Love the "Dumb-Ass" comment, brave for any company to put that out there. After your video I'm definitely going to investigate your products and chain waxing in general as it seemed like more hassle than what I'm already doing.
I just waxed my first new chain using this stuff. It was a seriously easy process and the only thing time consuming about it was waiting for the wax to melt in the crockpot. After 15 years of being a mechanic, I already love how clean my drivetrain is after every ride. I'll never not use wax again!
was lucky to get a bottle of this sauce, after prepping 3 new duraace chains with about 6oz and 3 separate jars i put the used solution in a Rubbermaid and then toothbrush cleaned the cassettes pulleys and chain wheels. as silca stated its severely concentrated and even after 3 chains 3 cassette and 6 pulley wheels it is dirty but still has cleaning power. WHAT A PRODUCT!!!!
Great to hear! You can try straining the grease out through a coffee filter to see how far you can push it. The product is consumed at the molecular level as it binds and encapsulates the grease, but our estimates are pretty conservative and if you tend to it well, you should definitely be able to get ALL the life out of it!
You guys are doing such a great job with this product. I'm happy you're actively trying to develop really well thought out products. Not having to use toxic and corrosive products should be the gold standard for companies. ❤
I like how truthfull you are to the environmental question. I have seen a youtuber who used it and show how he just pour it into the sink because its "environmentally friendly" without thinking about the factory grease. The biggest hit would be if you even develop it further, that it break down factory oil/grease to a degree that it is safe to pour it away. But even then 40€ for a small bottle is a lot if you think about how cheap mineral turpentine is and how often you can reuse it.
ChainStripper does what mineral turps does in 24 hours in 10 minutes.. it also doesn't then need a separate rinse in a polar solvent to strip the turps from the metal. Technically, it also has greater stripping power per unit volume that mineral turps, so you can strip ~2x as many chains with 500ml of Stripper than you can with 500ml of mineral turps plus 500ml of acetone. If you coming at it purely from an environmental point of view, one 500ml bottle of stripper offsets 2 liters of traditional hydrocarbon chemicals, and that's before you consider nastiness of the manufacturing and supply chains of those chemicals. So while both methods leave you with ~5gm of factory grease as a waste product (which can be strained out of stripper using a coffee filter but cannot with turps) the overall environmental footprint of this product is significantly less, and that's before you even begin to get to the fact that you're saving a ton of time, only using one jar to shake and rinse the chain, etc..
@@SILCAVelo You can reuse mineral turp also a lot and even filter it. But thats not the point. Chain Stripper seems to be more convenient. That is one selling point. The other is cost. I think the environment comes last for the most. Adam from ZFC recommended UFO drivetrain clean before yours came out. And it looks like it worked also well and was also ecofriendly.Their bottle was 1l for about 25$. But after they have realized what you could take for your stripper, they cut their amount in half for the same price. So now you pay 25$ for 500ml. I think the environmental aspect for many companys is just way to take more money. If they would really had environmental concerns they would make as cheap as possible so that as many as possible use it instead of chemicals. The whole waxing movement has brought a lot of people into chemicals which they never had used before.
I ordered 2 bottles. Both bottles leaked during shipping. The tops were not tight and it appeared that the flip top nozzles were not all the way down (need locking "bumps"). Both bottles being wrapped in plastic did not keep the stripper from leaking out into the box. Thanks for your awesome products!
Agreed. Awesome product that leaked during shipping. Didn't seem to lose a significant amount of volume but to the point that it's expensive, it would be nice to receive a full bottle.
Looks like a great product. Very informative video too. I would like to know more about the "conversion" of an ultrasonic cleaner to a waxer. Thanks. Already ordered my Chain Stripper!
Glad you addressed the environmental criticism. Probably biggest complaint that I heard about the initial messaging. Should it have needed to be clarified, maybe not, but best to play it safe.
Sounds a superb motto... Only 1oz of solvent for the life of the chain! Really good way to think about all the cleaning products and oil lubes I currently use, it has really made me want to transfer to wax now!
All good Josh. Your fastideous nature to make things the best you can get is what attracts me to your products. I don't have everything you produce but all I have is the best for what it is designed for. In relation to this product I have been a chain waxer on and off for ages without knowing the chain (or metal) has to be clinically clean for wax to adhere to it. I'm also old enough to know of shipyards that used waxed timber to launch small to medium sized vessels as the wax was impervious to salt water and slippery for the boats to me launched easily. Thank you for your efforts and making these videos.
Straining it with a coffee filter is perfect, that's how we handle it internally when we are stripping chains at scale, it really helps ensure you get the most life from the product and minimizes future contamination.
@@SILCAVelo I tried straining the used stripper through a coffee filter and funnel. This did not work as it stopped dripping through the filter. Any other methods to extend the life?
How many times can I use the stripper? I used it in a jar and cleaned 2 chains that was cold waxed after being ultrasound cleaned with ultra in brake fluid. Now I still have a good portion left from the 2 chains and the dirt is in the bottom of the jar. The 2 chains I cleansed got the hotwax after where I warmed up the super secret up to 125 celsius next I lowered the chain in the wax and first I decreased temperature to 85 celsius and next 75 celsius and was stirring the chain in the pot now and then and for sure there was no bubbles removing the chain to hang up for drying. When I will get a new chain in future I will add a piece of the "stripperbar" into the wax but can I use the wax again after this process
Just finished cleaning 3 new chains with this, so easy. Then I thought, I'd better strip the "NOS" diamond polished Silca chain of its wax and 'clean it' this way too, to get the wax adhesion benefit for this chain as well! Seems unlikely that you had this cleaner available back in May 2021. Yeah, it has taken me a while to get my race bike ready, and worthy of a $245 diamond slurried chain. Lucky I didn't wait, though, I've not seen more diamond polished chains at Silca again since. Q. This made me ponder, does the wax adhesion property of this cleaner have a time- or cyclical-limit, is it just better to play it safe by resetting each chain before a rewax? After all, once wax is removed using boiling water, this cleaner would last through many such 'resets', especially if filtered. I used 1oz in a second bottle to rinse each chain before the water step. 16oz will still sit around for years waiting for 2 bikes to wear out 2 chains each if rewaxed regularly.
Thanks, great video and another outstanding product from Silca! Definitely leading the industry! My only consternation is that I am a fairly recent convert to immersive waxing and I have a fairly decent supply of the (now) older stripping chemicals that I need to work through before I can justify this purchase!
Point of clarification, that's Mr. Dumas to you. (It was that, or a much darker joke about disposing of strippers) Thanks for the product info, need to get some!
