In article <
[email protected]>,
Jobst Brandt <
[email protected]> wrote:
> Ideally, a wash basin with a false bottom (baffle) below which grit and metal debris sink, is the
> best. That's why good mechanics shops use them. They are the best at getting grit (the principal
> cause of chain wear) out of chains.
I recently tried cleaning a chain by putting the removed chain in a jar half full of paint thinner,
capping it, and shaking vigorously for about a minute. Before trying that, I'd already removed much
of the dirt/grit using a water-based cleaner (another experiment, which didn't work well). The paint
thinner turned black after shaking. Pouring the used solvent out, adding clean solvent, and shaking
again, yielded a jar full of grayish solution. Repeating a third time yielded a fairly clean
solution, at which point it seemed like that was enough.
This was a glass jar, about half a liter in size, with a large cap, and I was shaking hard enough
that I was a bit worried that the glass might break. Indeed, I still am; next time I'll use a
plastic container. (The metal lid had numerous small dents in it from the chain impacts.) I don't
recommend that others use glass, at least not if they are going to shake vigorously, as seems
indicated.
The dirty paint thinner need not be discarded; if left standing for a week or two, all the grit
settles out to the bottom, and clean solution can be poured off the top.
Shaking vigorously, so that the chain rattles around, is much quicker and more effective than trying
to stir the chain around with a stick, as I had been doing previously. I wouldn't be surprised if
this method were superior to a wash basin, even without considering the cost of the latter, the
space it takes up, and the amount of solvent that needs to be purchased to fill it.
--
Norman Yarvin
[email protected]
I know some of you wash your bikes in the shower and I know some of
