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Dipping chains into parifin wax??

1K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  kattywhumpus 
#1 ·
I saw a post a while back with little to no discussion and it's been on my mind. What's the deal with dipping a chain into melted parifin wax? Sheldon Brown even makes mention to it, but I have yet to see any discussion. Thanks in advance.
 
#5 ·
I've tried it...

I did it on my road bike chain. Bought the wax for the market, melted it and dipped my chain. Does it lubricate? Yes. But in doesn't last. And it gets all over the bike when you run it on the bike. The chainstay gets covered with wax particles not to mention everything else. Never used it again. I would never try it on the mountain bike.
 
#6 ·
That's what I was thinking would happen. There is a micro wax out today that keeps a soft texture to it and wont break apart like the old school hard pariffin. I'm going to play around with some old chains and see what I can't mix up between old school and new school along with some liquid teflon.
 
#9 ·
Waxing is old school for sure. I used to wax my road chain in the early 80's and the guy that showed me was doing it long before that. It does work well but does not last very long as stated earlier. The trick is to get your chain super clean, then submerge it in the melted wax, remove it, let it dry then install it. Never tried it on a mtn bike though. Bike shops used to sell wax in cans that you put on you stove to melt, submerge the chain and reuse the can. If the chain was not really clean then the wax would get crappy real fast and you could keep using the can. Haven't seen it a bike shop in years
 
#11 ·
Boulder Pilot said:
For Maxima. Purchase it at a moto shop, much cheaper than little bottles they sell in bike shops.
Ahyeah....I 'd get that well known family discount...lol:thumbsup:

As far as the wax thing, I have some samples of some powdered teflon and some micro wax being sent to me. I'm going to experiment and see what I can come up with...who knows.
 
#12 ·
I used to do it religiously. It does work well, but there are so many good lubricants on the market now that the practice is obsolete like packing and adjusting wheel/ bb bearing or something...

Like stated, the trick is to thoroughly clean your chain. THE CLEANER, THE BETTER. As a kid I used gasoline(!) to clean my chain in a pot. I would soak and scrub it until the solvent (gas) is dirty, then dump it out and do it again. I would keep doing this over until the solvent remained clean. I would clean the sprockets/cogs the same way. You really only have to do it the first time. I made a hook out of a coat hanger to hang the chain to dry. The trick is to hang the chain from the very end link*. Make sure your chain and sprockets are completely dry and free of the cleaning solvent. I used old bath towels...

Once your parts are prep'd, melt a block of paraffin's in a dedicated pot. You just need the stove to be hot enough to melt the wax. Be VERY careful, wax is hot and flammable! You will need to dedicate a pot because the wax will be stored in it afterward. Once the wax is completely melted, drop your chain in the pot. A neat little trick is to zig-zag the chain as you drop it in the wax. Make sure it is not twisted and lays completely flat on the bottom; not on top of itself. This is important.

Once in the wax, use your little coat hanger hook to gently shake and slide the chain around in the wax. Be CAREFUL... You want to see air bubbles come up. Wax is displacing the air around the pins and between the rollers. This is good. Keep moving it around until you no longer see bubbles. When there's no more bubbles, it is time to remove it.

Set a large piece of cardboard outside on the driveway or garage floor. Take your pot of wax, with the chain in it, outside and set it down (Don't forget to turn off the stove). Take your little coat hanger hook and hook it on one of the rollers on the very end and slowly begin to remove the chain from the wax. Unzig-zag it as you slowly remove it from the wax. Take care to make sure it is not twisted or coiled. If it is coiled or tangled, carefully straighten it out by hand. It will be hot and messy so wear a glove. You will need to hang it up like this (vertically) until it dries and is completely cool (I used to hang it from end from our porch). Place cardboard or the pot under it to catch the drips.

When dry, break all the links free by hand and install. In clean conditions, it should last about 100-200 miles before needing to be done again. Re-waxing is easier. You can skip the cleaning process. Just wipe it off really good with a clean cloth and drop it in the wax. The wax will do the rest. Afterward, allow the remainder of the wax to solidify in the pot until you need it again.If the wax in the pot becomes dark(dirty), knock the solid, ambient block of wax out of the pot and replace with a fresh one.

Your drive train will stay very clean and more chainring grease tattoo's!

*Hanging it from one end prevents the wax from filling the space between the rollers and pins and effectively shortening the chain. On a single speed, this will make the chain loosen up after a few hard pedals and you will have to re-adjust chain tension. Hanging it by end allows gravity to keep it at full length while it dries.
 
#13 ·
cholo said:
I used to do it religiously. It does work well, but there are so many good lubricants on the market now that the practice is obsolete like packing and adjusting wheel/ bb bearing or something...

Like stated, the trick is to thoroughly clean your chain. THE CLEANER, THE BETTER. As a kid I used gasoline(!) to clean my chain in a pot. I would soak and scrub it until the solvent (gas) is dirty, then dump it out and do it again. I would keep doing this over until the solvent remained clean. I would clean the sprockets/cogs the same way. You really only have to do it the first time. I made a hook out of a coat hanger to hang the chain to dry. The trick is to hang the chain from the very end link*. Make sure your chain and sprockets are completely dry and free of the cleaning solvent. I used old bath towels...

Once your parts are prep'd, melt a block of paraffin's in a dedicated pot. You just need the stove to be hot enough to melt the wax. Be VERY careful, wax is hot and flammable! You will need to dedicate a pot because the wax will be stored in it afterward. Once the wax is completely melted, drop your chain in the pot. A neat little trick is to zig-zag the chain as you drop it in the wax. Make sure it is not twisted and lays completely flat on the bottom; not on top of itself. This is important.

Once in the wax, use your little coat hanger hook to gently shake and slide the chain around in the wax. Be CAREFUL... You want to see air bubbles come up. Wax is displacing the air around the pins and between the rollers. This is good. Keep moving it around until you no longer see bubbles. When there's no more bubbles, it is time to remove it.

Set a large piece of cardboard outside on the driveway or garage floor. Take your pot of wax, with the chain in it, outside and set it down (Don't forget to turn off the stove). Take your little coat hanger hook and hook it on one of the rollers on the very end and slowly begin to remove the chain from the wax. Unzig-zag it as you slowly remove it from the wax. Take care to make sure it is not twisted or coiled. If it is coiled or tangled, carefully straighten it out by hand. It will be hot and messy so wear a glove. You will need to hang it up like this (vertically) until it dries and is completely cool (I used to hang it from end from our porch). Place cardboard or the pot under it to catch the drips.

When dry, break all the links free by hand and install. In clean conditions, it should last about 100-200 miles before needing to be done again. Re-waxing is easier. You can skip the cleaning process. Just wipe it off really good with a clean cloth and drop it in the wax. The wax will do the rest. Afterward, allow the remainder of the wax to solidify in the pot until you need it again.If the wax in the pot becomes dark(dirty), knock the solid, ambient block of wax out of the pot and replace with a fresh one.

Your drive train will stay very clean and more chainring grease tattoo's!

*Hanging it from one end prevents the wax from filling the space between the rollers and pins and effectively shortening the chain. On a single speed, this will make the chain loosen up after a few hard pedals and you will have to re-adjust chain tension. Hanging it by end allows gravity to keep it at full length while it dries.
Thanks for all that great info Cholo:thumbsup:
 
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