Is it more cost effective to drip on chain or submerge the chain to a jar with 100% that stuff. If I only pour one ounce to jar it will not even cover the half of chain. I can always pour 4 ounce and keep the jar to use on four chains but it would mean there would be dirt every time in the solvent when I put a new chain into the jar which I guess is not ideal compared to dripping the stuff on the chain. Also it sounds like there will be less use of the solvent if it is dripped on the chain.
My new chains been cleaned and applied SuperSecret lube. Here is my question. Does my chain has to be cleaned competely again if I were to use SuperSecret Hot Wax ?
Hi Josh - Thanks for this video, you answered a couple questions I had and I can't wait to get some of this product. You're really doing great things at Silca and I use so many of your products now. Amazing job reinventing the brand!
Do you have an SDS for the Chain Stripper? Stating it has biodegradable components is great but I am curious if there is hazcom information to go along with that statement.
Thanks, glad they updated that. It was not on their page 5 months ago. I wouldn’t be impressed by an SDS, it’s a hazcom document with a standard format.
Thank you for some really good explanations that answered most of my questions, just one more: Can I use a clear hard plastic container for stripping the chain in or does it have to be a glass jar? (I understand that glass is chemically inert so is there some kind of reaction that I risk by using plastic instead?)
Chain stripper should be fine for most plastics, we have just always used glass dating back to the old days of mineral spirits and acetone, each of which are problematic for certain types of plastics.
Thanks for pointing out the proper use of it (not use it to remove wax). My question is: Can you use it in one of these chain cleaning devices like the Park Tool CM-5.3? The other question is: I recently bought a pack of your gear wipes and I was really astonished how good they remove any kind of gunk an grime. The only thing where they struggle is cleaning a cassette because like almost everything, they get ripped into pieces. Is the stuff on that wipes comparable with something else you sell? If not, the world needs that stuff - in big barrels!
You can use the Stripper in a chain cleaning device, you will want to do it similar to the drip method mentioned on the bottle, 2 applications separated by 10 minutes to let it soak in and encapsulate all of the grease. Then rinse it all out with water. Glad to hear you like the wipes, they're one of my favorite products to hear people's experience on as the expectations are generally low to average and then people are quite often shocked at how good the user experience and effectiveness is! The liquid in the wipe is just SILCA BioDegreaser: silca.cc/products/bio-degreaser?variant=39539967590498
I noticed that Shimano uses different grease/oil for aftermarket and OEM chains. The stuff on OEM chains has a much higher viscosity and reminds me more of grease compared to the stuff on aftermarket chains that seems to be more like some kind oil. Do you have any experience with OEM chains? Is there more/longer rinsing needed?
Would love to learn more on how to the ultrasonic cleaner for waxing the chain. Just put in the wax - let it melt with the chain and then let it run for a while?
I have been cleaning my waxed chain by putting in the ultrasonic cleaner with some dish soap and then rinsing in water. Is there anything to worry about with the soap?
Dish soaps can contain a surprising amount of bad stuff! Dawn for example works so well as it contains sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide along with a whole host of alcohols.. the risk is that it also contains wax eating chemicals and small amounts of skin lubricating oil to protect your hands.. both of which could reduce the wax adhesion to the metal if not fully rinsed from the metal. As long as you are heavily rinsing it's probably OK but if your wax applications aren't lasting as long as you want, that might be the issue.
Do you have any idea why quick links are not packed in the same factory grease as whole chains? (I still clean them just like a new chain to remove any residual machining oils.)
Chains are already covered in assembly lube to allow them to be automatically assembled at high speed, so much of the factory grease is just there as a result of manufacturing and it's easier to add more for corrosion protection before packaging. Whereas quick links are assembled dry, so faster/easier to pack them as-is.
I ordered and received the chain stripper last week. Unfortunately about 1/3 of the Chain Stripper leaked from the bottle during shipping. The cap on the bottle is stripped (Can't get away from that "Stripper" term- haha). So the cap cannot be tightened hence the leak. I contacted Silca but have been disappointed to not receive a response. Its expensive (especially when you add the almost $50 charge to have the product shipped to Canada) and I only received 2/3's of what I paid for. Darcy
I assume that perhaps different manufacturers use different factory grease on their chains, can you confirm which chain manufacturers this product has been shown to work on? Thanks
We use 3 primary solvent/surfactant ingredients targeted at mineral, synthetic, and organic base oils. We have tested it on all the major brands with great success: SRAM, Shimano, Campagnolo, YBN, KMC, Connex/Wipperman
@@SILCAVelo I'm excited to see KMC on this list - I'd read somewhere else that KMC chains didn't do so well with waxing, right after buying a few on sale. I'll keep an eye on my wax & chain wear, but will be stripping and waxing some shiny new KMCs this week!
I just waxed four chains with your product - and I got four different results. None of them were bad - just not the same. I think the product itself is awesome, and actually better than other waxes I've tried. However, consistency tends to be a good thing. The chains either dried with a very thick coating of wax on them, which I peeled off and let the chainring sprockets take care of the rest. Or the chain dried with a barely visible (detectable?) coating on them. Two of the chains were something between the thick coating and the barely detectable one -- all of them work very well - as promised. Is the difference in wax thickness due to temperature of the hot wax in the bag when I take the chain out? Does the coating come out thicker on the chain, when the wax is slightly cooler (it seems to)?
The wax will come out thicker if either the wax is too cool and starting to harder, or if the chain isn't left in the wax long enough to fully come to the temperature of the wax. The ones that had little coating on the outside are what you want, those sound like both the chain and wax were at proper temperature when removed.
Two chains complete, stuff works great. Noticed that the solids/dirt in the used solvent started settling out. Should I strain the used material through a paper filter before stripping my next chain?
Straining out the captured grease will definitely give you longer stripper life and make rinsing easier in future chains. We have some shops telling us that they are getting 2 chains per ounce by filtering in this manner.
Thanks for clarifying the disposal of used stripper! That's good info. Don't want to be pouring it down the drain. Can the stripper be decanted? Does the oil separate and float to the top or does it remain emulsified?
@@SILCAVelo thanks. Price seems very steep at $170! You can buy a dura ace chain 11s retail for $45. Retail price for 1 oz of chain stripper is $2.25. One bag of chain wax is $40 retail. Assuming that’s good for 5 chain treatments, that adds $8. So buying everything retail is $55.25. So the labor is about $115?? That seems like a lot. I don’t think having you do it should be that much. I would say adding $40-50 for the labor is reasonable. So if you can offer the stripped and waxed chain for $100, I would be in!
