Wet Lube clean up

[iluvmybike]

Gosh, poor old OP only asked how to get some mucky lubes stains off their frame and it ends up in an argument about wax dlows!!!

 

[fraz101]

Gosh, poor old OP only asked how to get some mucky lubes stains off their frame and it ends up in an argument about wax dlows!!!

I’m enjoying the debate…..keep going lads.

 

[iluvmybike]

I’m enjoying the debate…..keep going lads.

and lasses...

 

[nlmkiii]

I'll give the Wax method another try, using :

PTFE Powder 50g + Refined Paraffin Wax 500g

Seems okay if you get the wax right, but with Molten Speed Wax sitting at £20 a pack it’s just as cost effective to buy that and it’s probably the second best wax on the market.

I’d guess that if giving it a go it’s safest to try a well known product as that way you know you haven’t made any mistakes so if it doesn’t work out it’s definitely not that. It sounds like you know what you’re doing though in picking the right base wax, so maybe you’re all good!

 

[fraz101]

Seems okay if you get the wax right, but with Molten Speed Wax sitting at £20 a pack it’s just as cost effective to buy that and it’s probably the second best wax on the market.

I’d guess that if giving it a go it’s safest to try a well known product as that way you know you haven’t made any mistakes so if it doesn’t work out it’s definitely not that. It sounds like you know what you’re doing though in picking the right base wax, so maybe you’re all good!

Link to a decent priced wax melt cooker?

 

[nlmkiii]

Link to a decent priced wax melt cooker?

Search crockpot slow cooker on Amazon. 1.8L is fine. Should cost about £15

You could get the 3L too for easier swishing. Takes up more space in the workshop though!

 

[nlmkiii]

I was thinking about getting this slow cooker from Argos 1.8 Litres for £15. (Looks similar to the Amazon item.)
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9306561?clickSR=slp:term:crock pot slow cooker:1:24:1

I've ordered the PTFE Powder 50g + Refined Paraffin Wax 500g from £16.75
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325089309670

Yeah that’s the same one. It’s the one I have

Waxing my 7 year old daughters frog bike chain tonight. Some say it’s overkill but it seems so much easier to me

Hope it goes well!

 

[nlmkiii]

I was thinking about getting this slow cooker from Argos 1.8 Litres for £15. (Looks similar to the Amazon item.)
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9306561?clickSR=slp:term:crock pot slow cooker:1:24:1

I've ordered the PTFE Powder 50g + Refined Paraffin Wax 500g from £16.75
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325089309670

One other thing is to make sure you do it on a new chain. Then prep the hell out of that chain with white spirit in shaker bottles, and then rinse through with a couple of shakes in isopropyl alcohol.

It’s almost impossible to get an old chain clean enough for the wax to work properly. (Maybe with a lot of work and an ultrasonic, but new is better).

 

[nlmkiii]

• I soaked the new chain in white spirit multiple times and left it soaking for a few days, then rinsed it in meths and wiped it clean.
• Melted the 500g wax in the new slow cooker and added the 50g PTFE powder. (Took over an hour to melt.)
• Stirred the mixture, put the new chain in the pot on a wire and swished it about.
• Left it for 1/4 hour and swished the chain about again.
• Took the chain out of the pot, shook the excess wax off, left the chain to dry
• Fitted the chain while it was a bit stiff with wax, because I wanted to keep as much wax on the chain as possible to avoid rust.)

I'll take the bike (and chain) out on a ride tomorrow.

I've used the wax method before, but used just candle wax and a bit of oil.
See my post from 2016:
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/t...-chain-oil-and-bike-lube.203374/#post-4355699

yeah this looks great. The only difference for me is not shaking off the excess wax (same reason as you said with wanting to keep as much in as possible), but I think it's a minor detail. Looks great.

You should see very different results as to with candle wax and oil.

 

[T4tomo]

yeah this looks great. The only difference for me is not shaking off the excess wax (same reason as you said with wanting to keep as much in as possible), but I think it's a minor detail. Looks great.

You should see very different results as to with candle wax and oil.

Have you actually started using the melted wax method yet, as about a month ago you were just considering it and regurgitating the stuff you'd read on the internet.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Have you actually started using the melted wax method yet, as about a month ago you were just considering it and regurgitating the stuff you'd read on the internet.

You might say that he’d been waxing lyrical about it…

 

[Paulus]

I clean my chain with white spirit to get all the crud off, a good through wipe down and then a lube on each pin with this. Has worked well for 60 odd years.

 

[nlmkiii]

Have you actually started using the melted wax method yet, as about a month ago you were just considering it and regurgitating the stuff you'd read on the internet.

Regurgitating stuff read off the internet is a bit nonsense. "quoting science" is probably more apt.

but yes I've been doing it. It's been great.

 

[harlechjoe]

Yep, you're putting too much lube on the chain. Top tips:

1. I remove mess from the chain stays with a baby wipe.
2. Once a month I run my chain through a chain bath which helps remove detritus. There is little point in putting lube on top of dirt.

Enjoy your Cycling !

 

[I like Skol]

Somehow have avoided whole pages of this thread, but just got up to date now.

As a lifelong wetlube'r I do have one problem with the hot wax system on a practicality front.

Just means you only have to full immerse after wet rides

So that would be every other commute then? This is Manchester commuting, bike and rider can arrive home dripping wet and covered in road grime (despite mudguards which strangely offer no protection from the water that falls out of the sky). I think on top of a 12hr shift that equates to a 14+hr day including the commute it would be somewhat a faff to be swapping chains every few days, not to mention the cost of continually powering the crock pot.

I think my non-obsessive wet lube regime with a chain life of 1.5-2k is a fair compromise in the real world.

Maybe the hot wax treatment is fine for a leisure rider that only really rides on sunny Sundays in summer? Can't see it working for winter commuters.