Home made wax lube for chains

[W@nted]

Awesome thanks. Ordered the wax pot. Wax and ptfe ordered from another hubber and waiting at courier guy. 
 

Hopefully I will be waxing my chain by tomorrow evening😁

 

will give feedback here. Do you guys top up with a liquid wax mix between hot waxes? If so, please share recipe?

[cadenceblur]

1 minute ago, W@nted said:

Awesome thanks. Ordered the wax pot. Wax and ptfe ordered from another hubber and waiting at courier guy. 
 

Hopefully I will be waxing my chain by tomorrow evening😁

 

will give feedback here. Do you guys top up with a liquid wax mix between hot waxes? If so, please share recipe?

Keen to hear feedback on the ptfe powder. 

I believe it's also available via Aliexpress

[DieselnDust]

6 minutes ago, W@nted said:

Awesome thanks. Ordered the wax pot. Wax and ptfe ordered from another hubber and waiting at courier guy. 
 

Hopefully I will be waxing my chain by tomorrow evening😁

 

will give feedback here. Do you guys top up with a liquid wax mix between hot waxes? If so, please share recipe?

30% wax

40%oil

30% Xylene

The Xylene is horrible to work with so do it outside and wear a breather. You may have to tweak the mix a bit depending on the oil used. I use a pharma grade hydraulic oil ISO 46

[Jbr]

10 minutes ago, W@nted said:

Do you guys top up with a liquid wax mix between hot waxes? If so, please share recipe?

Squirt, as a last resort. Otherwise I just rewax frequently (easier to clean up when you haven't used any liquid topup)

[W@nted]

6 minutes ago, Jbr said:

Squirt, as a last resort. Otherwise I just rewax frequently (easier to clean up when you haven't used any liquid topup)

Also think this is the best way. Will see how much km before re waxing is required. Especially on the mtb

[W@nted]

10 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

30% wax

40%oil

30% Xylene

The Xylene is horrible to work with so do it outside and wear a breather. You may have to tweak the mix a bit depending on the oil used. I use a pharma grade hydraulic oil ISO 46

Do you have to full clean the chain with solvents again before hot waxing after using this top up?

[DieselnDust]

2 minutes ago, W@nted said:

Do you have to full clean the chain with solvents again before hot waxing after using this top up?

I don;t bother because the hot waxing will melt the stuff thats already in there. I just give the chain a swirl in the pot to shae the dirt and remove it. Let the dirt settle and then dunk in the bath again. Hence I like to have a sieve above the base of the bath so that dirt can settle below that.

That first clean is just to get the packing grease out but I'm not too fussy about that either because that grease is almost impossible to remove entirely despite the efforts of many internet experts. It just adds to dirty chemical I have to dispose of and I try to operate as efficiently and cleanly as I can

[W@nted]

3 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

I don;t bother because the hot waxing will melt the stuff thats already in there. I just give the chain a swirl in the pot to shae the dirt and remove it. Let the dirt settle and then dunk in the bath again. Hence I like to have a sieve above the base of the bath so that dirt can settle below that.

That first clean is just to get the packing grease out but I'm not too fussy about that either because that grease is almost impossible to remove entirely despite the efforts of many internet experts. It just adds to dirty chemical I have to dispose of and I try to operate as efficiently and cleanly as I can

Thank you. I will be waxing my used chain I have been lubing with Smoove. Whats the best way to clean/prep for hot waxing?

[lechatnoir]

5 minutes ago, W@nted said:

Do you have to full clean the chain with solvents again before hot waxing after using this top up?

it's my belief that a full clean is always preferred and ensure the chain is 100% dry beforehand. not always possible admittedly, so it'll depend on how far you want to take things. I think first prize is to get rid of any grit and grime that can end up making a grinding paste...

i've started to immerse in acetone for a few mins, then a good shake in a 500ml bottle, then let it sit while I do other maintenance. Then i fully immerse in Blixem, shake, and repeat, then I wash off in warm water and dry with air from a compressor.

Then a drop of Smoove on each link after refitting chain, then the same again before next ride.

I'll be replacing this last step with the wax as soon as I find a suitable disposable pot - I'm the cook, so I've banned myself from using my stainless steel cookware...

[cadenceblur]

1 hour ago, DieselnDust said:

30% wax

40%oil

30% Xylene

The Xylene is horrible to work with so do it outside and wear a breather. You may have to tweak the mix a bit depending on the oil used. I use a pharma grade hydraulic oil ISO 46

Thought the recipe was just wax and oil!

That's what I used 😳

[cadenceblur]

[DieselnDust]

26 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

Thought the recipe was just wax and oil!

That's what I used 😳

yes you can, like I said is it depends on the oil and miscibility of the wax and oil. Xylene or other solvent can help keeps it liquid if you want to store it long term but it lso comes with the added complication of evaporating away and you still end up with a wax and oil mix.

Experiment and see which pathway works best for the ingredients you are using and how you want to work with the lube. Oil+ wax may solidify quicker and therefore my require more frequent heating in the pot

[Jbr]

35 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

Thought the recipe was just wax and oil!

That's what I used 😳

Been using that on all three of my bikes for a year

[The Ouzo]

Does the wax used make a difference ?

You guys have got me eyeing all the useless candles my wife has collected over the year.

[DieselnDust]

1 minute ago, The Ouzo said:

Does the wax used make a difference ?

You guys have got me eyeing all the useless candles my wife has collected over the year.

It can make a difference.

Pharmaceutical grade wax is more pure and therefore mixes better than some straight petroleum wax used for candles where purity and quality is a bit hit and miss. Pharma grade is also more plastic or ductile in that it will flow a bot before cracking and flaking and it has a wider temperature range as a result. Its also more expensive. The key here is the purity of the wax

[W@nted]

So it begins…