Properly de gooing chains

My hack/commute/general bike doesn’t get much love. It’s got to the stage that even my bike degreaser isn’t going to clean the chain/chainring/cassette. There’s a thick layer of greasy dirty residue that won’t budge, even with scrubbing with a toothbruch.

Methinks I need something a little more potent.

Before I go raiding my lab for chemicals, anything out there that will dissolve away this goo? I used to use Gunk on my old bikes when I was a kid, it’s pretty much dissolve anything, but alas, that was the early 80’s and there were fewer chemicals on the banned list back then…

recommendations (that doesn’t involve diesel or petrol)?

ta

Terps – jam jar – overnight. Requires so little effort I should do it more often

Disc brake cleaner – about £10.00 for 5lts.

Fenwick’s foaming degreaser is very good at making everything shiny

jam jar of petrol

*dons flameproof suit, metaphorically and literally, because someone will be a long in a minute awailing and agnashing of teeth at the humanity of it all*

used fenwicks foaming. not bad, but not up t the task…

I have lots of terps, may try that, and I also have lots of disc brake cleaner….

cheers

🙂

bucket of diesel.

mines gleaming silver after being thick with black gunge :d

What winter of commuting did to my silver nexus chain.

left it in the diesel for a couple of days picked it up , blasted it with the hose – job done

Variant on a theme- plastic food tub and paraffin (knocked the bottom out of a jam jar shaking a chain) Diesel works too. But you do need to relube it well as this approach takes out all the old lube, a wee wipe isn’t enough.

Diesel petrol white spirit any oil based solvent will do it, i use white spirit in a chain cleaner works a treat

I wipe the lumps off with baby wipes (you’ll be amazed at what they shift), then some swarfega jizer gets it like new. (not that my bikes ever get like that).

+ 1 for swarfega jizer … Works a treat

What do you do with the ‘solvent’ once you’ve finished with it?

leave it in the bucket with a lid over – under my land rover for next time 😉

I only use a tiny bit i usualy just chuck it onto a bit of soil in the garden

What do you do with the ‘solvent’ once you’ve finished with it?

Leave it all to settle out, the crap will sink to the bottom and you can just pour off the clean(ish) solvent into another jar for re-use later.

Hi, If you have a small saucepan which can be used, and an old paintbrush try a strong solution of whatever you use to wash your laundry.. D*z, Pers*l etc and boiling water.(Cheap and readily available) 🙂 I usually follow this by washing in paraffin the relubing.
If it don’t look like a new un after that its probably four X’d
Cheers Kit 🙂

Yeah, likewise, let it settle out then reuse. I’ve made it all a bit OCD and overcomplicated with 3 jars- a clean one, a settling one and a proper dirty one. Once settled I pour most of the fluid off into the clean jar, the last wee bit always still has dirt floating in it so it goes in a different slop jar which eventually gets full enough to settle out more. Wastage is almost zero, just what gets wiped out of the jar to clean it (and whatever I spill on the floor!)

Hi, If you have a small saucepan which can be used, and an old paintbrush try a strong solution of whatever you use to wash your laundry.. D*z, Pers*l etc and boiling water.(Cheap and readily available) 🙂 I usually follow this by washing in paraffin the relubing.
If it don’t look like a new un after that its probably four X’d
Cheers Kit 🙂
Sorry Double post 😳

What about biodegradeable chain cleaner/degreaser?

I’ve found the best bought stuff to be Finish Line Citrus degreaser. It’s expensive but does a good job…I’ve tried the Juice Lubes stuff and its rubbish as is the Muc Off version. The Park stuff is ok too.

The two that I didn’t like didn’t touch the Finish Line wet lube once it had picked up some muck.

Bottle with lid, half fill with white spirit or other solvent, put chain in, put lid on, shake for a bit, leave for a bit, shake it again, drain white spirit, remove sparkly chain, rub dry, leave for a bit, relube.

as others have said, I use a tupperware box with white spirit.
Put in chain, shake for 2 mins, remove and leave to dry.

Chain cleaner and white spirit every time. Sparkling in 5 mins.