The Hot Tub of Queso/Waxed Chain Thread

[Beaver]

To break the links loose I clamp a short length of 1" PVC in the vice to pull the chain around.

Or put it on your bike and ride. Let all those flakes fall on the ground.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Or put it on your bike and ride. Let all those flakes fall on the ground.

You have to break the links so the chain can actually flex and be installed on the bike (?)

Still lots of flakes left to fall to the ground after just breaking the wax bonds.

[johnnyg82]

Don’t have the break all of them, just enough to get the chain installed.

Which reminds me, I’ve gotta re-wax this weekend.

[Beaver]

Makes it easy to get through the derailleur.

[Beaver]

Do any of you use an Ultrasonic to clean your chain? I boil a ketyle of water and dump it in with a good slosh of simple green. 15 minutes per side up with a couple basket shakes like I'm making fries. Pull it out, dry it off with compressed air and dunk it in the queso. I stir it around a bit, flip it, stir som more until bubbles stop forming when I stir it. Then I usually let it soak some more. Pull it out wipe it off and it's good for many tides before i need to start dripping white lightning on it. My chain is 3 years old, I used to replace it twice per year.

My queso dip is 3 years years old and looking a bit manky I've waxed at least 30 chains. Time to make a fresh pot. I'm going to use tungsten disulfide instead of ptfe, I heard it's the shiz.

[XXX-er]

Embrittlement, I wouldn't use simple green on a chain,

Try the naptha dude, trust me

and never trust someone who sez trust me

[J. Barron DeJong]

Embrittlement, I wouldn't use simple green on a chain,

Try the naptha dude, trust me

and never trust someone who sez trust me

Once the chain has been initially degreased then waxed, I just swish the chain around in a few changes of boiled water for further cleanings. (Waxing with Molten Speed Wax.) Comes out super clean.

If you’re worried about embrittlement (which maybe you should be? https://velo.outsideonline.com/gear/...imple-green-2/) you could always use the aerospace formula Simple Green.

[XXX-er]

I use simple green on the kitchen floor but not on my chain

edit: I mention embrittlement becuz i didnt know about simple green causing problems until somebody on TGR mentioned it to me recently and its well enough know that there is an aerospace formula

so I also mention it cuz we are kind of here to learn shit

naptha dude, trust me

[Roxtar]

Once you've fully degreased the chain to start your queso journey, there's really no reason to use a degreaser (like Simple Green) ever again.
That's (part of) the awesomeness of hot queso; no more greasy drivetrain. The most pre-wax prep I ever do is a boiling water dip, and usually don't do that. I do rinse my bike off after most rides to get the layer of dust off that's a part of every NM ride. Just a couple minute hi-volume / lo-pressure garden hose rinse does the job.

[rpearce1475]

Interested in moving to hot waxing but someone early in this thread mentioned it did not work well for them in the PNW climate. Anyone in that area have a contradictory opinion? Is hot wax best saved for dry/dusty areas?

[XXX-er]

Once you've fully degreased the chain to start your queso journey, there's really no reason to use a degreaser (like Simple Green) ever again.
That's (part of) the awesomeness of hot queso; no more greasy drivetrain. The most pre-wax prep I ever do is a boiling water dip, and usually don't do that. I do rinse my bike off after most rides to get the layer of dust off that's a part of every NM ride. Just a couple minute hi-volume / lo-pressure garden hose rinse does the job.

Yeah I'm not even sure how well simple green or naptha would work on a waxed chain

after the initial de-greasing I've never cleaned a waxed chain

I just keep applying the squirt and the wax bits flake off as I pedal

I thot its was hot/ dry places where wax is not as good??

[basinbeater]

Oh no. Hot wax is goooood in hot dry. So good. Just a clean silent drivetrain.

[Roxtar]

Interested in moving to hot waxing but someone early in this thread mentioned it did not work well for them in the PNW climate. Anyone in that area have a contradictory opinion? Is hot wax best saved for dry/dusty areas?

Can't say from direct experience but I don't know why it wouldn't. The key is that wax creates a nice barrier from the elements, whether that's dry dust or wet mud.
Granted, mud is hardest on everything but I don't see why wax would be worse in it.

