Tried waxing my chain for the first time. I did not use a new chain as my current chain is in good condition and has lots of life left. But I have been using wet lube over the winter months so I think a lot of the black gunk was harder to remove than I thought.
I degreased the chain by taking it off the bike completely and used muc off degreaser. Brushed it and soaked about 3 times. Then did 3 times in an isopropyl alcohol bath where I left it for around 10 min each time, shake it about and then repeat. By the last bath the alcohol was clear and when I took the chain out and dried it with a rag, it was very clean. No greasy film to touch. At this point I felt I did the best I could given I don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner.
I used Squirt wax and applied it once round, left for 10min till it dried and then re-applied a second time then backpedaled to try work it through the pins. Left for 24hrs. The picture looks like some remaining black gunk may have been driven out and so the rollers don’t look great. I can see the grey wax is turning grey. Is this bad? Does it mean the wax won’t last and I basically need to repeat the process even more? Really don’t want to have to go through the effort again. Or can I just keep riding and over time new applications of wax should adhere better?
by Alternative-Tomato18
5 Comments
Little typo at the end, the drip wax colour is white and is turning grey*
I think you’re going to end up repeating the process, but there’s no harm in riding it to see what happens. If you end up re-doing it, maybe consider starting with a new chain and keeping this one as a spare.
did you also clean the casette and pulley wheels? or just degrease the chain? because it is possible that is where the old grease is coming from.
squirt goes black dont worry
Looks fine. Next chain, degrease in mineral spirits. Pour some in a glass container, throw in chain, shake, and leave overnight. Next day put the chain in a container containing alcohol, shake, pull out, and dry.