I currently wax my “nice weather” road bike, and I’m thinking of going for it with the full fleet. The bot via Silca’s “contact us” site says it’s ok to use Chain Stripper degreaser on a used chain, but I’m wondering if anyone has tried it and would recommend.
I have a rain bike, CX bike, and MTB that are all running Synergetic at the moment, not to mention my wife’s road and MTB. None are due for a new chain for a good long time, and while I’d like to get off of oil for cleanliness, I don’t really want to toss chains that have plenty of life left in them.
I live in the US Pacific Northwest, so wet weather is likely on all these bikes I’m looking to convert (planning to run Silca immersion wax with an Endurance chip), and given I have to clean these bikes a lot, I’m warming to the idea of just popping the chain off and re-waxing rather than constantly having to degrease and reapply oil.
I have used Silca’s Chain Stripper on used chains to convert them to wax. Just get as much of the old lube off as possible first using whatever method is at your disposal.
Previously was using UFO drip on a chain and to ensure it was clean before going full wax I did the Silca Chain Stripper process without issue. One thing I wish I didn’t do was follow their reuse instructions as there must have been finer particles in it than a coffee filter would keep out.
Yeah, I have not been super successful with filtering used Chain Stripper after removing factory grease from a chain. It seems to me the better move is to let the particulate settle to the bottom of a jar, pour off the more pure Chain Stripper liquid, and then decide if filtering or disposing of what’s left is more economical in terms of time and materials. For me it seems nothing really drips through the coffee filter, or if so it’s extremely slow, so I’d rather decant off as much liquid as possible.
I did that (for a road bike) and worked very well. Just have a little more patience and make sure that the chain is really clean. I kept it some more minutes in the stripper and repeated for 2/3 times. It should be fine. Don’t forget you can reuse the Stripper (by passing it through a coffee filter before you pour it into the bottle.
Ah and did not regretted, wax converted now. It so much easier and less messy (IMHO)
I maintain 5 bikes (road, gravel and MTB for me, and road & MTB for my wife) with Silca waxed chains. I typically top up the lube with Silca super secret wax emulsion lube as part of the post-ride wash routine, and then rewax every 500 - 1000km, depending on the bike and conditions. When I rewax, I make sure the chain is clean. If it’s just dirty from dust, I will clean by dropping the chain in jug of boiling water, and then wiping any remaining residue. If the chain looks to have gathered some grime or grease, I will use a small amount of Silca Chain Stripper in a plastic jar, and shake hard to loosen the grease. I then rinse the residue off under the garden hose, aiming at the links and the pins. You learn to ‘feel’ when the chain is clean by how it swings lightly and the slight metallic noise it makes when you’re holding it. The chain is then ready for a full rewax using the Silca melted wax immersion system.
There might be a problem with how much dirt you’ve accumulated in the chain. You cold try shaking that chain with the degreaser to see how much stuff comes out. If you already had an ultrasonic - don’t go out and buy one just for this - you could try to US clean it after the Silca stuff to see if you’ve got all the dirt out. You might be surprised at how much is inside a chain.
Yeah, I think that is the one big question mark. I am pretty good about cleaning the drivetrain after dirty rides, but I might do a round or two with regular degreaser or use a friend’s ultrasonic to be really sure.
I use Simple Green Aircraft for degreasing chains (and anything else on my bike). Its what Silca recommended prior to producing their stripper. Its safe on bike parts, effective and can be decanted for re-use. And its about the same price for a gallon of SG Aircraft as 16oz Silca Chain Stripper.
I used Simple Green Aircraft as cleaner with oil based lubed chains and now as an initial wash/rinse on new chains before the Silca Stripper prior to waxing to hopefully make the Silca last longer. The chains seem to come out with less residue on them after the Silca wash although maybe another round of the SG would have had the same effect.
I think the main reason used chains aren’t recommended to convert to wax is that since the chain is already worn you won’t see the expected long life that you see if start with a fresh chain. It’s not that you can’t really get the chain clean, but that it’s questionable whether it is worth doing on a chain with much of its life gone. I think the advice not to use a used chain is mainly aimed at people converting to wax for the first time. In your case where you have a system set up and you understand that your chains are not going to have a magically long life just because you start waxing you should just go ahead and try it. I would choose the bike with the newest chain and give it a shot.
Disclaimer: I have not converted to wax myself, yet.
Silca’s chain stripper will work exactly as advertised, probably better on the used chain since all the grease and oil has been oxidized and mixed with dirt. I would probably do two cycles with thorough water rinse in between then after the last water rinse a thorough shake in denatured alcohol to help it dry out before the first immersion wax treatment. I definitely wouldn’t overthink this one.
As an aside, I too have had a good time using various dilutions of Simple Green HD (purple not green) in my ultrasonic machines.
I have, for the past 6 years, strained stripper solvents through paper coffee filters. Works well to get dirt/grit, and a fair bit of factory grease sludge, out of the solvents.
I’ve used it, no problem, imho, use the chain you have now as it is, once it’s dead, then go over to wax and completely reset your drive train. It’s so much more easier.
I’ve also stopped filtering my chain stripper. I can only assume that anyone who has success with this has a coarser grade of filter than I use as mine just clog after about 10 seconds. Settling then decanting works well though.
Concur. A filter* can only remove solids from a liquid, thus it cannot remove “factory grease” from solution: grease is just oil plus soap to stop it leaking out.
Assuming we are talking about standard filtration: once we get to RO “filters” that’s an entirely different ball game, being based on molecular weight discrimination. I’ve been working with ROs for 30 years and have never seen a non-aqueous set up in commercial use so it’s a safe bet that it isn’t what we are talking about.