My adventures in chain waxing: goals, reviews, suggestions...

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MrRolandos
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Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:19 pm

by MrRolandos

Also, do you guys put in the wax together with the solid wax and wait for it all to melt and reach 93C and then just drop the next chain in or do you wait for the wax to melt and reach 93C and then drop the chain in 1 by 1? Only need about 60-120 sec in the wax and no more bubbles right?

tleo
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by tleo

pdlpsher1 wrote:
Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:44 am
Mocs123 wrote:
Tue Apr 05, 2022 1:59 am
I wonder if dropping a magnet into the hot wax might help trap some of those wear partilcles.
I've been using a strong magnet to remove the ferrous metals from the crock pot. I'm amazed at how much crap the magnet takes out. I do this every time I wax a batch of chains (4-6 chains). I posted about this on this thread and asked if anyone else does this. I've never gotten an answer. All of my chains have very minimal wear so I wonder where all of this ferrous metal is coming from.
I haven't been but after reading your original post I'm going to start doing this since I've got some nice magnets and will be interested to see how much metal they pull out.

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pdlpsher1
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by pdlpsher1

The crap I remove with a magnet is visually a solid black color. But once I put the crap on a white paper towel and smear it a bit I can see silvery colored metallic shavings 😲 I use moly powder in my wax but I confirmed that moly powder is non-magnetic. There's so much metallic crap that I usually have to dunk the magnet in the wax around ten times to remove all ferrous metals. If you wax less than four chains at a time you should see less metallic crap.

TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

MrRolandos wrote:
Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:51 am
Also, do you guys put in the wax together with the solid wax and wait for it all to melt and reach 93C and then just drop the next chain in or do you wait for the wax to melt and reach 93C and then drop the chain in 1 by 1? Only need about 60-120 sec in the wax and no more bubbles right?

Either works. I used to put 4 chains on top of the solid wax when using a slow cooker, but that meant leaving the lid off (the swisher tool handles got in the way.) Leaving the lid on and waiting is probably faster.

With the InstantPot, the two bags worth of MSW melt completely in minutes so it doesn’t matter. I just add the chains all at once later because as mentioned previously, I let my wax cool to 140F or so before removal.

bobones
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by bobones

I've been having a small problem with rust appearing on cassettes and chains since I started waxing my chains over the winter. The rust can be particularly unsightly if I forget to dry them off after a wet ride. However, I am happy to report that submerging the cassettes and chains for a few minutes in hot water with citric acid power and agitating with a small steel wire brush is enough to bring them back to pristine condition. It cost me about £4 for a kilogram of citric acid powder and the same for a set of brushes from Amazon. After this treatment I just rinse and dry the cassettes with a heat gun and then wax the chains in my crockpot as usual.

Mimmo89
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Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2019 12:09 pm

by Mimmo89


bobones wrote:I've been having a small problem with rust appearing on cassettes and chains since I started waxing my chains over the winter. The rust can be particularly unsightly if I forget to dry them off after a wet ride. However, I am happy to report that submerging the cassettes and chains for a few minutes in hot water with citric acid power and agitating with a small steel wire brush is enough to bring them back to pristine condition. It cost me about £4 for a kilogram of citric acid powder and the same for a set of brushes from Amazon. After this treatment I just rinse and dry the cassettes with a heat gun and then wax the chains in my crockpot as usual.
Using my bike also for daily commuting I can't always dry it after a wet ride, mainly on my way to work, and I have the same rusting problem with my chains and cassette.

What citric acid powder to water ratio did you use? I will give it a try...

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mgrl
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by mgrl

Imo commuting is not a good use for waxed chains for exactly the reason you describe.

bobones
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by bobones

Mimmo89 wrote:
Thu Apr 07, 2022 11:43 am
What citric acid powder to water ratio did you use? I will give it a try...
I didn't really measure an accurate citric acid to water ratio although I read 20 to 40g per litre is suitable. I put the cassette in a shallow plastic container, just big enough for the cassette, covered it with boiling water, sprinkled in some powder directly from the pouch, stirred and added more until there were some bubbles visible. I guess I used only a handful or so. After a few minutes, I removed the cassette (wearing gloves mainly against heat), brushed it with a toothbrush sized steel wire brush, and the rust marks just disappeared without any effort. I submerged the cassette in clean water to rinse off the acid solution, then dried it with a towel and heat gun. For the chain, I just submerged it in a similar solution for a short time, then ran it through a rag, which cleaned up the surface nicely prior to the wax bath.
mgrl wrote:
Thu Apr 07, 2022 12:26 pm
Imo commuting is not a good use for waxed chains for exactly the reason you describe.
I don't commute, but I ride a lot in the wet, and I still think the benefits of waxing (cleanliness being the main one for me) are worth it.

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kdawg
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by kdawg

I'm a big fan of waxing but I tried my winter bike this year - and I'm not sure it's the best idea. It's wet and cold here for a few months and they dump a lot of salt on the roads. I tried to rinse off the chain regularly but it got rusty - the first time I noticed it it wasn't too bad so I gave it a good clean and it came up okay but the next time the chain was really stiff and I couldn't free it up.

I'm about to change the drivetrain anyway so I just put it back on, oiled it copiously, and crunched along for a few miles until it loosened up.

I love it on my best bike but for a wet weather commuter the rust protection doesn't seem good enough.
I'm left handed, if that matters.

bikeboy1tr
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Location: Southern Ontario Canada

by bikeboy1tr

I would think if your running stainless steel chains the rusting shouldnt be an issue. I wax my chain on the winter bike and use Maxim wax lube as well on top of that and have had np with stainless chains.
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kdawg
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by kdawg

I hadn't thought of that - it's old 105 and as it's my winter/wet bike I just buy cheaper stuff.

I think it's a KMC chain so just the nickel plated one.

I'm about to replace the bike so I'll give it a go with a stainless chain.
I'm left handed, if that matters.

Mimmo89
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by Mimmo89

What are the stainless steel chains out there?

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MikeD
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by MikeD

Mimmo89 wrote:What are the stainless steel chains out there?

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Wipperman and it's only part stainless. It's also expensive.

Aeo
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by Aeo

Look for KMC chains with EPT coating
Giant TCR Adv Pro Disc '17 · BH Lynx Race Evo '19 · Seraph GR029 '21 · Canyon Inflite AL '14

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MrRolandos
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by MrRolandos

At which point do you guys top off the chain? My MSW chain seems a bit noisy, done 206km in good conditions. Are you guys accepting the noise because shifting is still okay or do you top off with squirt/silca?

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