How do you remove factory grease from bicycle chain?

[boslab]

It’s difficult but ungreased chain used to be available for food processing stuff I was told, never seen it myself btw, all the roller chain I’ve dealt with was stinking!
ultrasonic cleaner and some solvent?, I know your not supposed to use solvents in an ultrasonic bath but a plastic screw top bottle seems to work.
mark

[Doozer]

What about waterless hand cleaners like Goop? Is that available in Calif? Or does it cause cancer out there?

I would think a liberal (liberal...get it?) slathering of the hand cleaner, along with some vigorous brushing, followed by hot soapy water to wash away the Goop would do the trick.

I asked if California was going to bad diesel, as it is about the same as mineral spirits
and George deleted my post. I can't believe that was deemed too political of a comment
to make and I was censored. Maybe he will delete your comment and censor you too.
Share and share alike, ya know.

-Doozer

[Glug]

It’s difficult but ungreased chain used to be available for food processing stuff I was told

Bike chains tend to be quite specific to the application. For bikes that shift, the number of gears dictates the width of the chain. The chains also tend to have shapes that help shifting. They're also fairly inexpensive - especially compared to the cost of accelerated gear wear from a stretched and dirty chain. Though higher quality chains can get rather $$. They are lighter, with more precise manufacturing methods.

Lube choice is typically application and use specific. Off road it depends on how dusty, wet, and gritty. On road, will it be ridden in the wet? Snow and salt. How often will it be cleaned, etc.

A lot of bikers have duplicate chains, to minimize downtime while cleaning and allow soak time. Bike chains are also counterfeited.

A nice well-maintained gear train is a joy to use. Smooth, quiet, quick shifts.

I once used a bio-diesel based parts washer at a bike shop. It was thick, probably old and evaporated. It didn't work well, didn't cut stuff. And because it was thick, it was difficult to remove to remove from parts - especially a chain. I also didn't want to get it on my hands. Cannot recommend. A home shop parts washer with mineral spirits is such a luxury.

[George Bulliss]

I asked if California was going to bad diesel, as it is about the same as mineral spirits
and George deleted my post. I can't believe that was deemed too political of a comment
to make and I was censored.

-Doozer

Must have been operator error on your end Dooz – I didn't touch your thread and didn't even see it. I've deleted plenty of yours in the past, but not this time!

[Richard P Wilson]

Petrol (gasolene) or paraffin (Kerosene) always worked well for me cleaning chains, unless California has banned gasolene and kerosene.

[kf2qd]

Move out of California. It is still pricey elsewhere, but it is doable

[kf2qd]

Most use a wax based lubricant on chain because it doesn't collect dirt like a grease base lube. Are you trying to clean that wax based lube off the chain?

[psomero]

Soak it in some LPS2, kerosene or WD40. I prefer the LPS but have used all three to degrease stuff fairly often.

Kerosene is a pretty good option because it's cheaper. You can get it, even here in California at the hardware store for space heaters or torch lamps. I have a gallon which I only use for degreasing and have been filtering it and rebottling the same jug for a couple of years.

[Doozer]

Must have been operator error on your end Dooz – I didn't touch your thread and didn't even see it. I've deleted plenty of yours in the past, but not this time!

Maybe I am getting old and senile.
Or maybe I typed it and went to lunch and forgot to hit send.
I am 48 and I am starting to forget things already.
I think it is because I don't like certain parts of my daily job
and my mind is starting to block out activities of my day at work
as a protection mechanism so I don't go (more) crazy.
Trying to conform is killing my spirit. Sucking azz to keep the peace
with the other playmates is really not my style, but I guess I choose
to whore my self out for money this way, at the present time.
More to come. Thanks George.

But as for California, I have been there twice and I really like the place.
I did some testing at UC Berkeley on some structures, and it was a
cool time. The coffee was great. The weather ranges between 65° and
85°, so many buildings don't have heat or A/C. The bay area is so neat
and many things to see. But it is expensive and the laws seem emotion
based instead of logic based. So this engineer does not compute with
that. But maybe the atmosphere and the weather can make the other
things tolerable. Maybe.

-Doozer

[darryl]

Lacquer thinner. Acetone, zylene, toulene. Hand friendly, and has worked for me in a lot of circumstances.

[Doozer]

Lacquer thinner. Acetone, zylene, toulene. Hand friendly, and has worked for me in a lot of circumstances.

The absolute best solvent that I have found to clean greasy machines
is 3/4 Lacquer thinner and 1/4 Mineral spirits. For some reason, just a
little bit of mineral spirits makes the lacquer thinner work better.
It acts like a detergent. The lacquer thinner breaks down the crud and
the mineral spirits does some thing to the surface tension or something
and makes the curd flow or float away. Try it for real.

-Doozer

[Glug]

Move out of California. It is still pricey elsewhere, but it is doable

"So why'd you move?"
"Some guy on an internet forum told me to. He said I could get my bike chain cleaner. But now I live so far from everything I don't bike."

[J Tiers]

Move out of California. It is still pricey elsewhere, but it is doable

Not everywhere....

Here being one. The pretty low cost house I live in would probably cost 2 million bucks if in many parts of california or Washington state. That is many many times the price I paid, and still several times more than I could sell this house for. It's insane out there.

Over 20 years ago, I looked at moving due to a job offer in the L.A. area. I may have mentioned it before. Even though the salary was much higher, I would have had to live out and do a 2 hour commute each way, just to be able to afford a decent house. Nope, that "opportunity" got a hard "NO".

Everywhere else I go, the cost of living is higher than here.

I'd think the move out of CA would pay off long term. Companies are trying to hire people all over the USA.

[DR]

The simple trick to affordable west coast housing is buy 25 years ago. We cursed the Californians when they came to Seattle with the proceeds from their home sales. Then the Microsofties. Oh well, our former working class neighborhood home is now appraised for exactly 100 times what we paid for it. .

My wife grew up in what is now Silicon Valley. Her parents are likely turning over their graves knowing their house after subdividing the lot just sold for 150 times what they got when they downsized to retirement.

[BCRider]

I can't recall if it was here or on a bike forum where the nature of the solvents was discussed. Apparently solvents have a polarity index or something like that? Water, the commonly found alcohols and acetone being considered as "polar". Mineral spirits, paint thinner, kerosene and I would suppose the generic soup sold as gasoline are non polar.

Most greases tend to be a petrochemical product so they would dissolve or mix more easily with the non polar solvents that are also closer in nature to a direct distillate of crude oil.

At least that's how I understand it from the other threads I've read. Bottom line though is that if a solvent has no effect or lifts the offending material and does not dissolve it but leaves it in lumps then it's probably the wrong polarity solvent for that particular material.