[basinbeater]

Reading that zero friction site, the guy says that in wet muddy, wax is still the best....until the grime has eaten away the wax, then you need to start using a more conventional lube. So if you are on a long muddy ride, carry some standard wet lube with you. The wax in wet muddy doesn't last as long as in dry and dusty.

[Roxtar]

Reading that zero friction site, the guy says that in wet muddy, wax is still the best....until the grime has eaten away the wax, then you need to start using a more conventional lube. So if you are on a long muddy ride, carry some standard wet lube with you. The wax in wet muddy doesn't last as long as in dry and dusty.

There's a little more to that statement that should be mentioned.
Yes, an oil lube will stay on the chain longer in wet muddy conditions, however, keep in mind that it's also mixing that muddy grit into the lube, pulling it into the chain.

[XXX-er]

After going thru the hassle of removing all petro from a new chain to run wax i might wax more often but I wouldn't put a petro product back on the chain,

once you go wax you never go back

Besides I think a waxed chain would last thru a ride

[rpearce1475]

So in a wet, muddy climate I'm having to take the chain off, clean and re hot wax after every ride? For me the draw of hot waxing is cleaner drivetrain but also not having to lube the chain every ride...

[climberevan]

IME hot wax is great for 2 rainy rides or 1 rainy and muddy ride. BUT you can always top it up with Silca Super Secret, which is what we did for a 3 week tour in New Zealand list year. The chains stayed pretty clean and nicely lubed after several rainy days.

On this year's trip to Scotland, however, it has rained for 14 straight days and we're just using water for lube. It's hopeless.

[Roxtar]

So in a wet, muddy climate I'm having to take the chain off, clean and re hot wax after every ride? For me the draw of hot waxing is cleaner drivetrain but also not having to lube the chain every ride...

No, no, no.
A simple rinsing off of the mud and you're fine. That's part of the beauty. The wax forms a coating over the chain and, most importantly, fills the gaps inside the rollers.
Yes, small amounts will flake off but the vast majority will stay in place, especially where it matters.

A wet lube will stay on forever but that's also the problem. You now have a wet sticky mixture of grit and oil everywhere that will eat your drivechain alive.

[Roxtar]

BUT you can always top it up with Silca Super Secret]

I recently did a little experimenting.
I scooped out a few oz of the new Molten SW and let it cool/harden. I then carved it up into small pieces and mixed it with naphtha in a squeeze bottle and left it for several days.
The naphtha broke it down nicely into a thick liquid that I can use for this touch-up. Best to let it sit up overnight (which you need to do with any wax based drip on) but I now have the new WS2 and MoS2 mixture that works so well in the Molten at a small percentage of the Silca price.

[XXX-er]

So in a wet, muddy climate I'm having to take the chain off, clean and re hot wax after every ride? For me the draw of hot waxing is cleaner drivetrain but also not having to lube the chain every ride...

the hot wax nazi's will claim its faster than dripping something out of a bottle

[climberevan]

Interesting. The SS is the wax emulsified in water, so it doesn't introduce any petro into the chain. I'm interested to learn what happens when you rewax those.

[Dee Hubbs]

Interesting. The SS is the wax emulsified in water, so it doesn't introduce any petro into the chain. I'm interested to learn what happens when you rewax those.

Do you mean: Wax, Apply SS, then rewax?

I just bough some SS and have applied it for the first time, as I use to just rewax once the initial wax treatment was worn.
I’m only trying the SS topup on one of my MTB chains as a test.
I’ll let you know when I rewax the SS top up treated chain.

[XXX-er]

I think if there was some petro in the mix it wouldn't freeze but its wax in water ^^ so it will freeze at -20 in my shed. For some reason the consistancey of aqueous wax is altered when it thaws so it doesnt penetrate as well, so I emailed the Squirt people who told me to cut with some water which thins it down to penetrate properly

[climberevan]

Do you mean: Wax, Apply SS, then rewax?
.

No, I was referring to Roxtar's naptha+wax blend idea.

Rewax after 5+ SS applications is the same as a rewax after none: quick rinse in boiling water and G2G. No consideration needs to be given to the fact that you've used SS over the initial hot wax bc SS is the same product, just emulsified in water.

I've heard that the SS doesn't actually do much to penetrate, but it immediately eliminates the horrible grinding that a used-up waxed chain emits, so I always have a tiny dropper bottle of it with me. An application lasts 20-50 miles of MTB, so usually enough to get me home.