Wet lube after immersive wax
#1
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Wet lube after immersive wax
After and immersive wax treatment on a chain has worn off after a few 100km, can I simply switch to using a wet lube on the chain, or would some sort of specific cleaning in-between the change be required?
And before everyone brings it up I am well aware that switching from wet lube back to wax will require an intensive clean.
And before everyone brings it up I am well aware that switching from wet lube back to wax will require an intensive clean.
#2
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I've used Squirt brand chain lube on top of a waxed chain to refresh it, and more recently Demondtech Lite. Squirt is basically a solution of water, slack wax, and paraffin, so in many ways it is ideal. If you want something less dry, Demondtech works, but you need to spend some time wiping off the excess. Less is more with that stuff. In both cases, going back to wax is simple. For Squirt, you don't really have to do anything apart from wiping the chain off to remove dust, and dumping it back in melted paraffin. In the case of Demondtech, a quick cleaning in mineral spirits was more than adequate. If you don't mind getting your wax dirty, you can probably skip that, too.
I've been to Perth once, but the only biking I got to do there was on a rental on Rottnest Island off Fremantle.
I've been to Perth once, but the only biking I got to do there was on a rental on Rottnest Island off Fremantle.
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And before everyone brings it up I am well aware that switching from wet lube back to wax will require an intensive clean.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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Squirt. People say you do best toughing up the waxed chain with Squirt.
I have tried using a different wax-based tough-up and it seems okay.
I have tried using a different wax-based tough-up and it seems okay.
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I suggest cleaning the chain excellently before re-waxing .... not just oil, but all the gunk stuck in the oil.
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Wet lube over wax is fine. Any wax remaining in the chain will be surrounded by oil and eventually dissolve.
I'm with cyccommute on cleaning before re-waxing. Wipe the chain off well, lay it on top of your wax, and heat it. Gunk will end up at the bottom of the wax block when it cools, after you've pulled the chain out, where you can either ignore it or turn the block over and scrape it off.
I'm with cyccommute on cleaning before re-waxing. Wipe the chain off well, lay it on top of your wax, and heat it. Gunk will end up at the bottom of the wax block when it cools, after you've pulled the chain out, where you can either ignore it or turn the block over and scrape it off.