@@Vam1500I’m not sponsored by Silca. But you are simplifying how hard it is to get the prepared chains Silca provides. They industrially strip it (you are likely to make mistakes) and wax it for you so all you have to do is re-wax it. If you’re willing to do the work, be disciplined, and screw up while you learn, be my guest. If not, buy a pre-waxed chain. Way simpler and mostly fool-proof. 😊
It was mentioned that the chain stripper preps the chain to allow best application of the wax…I usually drop my degreased chain into denatured alcohol after rinsing with water to help displace water and if the alcohol remains clear I use it as an indicator for a clean chain. Is this necessary or will it create a less effective waxing by removing something the chain strippers purposely leaves behind?
No need to alcohol rinse after using the stripper.. it won't hurt, but it won't help either. The stripper does leave a wax adhesion promoting film on the metal but it is not harmed by alcohol.
last question, in your video you mentioned using the ultrasonic for hot waxing what temp is best and how aggressive on the ultrasonic dial should I set for Hot waxing? Thanks for everything!
No need for ultrasonic, the wax will float to the surface of the boiling water bringing any dirt and contamination with it, and you can then go straight into the hot wax.
To my “imma do my used chain” and/or apartment-dwelling family: just use a new chain. Do it. Regardless of the low volume of miles. It will save you SO MUCH time, money, and effort. Truuuuust me fam ❤
Very nice! Is it safe to let a chain soak in the Chain Stripper over night? I understand that it may not clean it any better than the 10 minutes required but I just want to know if it's fine for the chain, unlike many other solvents. Thanks!
The stripper is incredibly well balanced with an eye on eliminating any risk of hyrdogen embrittlement so it's probably safe, but I wouldn't recommend leaving any chain in any chemical overnight anymore. In the last year we've seen some really weird reactions between certain metal coatings and mineral spirits as well as acetone when left overnight, so we aren't even recommending that anymore. We have not tested Stripper for hours of exposure on a handful of chains without any issues, but there are so many types/models and various coatings that we are no longer recommending any soaking for more than 1 hour in any chemical.
I understand new SRAM chains are extra sticky and require multiple cycles to strip with mineral spirits. Do they also require multiple cycles with this product?? Should I run the product through a coffee filter between cycles on a single new chain? Or just decant from the used container into a fresh one? It seems weird to rinse w water, I guess the hot wax will displace any rinse water off the chain? Thanks in advance!
We just allow the SRAM chains to sit a bit longer.. maybe 20 minutes and then 2 water rinses to flush out the encapsulated grease. Coffee filter definitely helps between cleanings, but the water rinse seems to be the most important element as that's where the last of the grease is really flushed out. And yes, hot wax will boil off any rinse water.. just allow the chain to sit in the wax for a bit so that the water can boil off.. you will notice that the bubbles stop forming on top of the wax after 5-10 minutes.. this means the water is all evaporated.
I bought a combo pack, as I only need to clean 3 chains. On reflection it seems like 100ml, although having enough cleaning power for 3 chains, might not be quite enough to cover them during the cleaning process. Would it be OK to add a small amount of water just to make sure that each chain is fully submerged while I'm letting it soak?
No, the water really won't help at all.. the wax pack is 4oz of stripper, so should be enough to easily clean and cover 3 chains, or just do 2 and then 1 or do them individually so that they are completely covered during the process.
@@SILCAVelo That extra 18ml (118ml in 4oz) made all the difference. I did 3 chains individually last night, and there was *just* enough stripper left in the jar to still cover the third chain. Absolutely love the product - I did 3 chains a couple of weeks ago with white spirit & meths, and this was *so* much quicker, easier and less messy. Hopefully I won't be cleaning chains for another 2-3 years now 😀
If we switch to using an ultrasonic for waxing vice cleaning, and we get the newer version of the 6L model that you recommended in your other video, does one bag of wax adequately fill the reservoir for one chain? Two chains? More?
SeattleMarko-🙏❤️💪 Is there a preferred temperature to melt wax in pot holding wax inside ultrasonic, and how much time to run ultrasonic before removing chain? Previous videos mention letting wax cool a bit prior to removing chain from wax. Same thought when using ultrasonic?
Using the ultrasonic you can likely get the wax to hang out right above the solidification point and the ultrasonic will really help drive the WS2 particles into the inside of the chain. I'd say set it at 175-180F (80-85C) let it run for say 10 minutes and pull it, it'll be great!
@@SILCAVelo would it be feasable instead of putting the wax directly in the ultrasonic cleaner, to put water on in, then use a mason jar and put your hot wax pebbles in it rise the temperature to 80-85 and then put the chain in the mason jar with the wax inside the cleaner? would that work?
New Question: You keep saying "1 oz. per chain", but you demonstrate with about 4 oz. in the jar. Can you clarify what "1 oz. per chain" actually means IRL?
We'll get that on our list.. but literally, just pour the wax into the cleaner, heat it, and then throw the chain in there and run a 'cleaning' cycle for 5-10 minutes, pull the chain, and done! Super easy.
Chain manufacturers have to coat the metal parts in a lubricant during the chain assembly as it is very high speed and the surfaces get very hot, so at the end of the production they are already covered in a machine oil type lubricant, which is than augmented with coating of something for corrosion resistance. The goal of the manufacturer is to make it quickly and then to insure that it doesn't corrode after sitting on a bike shop shelf in Florida for 25 years! If they wanted to wax, they'd have to then strip the chain and apply wax in their factory which is not an easy or fast process, particularly as the wax hardens and then needs to cool down which presumably would slow the packaging process.
No, we make a separate product for that, check out the brake and drivetrain cleaner, it has more chemicals specific to brake related contaminates whereas the Stripper is targeted just at oils and greases used in pre-lubricated chains: silca.cc/collections/clean/products/ultimate-brake-and-drivetrain-cleaner
You can do it inside the bag, and put the bag in the ultrasonic with water, or what we do is just dedicate an ultrasonic to wax and fill the ultrasonic with the wax. 10 minutes at 185F and you get a really amazing wax fill on the chain.
@@SILCAVelo i will use the ultrasonic filled with wax. So, i just put the wax on ultrasonic at 185F and let it melt and after that i put the chain on wax? or do i put the wax and chain at same time?
Can you apply this sparingly to the chain like oil, dripping it on each link, spinning the chain a few times, let it sit for a bit then rinse or soapy H2o and rinse? What happens if it gets on your frame if the above method works and is used? Thanks!
Yes, we have another video on Stripper that shows is used as a drip on.. but essentially we recommend dripping it on, letting sit for 5 minutes, dripping more on, letting sit, and then rinsing with water. It will not hurt paint.
It takes about 4oz/100ml to cover the chain fully, but you can then use that amount of stripper multiple times. If you filter it through a coffee filter to remove all of the encapsulated grease you can probably get even more uses.
If you're moving to wax you will want to deep clean your rings, cassette, and jockey wheels during the changeover. After that, all of those things stay so clean that they will rarely need very much attention.
