I'm using high test isopropyl alcohol on paper towels to wipe the chain down before relubing. I keep wiping until the discoloration pretty much stops coming off. No water needed or wanted for cleaning. If you pop the solidified wax puck out of your heating container you can scrape off the thin dirty layer at the bottom to keep your lube cleaner. The nasty stuff will sink to the very bottom so you only need to scrape off a very thin layer.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

FWIW Prior to rewaxing I'll heat up the chain, then throw it in some mineral spirits and shake it around a lot. Then just makes sure it's dry and re-wax! Definitely cleans off any of the gunk!

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Big Sexy Racing 2018

I'd agree that what you're doing has to be more ideal in terms of getting the chain really super clean. That said, the wipe down seems to be good enough and I fully expect my chain life to meet or exceed that found with old school wet lube methods.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

I buy a new chain every season and paraffin wax it to race. I only do a few races so I take it on/off

Hi Hugh,

Thanks for all the advice, I have already implemented it and got some nice results! The chain is definitely better than last time!

I am thinking of experimenting with PTFE and MoS2 additives. This should make the chain a bit faster, but I mostly just like the tinkering. I live in the Netherlands, and have some problems finding these minerals. Where do you get them from? I have searched the internet in general, ebay, but could only find something on Alibaba. And there you need to buy in bulk which is very expensive :(

Interested in what your experiences are. Thanks!

Tim,

Glad to hear you're also having a good experience. I have recently purchased 30 grams of PTFE and 10 grams of MoS2 via Ebay and used 5 grams of the PTFE with ~ .45kg of paraffin on the last waxing. I skipped the Moly for this test as it's so black that I was worried that it might tend to mask the presence of contaminants come off a chains I might be rewaxing. So far It's been impossible for me to tell if adding the PTFE works any better. The process becomes easier every time one does it as you learn to wear gloves handling the hot chain, how to uncoil the hot wax coved chain without making a huge mess, etc. I will say that a kg of paraffin goes a long ways so you won't need all that much PTFE or especially moly of you want to experiment. If I remember correctly, the FF people only use 1 gram per pound of the moly and 5 grams per pound of PTFE.

Have fun,

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Hi Hugh,

You are right about the FF mix ratio. I would like to try to add the PTFE. I can image you can't really notice it, but it should help, and it certainly looks nice!

Could you show me where you bought yours? Like I said, I can seem to find large quantities. Thanks for the help!

Tim

Tim,

I purchased both the PTFE as well as Moly from these folks.

http://www.ebay.com/...?hash=item3f55af1c57

They shipped quickly and the product looks fine. They ship worldwide too.

Cheers,

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Any thoughts or experimenting with different grades of refined waxes and melting temperatures? Where would Gulf Wax fit in the tables? Low grade refinement and high melting temp?

I believe that it's actually considered a high grade refinement paraffin and the MSDS cites its melting point as 58-62*C so more of an intermediate melting point.. Experimentation is fun but at this point in my life, Gulf wax works so well I'll leave it to others to forge on ahead;) I would say you don't want a "sticker" product as that would tend to pick up more road grit and one wants to avoid that outcome.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.