I used the Silca wax for the first time last night. I’ve used paragon wax previously without any issues.
I cleaned both chain with the ultrasonic cleaner and then wiped them down thoroughly.
I then warmed the wax up in a crock pot, dunked them and waited until the wax cooled a bit. Once I pulled the chains out, there was a ton of black specs on it…
What did I do wrong? Is it just because the wax is grey/black? Or is this residual dirt/grime from a poorly cleaned chain?
I noticed similar black stuff on chain (albeit, not as much as yours) in one of Silka’s youtube videos. Never had this with Molten speed wax.
So if I had to guess I would say its the Silca. But it may mean nothing and just fall off.
Is there a reason you let the wax cool before pulling the chain out? i wonder if most of the black stuff would drip off if the chain/wax were still hot when you pulled it out.
*I haven’t used the silca wax before, so i can’t comment on what is normal. I just use regular paraffin. Even after the wax is dirty and black, the chain still looks fairly clean when i pull it out of the hot wax and hang it to dry. IF (and i don’t know it to be true) the black specs are some of the expensive additives, it would be a shame for them to all flake off on your floor instead of letting them drip back into the crock pot.
The color is the additives that make it fast. It will flick off when you break it up and install it. It does shed a bit so if you’re riding inside, be sure and put a paper or cloth towel down to grab the flakes. It usually flicks off quickly and then you’ll be riding clean…
I have been using the Silca wax for a year now. I think what playguy says is the deal. Those black specs are part of the Silca secret sauce. If you are riding outside, now worries it flicks off on the first ride. Just wipe the small bits off of the chain stay etc. after the ride.
It’s Molybdenum disulfide, nothing to worry about.
The WS2 is quite dense, so it sinks to the bottom of the wax and will stay there when the wax hardens. Make sure you leave the chain in the wax for at least 5 minutes so it is fully heat soaked, and agitate the wax with the chain for 30 seconds or so to stir up the WS2, this will also help the WS2 get into the chain a bit better and will help reduce some of the nastier chunks of black wax that you are getting.
Here is what a chain looks like coming out of our system, we use ultrasonics to continually agitate the wax, so you get a really nice distribution of WS2, especially inside the chain
Josh, how would you recommend someone “clean” a chain that’s currently waxed? I’ve been using Gulf wax but would like to try out Silca’s hot wax blend. Just heat up the wax and toss the chain in?
It’s Molybdenum disulfide, nothing to worry about.
actually tungsten disulfide, and for those non Chemists W (from Wolfram) is the symbol for Tungsten so when Josh writes WS2 he is representing the chemical formula for tungsten disulfide.
I’d probably throw it in boiling water first to remove any contaminates that might be in the old wax… but you definitely can also just throw a waxed chain into new wax… I’ve done both before with good results.
That’s a pretty terrible wax job.
Clean the chain, clean it again, and then clean it one more time. Then let it dry. Like hanging overnight dry. Then dip in the wax and agitate it for 10-15 minutes. Pull the chain out while the wax is hot. Don’t let it cool.
This is what silca recommends and designed the wax for.
Use degreaser and then paint thinner or acetone.