@@SILCAVelo What do you mean by deep clean? Will using the Silca drivetrain cleaner as shown in the CZcams series bicycle spa suffice, or do I need to fully disassemble the cassette etc? I'm doing all this on a brand new bike are there any differences in the procedure?
Kerosene works great to strip the chain, but then needs to be removed from the chain so that it doesn't damage the wax. Paraffin wax is made from highly refined kerosene, and so the alkane groups in the kerosene are strong solvents for the paraffin wax and will soften it on contact. We've tested this with hot wax, and dropping a kerosene soaked chain in the hot wax will lower the hardness of the wax 5-10% which reduces it's pressure capacity as well as it's adhesion to the metal. It won't 'ruin' the wax so to speak, but certainly will degrade the performance. You can remove the kerosene from the chain using acetone, and then hot wax with great results. With stripper, you are essentially getting the whole process in 1 bottle, but also it is surfactant and enzyme based, so it's doing it in a much more environmentally friendly way.
@@SILCAVelo Thanks for such a detailed, logical reply. Kerosene has been the go-to “Okie” stripper forever, but now that I have a bike I actually care about, it’s likely worth the extra coin to give it proper care. I think you just earned yourself a customer.
@@SILCAVelo thanks, I just bought a .85Gal or 3 L Ultrasonic with Heater , and a big bag of your Hot wax , the starter kit to get the stripper for both my chains and the Super secret lube for touching up between hot waxing, along with your spray degreaser to hit the cassette and chainrings for prep. Cant wait to get the whole process rolling!
as per the item around 10-11mins, for optimal results in re-waxing an already waxed chain, would you recommend using hot boiled water before the re-wax process, or simply re-wax the chain as-is without putting in a hot boiled water? (asking because i don't think i heard about the hot boiled water method in other videos).
You can certainly just re-wax, the risk there is that any remaining surface contamination could then contaminate the wax.. so boiling water is more of a safeguard to just rinse out any residual particle contamination that might be on or in the chain.
@@SILCAVelo thanks for that. It's actually a little hard to find specific information on how to re-wax, especially with drip-on. One of my concerns would be that the old wax gets worked out of the inner workings of the chain but still being on it, prevents the drip on from actually entering where it needs to go? Is that a thing?
I'm thinking of switching to waxing my chain, however, I ride in the rain in New Hampshire. Is that okay, or should I use Super Secret or Synergetic Wet lubes if I alternate between wet and dry riding?
You can extend the life of your wax with Super Secret (which is a wax). Synergetic is an oil based lube and will contaminate your wax if you mix them. I wax all winter and just make sure to dry the chain and apply super secret after rain rides.
Hi! Im using mineral spirits and denatured alcohol to strip my chain of factory grease. Can I follow it up with Silca chain stripper just to be sure that it is totally stripped out of factory grease?
You could but probably would be a waste of either chemicals or money, I'd just do one or the other and as long as your acetone or denatured is totally clean after shaking, then the chain should be ready for wax.
Hi, after using Silca chain cleaner to strip your chain of factory grease do you rinse off the chain with water and dry it out or can it go straight from the cleaner into the wax pot?. Thanks
It can go from the cleaner straight into the pot, but we do find that a water or alcohol rinse will help drive out any remaining encapsulated grease and stripper left in the chain. Some people also just do a second rinse in the stripper and then into the pot.. There are differences we can see in the lab of doing it the various ways, but in real life I can't tell a difference in my own chains when rinsing vs not.
I degrease the chain with "brake cleaner" that comes in a spraycan .At first in a bath , then spray it in a hanger several times until it it drip clear drops. It drys fast and rather unexpensive. Wear a mask .
Josh if they want to have a shot of the stripper. Let the dumbasses do it. Some people just need to hit the wall you tell them is coming. Dumbasses gonna be dumb. LOVE your products. Amazing stuff from socks to secret sauce. Cheers!
The number 1 reason people tell us they won't switch to wax, is the time and chemicals required to strip the chain OR that the chain cannot be stripped while on the bike. Also, white spirit and methylated spirits can be hard find or unavailable in some areas/countries due to changing environmental regulations. If that's working for you, then that's great, but 1oz of biodegradable cleaner to fully strip a chain in 10 minutes is a gamechanger for a lot of people.
Can you make a vanilla flavoured version of it? 😂
It's a chain stripper, no it's a desert topping. It's a chain stripper and a desert topping.
@@alaire1 oh really? I didn't notice... 🤦♂️
If you lack the context and don't get the joke, just stay quiet 🤫
Straight to the point, transparency, honesty and humor. I'm trying hard not to become an absolute Silca fanboy!
Gave up already... #SilcaFan
Love the "Dumb-Ass" comment, brave for any company to put that out there. After your video I'm definitely going to investigate your products and chain waxing in general as it seemed like more hassle than what I'm already doing.
I just waxed my first new chain using this stuff. It was a seriously easy process and the only thing time consuming about it was waiting for the wax to melt in the crockpot. After 15 years of being a mechanic, I already love how clean my drivetrain is after every ride. I'll never not use wax again!
So great to hear!
was lucky to get a bottle of this sauce, after prepping 3 new duraace chains with about 6oz and 3 separate jars i put the used solution in a Rubbermaid and then toothbrush cleaned the cassettes pulleys and chain wheels. as silca stated its severely concentrated and even after 3 chains 3 cassette and 6 pulley wheels it is dirty but still has cleaning power. WHAT A PRODUCT!!!!
Great to hear! You can try straining the grease out through a coffee filter to see how far you can push it. The product is consumed at the molecular level as it binds and encapsulates the grease, but our estimates are pretty conservative and if you tend to it well, you should definitely be able to get ALL the life out of it!
How do you See,when the stripper no longer work on a chain ?
You guys are doing such a great job with this product. I'm happy you're actively trying to develop really well thought out products. Not having to use toxic and corrosive products should be the gold standard for companies. ❤
I like how truthfull you are to the environmental question. I have seen a youtuber who used it and show how he just pour it into the sink because its "environmentally friendly" without thinking about the factory grease. The biggest hit would be if you even develop it further, that it break down factory oil/grease to a degree that it is safe to pour it away. But even then 40€ for a small bottle is a lot if you think about how cheap mineral turpentine is and how often you can reuse it.
ChainStripper does what mineral turps does in 24 hours in 10 minutes.. it also doesn't then need a separate rinse in a polar solvent to strip the turps from the metal. Technically, it also has greater stripping power per unit volume that mineral turps, so you can strip ~2x as many chains with 500ml of Stripper than you can with 500ml of mineral turps plus 500ml of acetone. If you coming at it purely from an environmental point of view, one 500ml bottle of stripper offsets 2 liters of traditional hydrocarbon chemicals, and that's before you consider nastiness of the manufacturing and supply chains of those chemicals. So while both methods leave you with ~5gm of factory grease as a waste product (which can be strained out of stripper using a coffee filter but cannot with turps) the overall environmental footprint of this product is significantly less, and that's before you even begin to get to the fact that you're saving a ton of time, only using one jar to shake and rinse the chain, etc..
