White Lightening

Quoted message said:

I've got a bottle of White Lightening Raceday, with intention to switch over to using it. The
leaflet says I should clean off all the grease/oil/WD40 etc before applying. How serious is that?
Do I have to take the block apart to make sure all the teeth are cleaned? What about the grease
inside the chain rollers?

--

White Lighting is basically a dry wax application that will not adhere to oily surfaces. Anything
that you want lubed with it must be cleaned with degreaser prior to applying White Lighting.

I used WL for a couple of years then switched to a product called Pro-Link. Its a cleaner and lube
all in one. In addition, its thicker than WL so more of it stays on your chain. 90% of my WL ended
up on the floor.

Patrick Herring said:

take the block apart to make sure all the teeth are cleaned?

I didn't, but it was a newish block withou too much gunge.

Quoted message said:

What about the grease inside the chain rollers?

A solvent shake shifts most of it, and is the easiest method anyway.

regards, Ian SMith
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Patrick Herring said:

I've got a bottle of White Lightening Raceday, with intention to switch over to using it. The
leaflet says I should clean off all the grease/oil/WD40 etc before applying. How serious is that?

I've not used the WL brand but have used other wax lubes and it's true that they don't mix well with
an oily chain. Soak chain in a jar of white sprit then allow to dry.

Quoted message said:

Do I have to take the block apart to make sure all the teeth are cleaned?

That would help but is not essential. Edge of rag between the cogs should
do.

Quoted message said:

What about the grease inside the chain rollers?

Soaking in solvent will get rid of that.

~PB

(Patrick Herring) said:

I've got a bottle of White Lightening Raceday, with intention to switch over to using it. The
leaflet says I should clean off all the grease/oil/WD40 etc before applying. How serious is that?

Depends if you want it to work or not ;-)

You should in any case not have any WD40 on your drivetrain.

I recommend the Sheldon Shake as per sheldonbrown.comchains.htmlOpen ↗ - I do this, then apply
the WL Raceday. And yes, it's well worth cleaning the cassette and chainrings as well.

I use WL raceday: I top up the lube about once a week, twice in winter. It works for me.

Quoted message said:

Do I have to take the block apart to make sure all the teeth are cleaned? What about the grease
inside the chain rollers?

The grease inside the chain rollers is removed using the above technique. The cassette / block can
be cleaned on the wheel using a folded over rag soaked in cleaner to get right into the gaps between
sprockets. Chainrings are always a bugger to get really clean without dismantling the chainset
assembly - which is not possible with cheap ones which are riveted.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. chapmancentral.demon.co.ukchapmancentral.demon.co.ukOpen ↗

In message <[email hidden]>, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

The cassette / block can be cleaned on the wheel using a folded over rag soaked in cleaner to get
right into the gaps between sprockets. Chainrings are always a bugger to get really clean without
dismantling the chainset assembly - which is not possible with cheap ones which are riveted.

For cleaning blocks and chainsets, esp. if they have collected a fair bit of clag I use the
brush made by Park Tools. It's a long thin brush with long stiff bristles, gets down amongst the
cogs nicely.
--
Chris French, Leeds