ls01

you need to add more Parrafin oil (lamp oil) to your mixture. That will prevent the shedding.

DaveSSS 

If oil is added to wax, make it a high quality lubricating oil like auto gear lube, not lamp oil. 20-30% by weight will not separate from the wax.

SpedFast

I just keep an old paint brush handy and sweep it off.

masi61

It occurred to me that hollow pin chains would not be good candidates for waxing since the dried wax would go to waste filling up the hollow pins. But then I also thought that if a hollow pin chain had tiny cross drilled holes that this would be potentially a great way to work more wax into the internals of the chain. AFAIK, no hollow chain has this, but I can't see why a manufacturer could not easily make a chain like this that is wax ready.

jonathanf2

Just curious how intensive is everyone's chain degreasing? I've been shying away from using chemical degreasing mainly because I don't want to dump chemicals in my backyard or ruin the plumbing by pouring abrasive liquids down my drain. I found using boiling hot water and dish soap in an ultrasonic cleaner, does an adequate job for my needs. I repeat the process 2-3 times and I also use a cotton swab to remove any left residue. Once done, the chain appears to be spotless and greaseless. I'm not really seeing any downsides to this method and it's cheaper and more environmental as well.

It might seem like overkill, but I find the whole process very rewarding!

ls01

It's the same as the wax, paraffin. It mearly softens the wax. Makes it less brittle at room temperature so it doesn't flake off. It makes ot stickier do it adheres to the plates too. Gear lube will attract dust. dirt, and debris. Exactly what you don't want.

ls01

2 immersion in mineral spirits and a final in dawn dish soap and water is all I ever did.

ls01

The wax is as thin as water when heated it gets in there real nice and deep like. Hollow pins don't take up much wax and once filled stay filled unless you poke the wax out.

masi61

But spare wax in a hollow pin does nothing really but waste wax. My point is that if that hollow pin was cross drilled, it would permit improved wax penetration where you really need the wax. This potentially could produce a waxed chain that does not need any refresh for much, much longer intervals.

ls01

ok. It's your chain. But the wax gets into the roller, actually the space between the roller and pin and the plates. The solidified wax isn't going to flow out of the hollow pin and into the space around it. Are you going to drill through the roller and the pin? Or disassemble every pin drill it and the reassemble the chain?
Edit; as far as waste goes it might waste .5 of a tablespoon filling in the pins on a chain.

jonathanf2

Do you use an ultrasonic cleaner? The moment I turn it on with boiling water and soap, I immediately see the grease dissolve off the chain. I find using boiling hot water really makes a difference. I use one of those quick kettle boilers in the kitchen, so it's a fairly easy process.

jadmt

freshly waxed chain notice how it is straight out

jonathanf2

Nothing beats a "crispy" waxed chain!

masi61

The solidified wax in a hollow pin chain would make a premium lightweight hollow pin chain not a great choice for waxing unless.... the hollow pin allowed the wax to flow better into the internals.

Lombard

I don't wax my chain because it's not hairy.

ls01

Nope. In a glass jar with a lid. If it's a new chain I let it soak for a while to dissolve the Cosmoline, give it a shake. Then put it in fresh mineral spirits and shake for a couple minutes. Remove and place in Dawn detergent and hot water shake rinse and blow off with compressed air. Into the crock pot. let sit for 10 minutes, hang to cool. Install after it gets to room temp.

ls01

Wax works the same be it hollow pin or not. A piece of wax 1/16th of an inch by roughly 25 " long would weigh ...? .5 of a gram? You really worried about the weight of some lube in the pins of a chain? Okey dokely

SoSmellyAir

In my experience, Dawn and boiling water are insufficient for Shimano factory grease. Plus, as cyccommute points out, residual water may cause rust and deter wax adhesion. So I used two rounds of odorless mineral spirits.

You can just bring the used solvent to one of the hazardous waste disposal centers: LA County DPW - Permanent Centers

I bring mine to the Irvine one along with my used motor oil.

jonathanf2

I don't leave the chain in the ultrasonic cleaner after it finishes and I wipe it down as soon as I remove it. I let the chain air dry outside for about 30 minutes. Also wouldn't placing the chain in the melted wax displace any residual water? I haven't notice any rust on my chains using this method and I do check the chains thoroughly. My other issue is that my skin is sensitive to chemical degreasers. Even if I wear gloves sometimes it gets messy, so I'd prefer to find a green solution to chain degreasing.

Maelochs

I degrease with SimpleGreen ... which for all I know ids more toxic than molten phenol or something (I know nothing about toxicity .... huffed too much acetone as a kid, can't remember how to do online research .... Hey, I hear acetone works!) Gasoline works too .... or mineral spirits. I just use SimpleGreen so I can be a sheeple and buy the marketing.

I do recommend Completely drying the chain because I read somewhere that the wax will Not displace the water, rather it encapsulates it ... but because I don't know science (huffed to much SimpleGreen as a young adult) I have no clue if that is true .... but I did read it on the internet.

Camilo

Or something nano?

Camilo

What's the purpose of the final soap and water?
I just use two swishes in mineral spirits (two small plastic jars) It results in very, very little "waste" mineral spirits - just the tiny bit of sludge at the bottom which is so easy to decant off.

ls01

It's just to get ride of any trace of oil or grease. It's part if the process I learned to get a chain ready for wax. There is/was a belief that wax will not stick to the metal if there's oil on it. There's a residue on the chain after the mineral spirits dries. I don't want to blow that all over my garage when I dry the chain with compressed air.

eduskator

I also do this.

1) Overnight soak in fuel
2) A few hours in rubbing alcohol
3) Then shake it in hot soapy water, rinse with hot water and let it dry

spelger

i use liquid plutonium for my final rinse. helps me see my drive train when i ride at night.