@@SILCAVelo You can reuse mineral turp also a lot and even filter it. But thats not the point. Chain Stripper seems to be more convenient. That is one selling point. The other is cost. I think the environment comes last for the most. Adam from ZFC recommended UFO drivetrain clean before yours came out. And it looks like it worked also well and was also ecofriendly.Their bottle was 1l for about 25$. But after they have realized what you could take for your stripper, they cut their amount in half for the same price. So now you pay 25$ for 500ml. I think the environmental aspect for many companys is just way to take more money. If they would really had environmental concerns they would make as cheap as possible so that as many as possible use it instead of chemicals. The whole waxing movement has brought a lot of people into chemicals which they never had used before.
I ordered 2 bottles. Both bottles leaked during shipping. The tops were not tight and it appeared that the flip top nozzles were not all the way down (need locking "bumps"). Both bottles being wrapped in plastic did not keep the stripper from leaking out into the box. Thanks for your awesome products!
Same problem on my delivery
Agreed. Awesome product that leaked during shipping. Didn't seem to lose a significant amount of volume but to the point that it's expensive, it would be nice to receive a full bottle.
Same. It leaked in the box. I think a sealed foil top under the cap would be a good enhancement.
Looks like a great product. Very informative video too. I would like to know more about the "conversion" of an ultrasonic cleaner to a waxer. Thanks. Already ordered my Chain Stripper!
Could you use the metric system? This is cycling, not American Football!
“No dumbass you cannot drink it!” Lmfao😂😂😂😂 Legend!!
Glad you addressed the environmental criticism. Probably biggest complaint that I heard about the initial messaging. Should it have needed to be clarified, maybe not, but best to play it safe.
I loved the “you dumbass” comment!!!!!
Sounds a superb motto... Only 1oz of solvent for the life of the chain! Really good way to think about all the cleaning products and oil lubes I currently use, it has really made me want to transfer to wax now!
Thanks 👍
All good Josh. Your fastideous nature to make things the best you can get is what attracts me to your products. I don't have everything you produce but all I have is the best for what it is designed for.
In relation to this product I have been a chain waxer on and off for ages without knowing the chain (or metal) has to be clinically clean for wax to adhere to it. I'm also old enough to know of shipyards that used waxed timber to launch small to medium sized vessels as the wax was impervious to salt water and slippery for the boats to me launched easily.
Thank you for your efforts and making these videos.
Thanks Richard! - Josh
Any tips for storing the chain stripper between uses? Strain it through a coffee filter or some other media before sealing it up? Thanks.
Straining it with a coffee filter is perfect, that's how we handle it internally when we are stripping chains at scale, it really helps ensure you get the most life from the product and minimizes future contamination.
@@SILCAVelo I tried straining the used stripper through a coffee filter and funnel. This did not work as it stopped dripping through the filter. Any other methods to extend the life?
How many times can I use the stripper? I used it in a jar and cleaned 2 chains that was cold waxed after being ultrasound cleaned with ultra in brake fluid. Now I still have a good portion left from the 2 chains and the dirt is in the bottom of the jar. The 2 chains I cleansed got the hotwax after where I warmed up the super secret up to 125 celsius next I lowered the chain in the wax and first I decreased temperature to 85 celsius and next 75 celsius and was stirring the chain in the pot now and then and for sure there was no bubbles removing the chain to hang up for drying. When I will get a new chain in future I will add a piece of the "stripperbar" into the wax but can I use the wax again after this process
Just finished cleaning 3 new chains with this, so easy. Then I thought, I'd better strip the "NOS" diamond polished Silca chain of its wax and 'clean it' this way too, to get the wax adhesion benefit for this chain as well! Seems unlikely that you had this cleaner available back in May 2021.
Yeah, it has taken me a while to get my race bike ready, and worthy of a $245 diamond slurried chain. Lucky I didn't wait, though, I've not seen more diamond polished chains at Silca again since.
Q. This made me ponder, does the wax adhesion property of this cleaner have a time- or cyclical-limit, is it just better to play it safe by resetting each chain before a rewax? After all, once wax is removed using boiling water, this cleaner would last through many such 'resets', especially if filtered. I used 1oz in a second bottle to rinse each chain before the water step. 16oz will still sit around for years waiting for 2 bikes to wear out 2 chains each if rewaxed regularly.
My bottle of chain stripper just arrived last night and I’m looking forward to giving it a go today!
Thanks, great video and another outstanding product from Silca! Definitely leading the industry! My only consternation is that I am a fairly recent convert to immersive waxing and I have a fairly decent supply of the (now) older stripping chemicals that I need to work through before I can justify this purchase!
Point of clarification, that's Mr. Dumas to you.
(It was that, or a much darker joke about disposing of strippers)
Thanks for the product info, need to get some!
Is it more cost effective to drip on chain or submerge the chain to a jar with 100% that stuff. If I only pour one ounce to jar it will not even cover the half of chain. I can always pour 4 ounce and keep the jar to use on four chains but it would mean there would be dirt every time in the solvent when I put a new chain into the jar which I guess is not ideal compared to dripping the stuff on the chain. Also it sounds like there will be less use of the solvent if it is dripped on the chain.
My new chains been cleaned and applied SuperSecret lube. Here is my question. Does my chain has to be cleaned competely again if I were to use SuperSecret Hot Wax ?
It's the same wax, just in a liquid emulsion (carrier to help penetrate) for Super Secret Drip lube.
Hi Josh - Thanks for this video, you answered a couple questions I had and I can't wait to get some of this product. You're really doing great things at Silca and I use so many of your products now. Amazing job reinventing the brand!
"No dumbass, don't eat it or drink it." BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Do you have an SDS for the Chain Stripper? Stating it has biodegradable components is great but I am curious if there is hazcom information to go along with that statement.
They have one on the product page of their site. 15 pages long! Pretty impressive to see.
Thanks, glad they updated that. It was not on their page 5 months ago. I wouldn’t be impressed by an SDS, it’s a hazcom document with a standard format.
@@JohnHBowie fair point. I had never laid eyes on one until a few hours ago so I thought it was pretty in depth haha.
Thank you for some really good explanations that answered most of my questions, just one more: Can I use a clear hard plastic container for stripping the chain in or does it have to be a glass jar? (I understand that glass is chemically inert so is there some kind of reaction that I risk by using plastic instead?)
Chain stripper should be fine for most plastics, we have just always used glass dating back to the old days of mineral spirits and acetone, each of which are problematic for certain types of plastics.
