You can try one of the biodegradable celaners, Simple Green etc, but I don't know if that would work with wax. If not you'll probably need something like mineral spirits or acetone.
Gasoline is so friggin' dangerous though. If you have to be old school use diesel fuel. Much more difficult to ignite.
Try this also:
take some straight simple green, put in an old pot on the stove, put your chain in it, and heat to boiling. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
No, joke heat really increases the cleaning power of that stuff.
Castrol Super clean works extremely well also, just don't use it on aluminum or in an aluminum pot.
And you can pour the used cleaner down the drain when your done. It's water soluble and biodegradable.