°C…which makes it a little easier to ignite but the flash point is no where near that of petrol.

I wouldn’t be so quick to say that UFO is nonflammable. The SDS says it a category 4 flammable which means a flashpoint of above 60°C (140°F) and below 93°C (199°F). It’ll burn but it’s harder to get started than most mineral spirits formulations and white gas. It’s a whole lot less flammable than petrol. Bit much for a liter, however. Amazon has it for $45 per liter. Ouch!

Something I’ve discovered recently that works really well on grease is Armor All Extreme wheel and tire cleaner. It cuts through grease and oil quite handily…better than Simple Green. I wouldn’t use it on a chain but it does a good job on the homebrew oiled bikes we get at my co-op.

squirtdad

read the SSS origin story (aka marketing crap) they started to develop a new wax and ended up with the SSS so am thinking little gateway drug issues

elcruxio

That's true enough. In my case I clean the chains prior because I don't want to taint the wax with oils or softer waxes. That would however be solved with using a cleaning wax prior to the actual wax.

In terms of water emulsified waxes I believe the cleaning and removing of oily films is essential because I don't think the water emulsion has any way of displacing oils from the chain. I could be wrong but I just don't see a way how it could be done.



I though white spirit was naphta. At least that's what I've been using.
Which is all the more confusing because I've recently learned that naphta is just a general term for a certain category of petroleum distillates. Does a standardized naming scheme even exist for this stuff?

I wonder how they are able to claim the stuff as biodegradable if it has flammable solvents in it? Technically vegetable oils are solvents but... Is ethanol biodegradable?
Again, this is all so confusing...

In the past you could buy this stuff called Pineline. It was made of pine oil and smelled horrible but hot diggity did it strip every microgram of oil off anything it touched, including chains. The stuff would dull the shine off a car if you cleaned with a stronger than 1 to 200 parts solution.
For some reason it's not sold anymore. You get "pineline power wash" but it's not the same. The new stuff barely touches chain oil and the smell isnt' the same.

Kai Winters

I was a "negative nancy" regarding waxing the chain.
We use a standard paraffin wax at the shop where I work. I was "forced" to wax a new chain for a customer. The process was easy enough and when I put the chain on the bike and ran it through a few times I was impressed at the quiet of the drive train.
I did one of my own for my Aethos. First ride I immediately noticed how quiet the drive train is and an actual feel of smoothness in the chain rings as the chain passed over. The coating of wax really smooths out the chain feel...so silky !
I have since gone down the rabbit hole. I have two crock pots in my home shop. One with Molten wax and the other with Silca Super Secret. I've used both, on separate chains, and honestly don't notice the difference except the silence and silky feel of the drive train.
Whether it saves a watt or two doesn't really matter to me though I understand "marginal gains".
I also notice how clean the chain and drive train is after a week of riding...I generally ride over 200 miles per week which can make a chain icky but not so when coated in wax.
I'm a convert ! ! !

Dan Burkhart 

The Silca rep was in the shop last week trying to sell us on the pro shop waxing system. Telling us all about the shops that are making mega bucks with it and how it is taking the cycling world by storm. (Gawd how I hate that phrase)
The boss is considering it, but I don't know how seriously.