Thanks for pointing out the proper use of it (not use it to remove wax). My question is: Can you use it in one of these chain cleaning devices like the Park Tool CM-5.3? The other question is: I recently bought a pack of your gear wipes and I was really astonished how good they remove any kind of gunk an grime. The only thing where they struggle is cleaning a cassette because like almost everything, they get ripped into pieces. Is the stuff on that wipes comparable with something else you sell? If not, the world needs that stuff - in big barrels!
You can use the Stripper in a chain cleaning device, you will want to do it similar to the drip method mentioned on the bottle, 2 applications separated by 10 minutes to let it soak in and encapsulate all of the grease. Then rinse it all out with water.
Glad to hear you like the wipes, they're one of my favorite products to hear people's experience on as the expectations are generally low to average and then people are quite often shocked at how good the user experience and effectiveness is! The liquid in the wipe is just SILCA BioDegreaser: silca.cc/products/bio-degreaser?variant=39539967590498
I noticed that Shimano uses different grease/oil for aftermarket and OEM chains. The stuff on OEM chains has a much higher viscosity and reminds me more of grease compared to the stuff on aftermarket chains that seems to be more like some kind oil. Do you have any experience with OEM chains? Is there more/longer rinsing needed?
Would love to learn more on how to the ultrasonic cleaner for waxing the chain. Just put in the wax - let it melt with the chain and then let it run for a while?
Exactly, use the US cleaner like a crockpot and just run it for like 5-10 minutes before pulling. Works great!
I have been cleaning my waxed chain by putting in the ultrasonic cleaner with some dish soap and then rinsing in water. Is there anything to worry about with the soap?
Dish soaps can contain a surprising amount of bad stuff! Dawn for example works so well as it contains sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide along with a whole host of alcohols.. the risk is that it also contains wax eating chemicals and small amounts of skin lubricating oil to protect your hands.. both of which could reduce the wax adhesion to the metal if not fully rinsed from the metal. As long as you are heavily rinsing it's probably OK but if your wax applications aren't lasting as long as you want, that might be the issue.
Do you have any idea why quick links are not packed in the same factory grease as whole chains? (I still clean them just like a new chain to remove any residual machining oils.)
Chains are already covered in assembly lube to allow them to be automatically assembled at high speed, so much of the factory grease is just there as a result of manufacturing and it's easier to add more for corrosion protection before packaging. Whereas quick links are assembled dry, so faster/easier to pack them as-is.
I ordered and received the chain stripper last week. Unfortunately about 1/3 of the Chain Stripper leaked from the bottle during shipping. The cap on the bottle is stripped (Can't get away from that "Stripper" term- haha). So the cap cannot be tightened hence the leak. I contacted Silca but have been disappointed to not receive a response. Its expensive (especially when you add the almost $50 charge to have the product shipped to Canada) and I only received 2/3's of what I paid for. Darcy
I assume that perhaps different manufacturers use different factory grease on their chains, can you confirm which chain manufacturers this product has been shown to work on? Thanks
We use 3 primary solvent/surfactant ingredients targeted at mineral, synthetic, and organic base oils. We have tested it on all the major brands with great success: SRAM, Shimano, Campagnolo, YBN, KMC, Connex/Wipperman
@@SILCAVelo I'm excited to see KMC on this list - I'd read somewhere else that KMC chains didn't do so well with waxing, right after buying a few on sale. I'll keep an eye on my wax & chain wear, but will be stripping and waxing some shiny new KMCs this week!
Not gonna lie. When you said it was food safe, that was the first question that popped into my head lol I guess I'm a dumbass haha
I just waxed four chains with your product - and I got four different results. None of them were bad - just not the same. I think the product itself is awesome, and actually better than other waxes I've tried. However, consistency tends to be a good thing.
The chains either dried with a very thick coating of wax on them, which I peeled off and let the chainring sprockets take care of the rest. Or the chain dried with a barely visible (detectable?) coating on them. Two of the chains were something between the thick coating and the barely detectable one -- all of them work very well - as promised.
Is the difference in wax thickness due to temperature of the hot wax in the bag when I take the chain out?
Does the coating come out thicker on the chain, when the wax is slightly cooler (it seems to)?
The wax will come out thicker if either the wax is too cool and starting to harder, or if the chain isn't left in the wax long enough to fully come to the temperature of the wax. The ones that had little coating on the outside are what you want, those sound like both the chain and wax were at proper temperature when removed.
Can I clean my dentures in it Josh?lmao
😂
You guys are killing me! - Josh
We are just trying to see how many disclaimers you can fit on the bottle before you just put, "don't be a dumbass" on the bottle. Haha
Two chains complete, stuff works great. Noticed that the solids/dirt in the used solvent started settling out. Should I strain the used material through a paper filter before stripping my next chain?
Straining out the captured grease will definitely give you longer stripper life and make rinsing easier in future chains. We have some shops telling us that they are getting 2 chains per ounce by filtering in this manner.
You should run for president lol
Thanks for clarifying the disposal of used stripper! That's good info. Don't want to be pouring it down the drain. Can the stripper be decanted? Does the oil separate and float to the top or does it remain emulsified?
It can be decanted or strained through a coffee filter, the grease remains encapsulated and sinks to the bottom.
I would buy a shimano chain that you’ve treated with chain stripper and then waxed.
You can buy that exact thing here: silca.cc/products/pre-waxed-race-chain
@@SILCAVelo thanks. Price seems very steep at $170! You can buy a dura ace chain 11s retail for $45. Retail price for 1 oz of chain stripper is $2.25. One bag of chain wax is $40 retail. Assuming that’s good for 5 chain treatments, that adds $8. So buying everything retail is $55.25. So the labor is about $115?? That seems like a lot. I don’t think having you do it should be that much. I would say adding $40-50 for the labor is reasonable. So if you can offer the stripped and waxed chain for $100, I would be in!
@@Vam1500I’m not sponsored by Silca. But you are simplifying how hard it is to get the prepared chains Silca provides. They industrially strip it (you are likely to make mistakes) and wax it for you so all you have to do is re-wax it. If you’re willing to do the work, be disciplined, and screw up while you learn, be my guest. If not, buy a pre-waxed chain. Way simpler and mostly fool-proof. 😊
@@Vam1500 Then don't buy it, simple as. People should stop trying to negociate prices with companies on social media 🤦♂🤦♂
@@Al_Gepeyou do you
It was mentioned that the chain stripper preps the chain to allow best application of the wax…I usually drop my degreased chain into denatured alcohol after rinsing with water to help displace water and if the alcohol remains clear I use it as an indicator for a clean chain. Is this necessary or will it create a less effective waxing by removing something the chain strippers purposely leaves behind?
No need to alcohol rinse after using the stripper.. it won't hurt, but it won't help either. The stripper does leave a wax adhesion promoting film on the metal but it is not harmed by alcohol.
last question, in your video you mentioned using the ultrasonic for hot waxing what temp is best and how aggressive on the ultrasonic dial should I set for Hot waxing? Thanks for everything!
170-190F should do it for most waxes, just keep pushing the temp up until the wax is fully melted.
Hi, regarding resetting a waxed chain. Would you recommend to clean a waxed chain in a Ultrasonic Cleaner after putting it in boiling water?
No need for ultrasonic, the wax will float to the surface of the boiling water bringing any dirt and contamination with it, and you can then go straight into the hot wax.
To my “imma do my used chain” and/or apartment-dwelling family: just use a new chain. Do it. Regardless of the low volume of miles. It will save you SO MUCH time, money, and effort. Truuuuust me fam ❤
Very nice! Is it safe to let a chain soak in the Chain Stripper over night? I understand that it may not clean it any better than the 10 minutes required but I just want to know if it's fine for the chain, unlike many other solvents. Thanks!
The stripper is incredibly well balanced with an eye on eliminating any risk of hyrdogen embrittlement so it's probably safe, but I wouldn't recommend leaving any chain in any chemical overnight anymore. In the last year we've seen some really weird reactions between certain metal coatings and mineral spirits as well as acetone when left overnight, so we aren't even recommending that anymore. We have not tested Stripper for hours of exposure on a handful of chains without any issues, but there are so many types/models and various coatings that we are no longer recommending any soaking for more than 1 hour in any chemical.
@@SILCAVelo Thanks so much for the valuable feedback. I will definitely not do that. Be well!
Can I make scented candles with Hot Wax X?
I understand new SRAM chains are extra sticky and require multiple cycles to strip with mineral spirits. Do they also require multiple cycles with this product??
Should I run the product through a coffee filter between cycles on a single new chain? Or just decant from the used container into a fresh one?
It seems weird to rinse w water, I guess the hot wax will displace any rinse water off the chain?
Thanks in advance!
We just allow the SRAM chains to sit a bit longer.. maybe 20 minutes and then 2 water rinses to flush out the encapsulated grease. Coffee filter definitely helps between cleanings, but the water rinse seems to be the most important element as that's where the last of the grease is really flushed out. And yes, hot wax will boil off any rinse water.. just allow the chain to sit in the wax for a bit so that the water can boil off.. you will notice that the bubbles stop forming on top of the wax after 5-10 minutes.. this means the water is all evaporated.
I bought a combo pack, as I only need to clean 3 chains. On reflection it seems like 100ml, although having enough cleaning power for 3 chains, might not be quite enough to cover them during the cleaning process. Would it be OK to add a small amount of water just to make sure that each chain is fully submerged while I'm letting it soak?
No, the water really won't help at all.. the wax pack is 4oz of stripper, so should be enough to easily clean and cover 3 chains, or just do 2 and then 1 or do them individually so that they are completely covered during the process.
@@SILCAVelo That extra 18ml (118ml in 4oz) made all the difference. I did 3 chains individually last night, and there was *just* enough stripper left in the jar to still cover the third chain. Absolutely love the product - I did 3 chains a couple of weeks ago with white spirit & meths, and this was *so* much quicker, easier and less messy. Hopefully I won't be cleaning chains for another 2-3 years now 😀
If we switch to using an ultrasonic for waxing vice cleaning, and we get the newer version of the 6L model that you recommended in your other video, does one bag of wax adequately fill the reservoir for one chain? Two chains? More?
SeattleMarko-🙏❤️💪 Is there a preferred temperature to melt wax in pot holding wax inside ultrasonic, and how much time to run ultrasonic before removing chain? Previous videos mention letting wax cool a bit prior to removing chain from wax. Same thought when using ultrasonic?
Using the ultrasonic you can likely get the wax to hang out right above the solidification point and the ultrasonic will really help drive the WS2 particles into the inside of the chain. I'd say set it at 175-180F (80-85C) let it run for say 10 minutes and pull it, it'll be great!
@@SILCAVelo would it be feasable instead of putting the wax directly in the ultrasonic cleaner, to put water on in, then use a mason jar and put your hot wax pebbles in it rise the temperature to 80-85 and then put the chain in the mason jar with the wax inside the cleaner? would that work?
New Question: You keep saying "1 oz. per chain", but you demonstrate with about 4 oz. in the jar. Can you clarify what "1 oz. per chain" actually means IRL?
If you put 6oz in a jar, you can clean 6 chains in that jar before replacing the liquid.
Ultrasonic chain waxing….how to video please
We'll get that on our list.. but literally, just pour the wax into the cleaner, heat it, and then throw the chain in there and run a 'cleaning' cycle for 5-10 minutes, pull the chain, and done! Super easy.
"Can I eat it?" Who even will ask this question? My mind is boggled!
Petrol or Kerosine cheap and highly effective.
Should I use denatured alcohol bath after using it?
You can use denatured alcohol but do not need to as water works just as well. Either one will leave behind the wax adhesion layer.
Is there a reason chain manufacturers can't package chains already waxed instead of greased?
Chain manufacturers have to coat the metal parts in a lubricant during the chain assembly as it is very high speed and the surfaces get very hot, so at the end of the production they are already covered in a machine oil type lubricant, which is than augmented with coating of something for corrosion resistance. The goal of the manufacturer is to make it quickly and then to insure that it doesn't corrode after sitting on a bike shop shelf in Florida for 25 years! If they wanted to wax, they'd have to then strip the chain and apply wax in their factory which is not an easy or fast process, particularly as the wax hardens and then needs to cool down which presumably would slow the packaging process.
Will the price come down?
Can we use this to clean contaminated disc rotor?
No, we make a separate product for that, check out the brake and drivetrain cleaner, it has more chemicals specific to brake related contaminates whereas the Stripper is targeted just at oils and greases used in pre-lubricated chains: silca.cc/collections/clean/products/ultimate-brake-and-drivetrain-cleaner
Hi.. How to melt wax with the ultrasonic machine? Thanks. 😉
You can do it inside the bag, and put the bag in the ultrasonic with water, or what we do is just dedicate an ultrasonic to wax and fill the ultrasonic with the wax. 10 minutes at 185F and you get a really amazing wax fill on the chain.
@@SILCAVelo i will use the ultrasonic filled with wax. So, i just put the wax on ultrasonic at 185F and let it melt and after that i put the chain on wax? or do i put the wax and chain at same time?
Get a Silca representative here in Brazil so I can buy your wax without going bankrupt. Thanks in advance.👍👍🚲🚲
Can you apply this sparingly to the chain like oil, dripping it on each link, spinning the chain a few times, let it sit for a bit then rinse or soapy H2o and rinse? What happens if it gets on your frame if the above method works and is used? Thanks!
Yes, we have another video on Stripper that shows is used as a drip on.. but essentially we recommend dripping it on, letting sit for 5 minutes, dripping more on, letting sit, and then rinsing with water. It will not hurt paint.
Hi Josh. I saw the video "How to use Chain Stripper for Hot Wax". It looks like more then 1 oz is used. Will 1 oz be enough?
It takes about 4oz/100ml to cover the chain fully, but you can then use that amount of stripper multiple times. If you filter it through a coffee filter to remove all of the encapsulated grease you can probably get even more uses.
So #waxcurious and in the process if waxing chains. Should I be stripping/degreaseing cassette and chainrings etc? How should I 'treat' the surface?
If you're moving to wax you will want to deep clean your rings, cassette, and jockey wheels during the changeover. After that, all of those things stay so clean that they will rarely need very much attention.
@@SILCAVelo What do you mean by deep clean? Will using the Silca drivetrain cleaner as shown in the CZcams series bicycle spa suffice, or do I need to fully disassemble the cassette etc? I'm doing all this on a brand new bike are there any differences in the procedure?
So clean super secrete chain lube with a boiling water flush?
Yes, once you are using SuperSecret or SecretBlend wax you will need nothing more than boiling water to fully re-strip your chain.
How does this stripper compare to straight kerosene? Hard to top that stuff for pure grease stripping power.
Kerosene works great to strip the chain, but then needs to be removed from the chain so that it doesn't damage the wax. Paraffin wax is made from highly refined kerosene, and so the alkane groups in the kerosene are strong solvents for the paraffin wax and will soften it on contact. We've tested this with hot wax, and dropping a kerosene soaked chain in the hot wax will lower the hardness of the wax 5-10% which reduces it's pressure capacity as well as it's adhesion to the metal. It won't 'ruin' the wax so to speak, but certainly will degrade the performance. You can remove the kerosene from the chain using acetone, and then hot wax with great results. With stripper, you are essentially getting the whole process in 1 bottle, but also it is surfactant and enzyme based, so it's doing it in a much more environmentally friendly way.
@@SILCAVelo Thanks for such a detailed, logical reply. Kerosene has been the go-to “Okie” stripper forever, but now that I have a bike I actually care about, it’s likely worth the extra coin to give it proper care. I think you just earned yourself a customer.
What size ultra sonic cleaner should I buy to hot melt wax Ultrasonic style 1 or 2 chains at a time?
3L or larger will work for 2+ chains
@@SILCAVelo thanks, I just bought a .85Gal or 3 L Ultrasonic with Heater , and a big bag of your Hot wax , the starter kit to get the stripper for both my chains and the Super secret lube for touching up between hot waxing, along with your spray degreaser to hit the cassette and chainrings for prep. Cant wait to get the whole process rolling!
should I use the stripper to degrease and clean between applications of the supersecrt lube, if im using that and not hot waxing?
No, Stripper is for removing factory lube.. after that you can just use boiling water to clean a wax lubed chain.
@@SILCAVelo Thanks for answering!, I learned that from your video just now!
as per the item around 10-11mins, for optimal results in re-waxing an already waxed chain, would you recommend using hot boiled water before the re-wax process, or simply re-wax the chain as-is without putting in a hot boiled water? (asking because i don't think i heard about the hot boiled water method in other videos).
You can certainly just re-wax, the risk there is that any remaining surface contamination could then contaminate the wax.. so boiling water is more of a safeguard to just rinse out any residual particle contamination that might be on or in the chain.
@@SILCAVelo thanks for that. It's actually a little hard to find specific information on how to re-wax, especially with drip-on. One of my concerns would be that the old wax gets worked out of the inner workings of the chain but still being on it, prevents the drip on from actually entering where it needs to go? Is that a thing?
I'm thinking of switching to waxing my chain, however, I ride in the rain in New Hampshire. Is that okay, or should I use Super Secret or Synergetic Wet lubes if I alternate between wet and dry riding?
You can extend the life of your wax with Super Secret (which is a wax). Synergetic is an oil based lube and will contaminate your wax if you mix them. I wax all winter and just make sure to dry the chain and apply super secret after rain rides.
Hi! Im using mineral spirits and denatured alcohol to strip my chain of factory grease. Can I follow it up with Silca chain stripper just to be sure that it is totally stripped out of factory grease?
Not necessary if your denatured alcohol shake is clear. You could, if you don’t mind spending extra.
@@thenicoalfonso thanks!
You could but probably would be a waste of either chemicals or money, I'd just do one or the other and as long as your acetone or denatured is totally clean after shaking, then the chain should be ready for wax.
Hi, after using Silca chain cleaner to strip your chain of factory grease do you rinse off the chain with water and dry it out or can it go straight from the cleaner into the wax pot?.
Thanks
It can go from the cleaner straight into the pot, but we do find that a water or alcohol rinse will help drive out any remaining encapsulated grease and stripper left in the chain. Some people also just do a second rinse in the stripper and then into the pot.. There are differences we can see in the lab of doing it the various ways, but in real life I can't tell a difference in my own chains when rinsing vs not.
Thank you 👍🏻👍🏻
I degrease the chain with "brake cleaner" that comes in a spraycan .At first in a bath , then spray it in a hanger several times until it it drip clear drops.
It drys fast and rather unexpensive.
Wear a mask .
Josh if they want to have a shot of the stripper. Let the dumbasses do it. Some people just need to hit the wall you tell them is coming. Dumbasses gonna be dumb. LOVE your products. Amazing stuff from socks to secret sauce. Cheers!
"share with the other dumbasses you know" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
"You dumb a$$" needs to be said to more people, more often
😂😂😂😂
The MSDS on this product is pretty INENSE and definitely not acceptable to say biodegradable
"no you can't eat it, you dumbass" 😀👍 Thank you for calling a duck a duck.
Just use water 😂 it comes off
Am I the only one having issues with this - but it looks like the posters in the background are sharp, and your face is out of focus?!
Why use something so expensive, when you can use for example, white spirit, methylated spirit etc, much cheaper and just as effective
The number 1 reason people tell us they won't switch to wax, is the time and chemicals required to strip the chain OR that the chain cannot be stripped while on the bike. Also, white spirit and methylated spirits can be hard find or unavailable in some areas/countries due to changing environmental regulations. If that's working for you, then that's great, but 1oz of biodegradable cleaner to fully strip a chain in 10 minutes is a gamechanger for a lot of people.
44 EUROS!!!!! 😂😁😂Thanks, but no thanks. I'll wait till Decathlon launches its own version for 10 euros...