Silca Chain Stripper

[BRad704]

Just saw this on YT from Silca. Curious to try it, because right now I'm using the combo of Mineral spirits, Simplegreen in the ultrasonic and then water and isopropyl alcohol for drying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttWQeoaCQGA

[drgonzo]

same here, would really be interested to hear if anyone has tried it yet.

[Nomadmax]

Thirty six bucks for 16 ounces? Put me down for mineral spirits and a 20 dollar bottle of Pinot.

[bart998]

I use the $5 gallon of parts cleaner from Harbor Freight. Soak for about an hour and wire brush on a towel. Then I follow up with some Gumout Carb cleaner to remove the residual cleaner (dries rapidly) and blow dry with the air compressor to get anything left out of the bushings.... Cleans out all the old wax. I know because its in the bottom of the bowl when I'm done soaking.

[Upcountry]

I’m a bit confused by the fact they continuously mention using a “new factory chain”, “grease and oils”, but nowhere mentions existing wax. So it sounds to me like this is solely intended to remove factory grease off of a new chain, rather than stripping existing wax/dirt off of a used chain. As such it’s a bit of a bait and switch, to get people over the initial hurdle(which is tiny, and will be encountered 200-300 miles later).

[BdaGhisallo]

Originally Posted by Upcountry

I’m a bit confused by the fact they continuously mention using a “new factory chain”, “grease and oils”, but nowhere mentions existing wax. So it sounds to me like this is solely intended to remove factory grease off of a new chain, rather than stripping existing wax/dirt off of a used chain. As such it’s a bit of a bait and switch, to get people over the initial hurdle(which is tiny, and will be encountered 200-300 miles later).

Why do you need to strip off existing wax from a chain? If you think it's loaded with contaminants, just rinse it off with a kettle's worth of boiling water and throw the chain in the crock pot and re-wax it.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by BdaGhisallo

Why do you need to strip off existing wax from a chain? If you think it's loaded with contaminants, just rinse it off with a kettle's worth of boiling water and throw the chain in the crock pot and re-wax it.

^^^This^^^ I picked up a $1 sauce pot at a thrift store. If my bike /chain is really dirty (e.g., after a wet gravel race), I just place the chain in boiling water to remove any residual contaminents, blow dry with compressed air, then re-hot wax. Quick and easy. My chains last (seemingly) forever.

Greg

[teleguy57]

So I just did a new chain, and even with 2 OMS and 1 acetone bath I must not have gotten it totally clean as it's fairly noisy after waxing. I've waxed chains for a while so I know the silence to expect.

What the recommendation here? I could just throw it back in the wax pot but if it didn't take well the first time will this make any real difference vs figuring out how to strip completely and start over with wax.

[AngryScientist]

ridiculous.

I get that when you run a company, you need new products to drive sales, but seems like at least every month Silca has a new $$$ product that you simply need for chain maintenance.

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

ridiculous.

I get that when you run a company, you need new products to drive sales, but seems like at least every month Silca has a new $$$ product that you simply need for chain maintenance.

To me it's not any more rediculous than when companies started selling chain wax with additives, so you (the customer) doesn't need to buy/blend your own parafin with PTFE or whatever else you want to add.

I also don't think it's every month. And definitely isn't as expensive as when Sram or Shimano come out with new products annually.

Maybe I'm just a sucker, but I've enjoyed the Silca products I have for chains and will keep buying them. I'll prob even buy this stripper when it's time to put new chains on a few bikes.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by BRad704

To me it's not any more rediculous than when companies started selling chain wax with additives, so you (the customer) doesn't need to buy/blend your own parafin with PTFE or whatever else you want to add.

I also don't think it's every month. And definitely isn't as expensive as when Sram or Shimano come out with new products annually.

Maybe I'm just a sucker, but I've enjoyed the Silca products I have for chains and will keep buying them. I'll prob even buy this stripper when it's time to put new chains on a few bikes.

I am as guilty or worse than the next guy for buying stuff I dont really need, so I'm not throwing any stones here

[mcteague]

Well, it is faster than multiple baths of chemicals...and better for the environment (according to them). One thing I like is you can strip grease and oil off an existing chain while still on the bike. My Campy bike has a pinned chain that I wanted to move to wax but was too much bother to break it and use a quick link. For some reason they always were iffy on that chain so stuck with the pin. With this stuff I can clean it off on the bike and use the Silca drip wax, which I already have. It is pricey but may be worth it on a time/$ calculation. YMMV.

Tim

[fredd]

If this does what it promises, $36 sounds like a very reasonable price to pay to save me from the time and hassle that it is to do it the long way with mineral spirits.

[bshell]

teleguy, post #8 --I'd probably try boiling the chain in water first and then redo the solvent/residue steps as per Silca/ZFC.

Regarding the Silca product, it's pricey but I kinda like the idea for anyone that doesn't properly reuse/dispose of solvents.

[joshatsilca]

From our perspective, this is solving 2 customer issues while also creating a new feature in the drivetrain maintenance realm.

1. The biggest complaint/deterrent to waxed drivetrains is the initial cleaning. Requiring at least 2 chemical solvents and at least a few hours of time/effort, even days according to some recipes. There is also huge risks here as some solvents like Simple Green can cause actual damage to the chain leading to cracks or failures.

2. In California and most all of the EU, the solvents that work best are either unavailable, diluted to nearly useless, or are terribly expensive and hard to find.. our customer service box is full of people asking about various chemical substitutions for their particular region as they can't get the standard stuff.

This product solves both of those, it's a single, biodegradable product, not regulated by government that requires only 1 container and 10 minutes to get the job done. Believe me, if you're a WorldTour mechanic stripping 20 factory chains at a time, anything involving soaking for 2 hours and blow drying with a compressor or scrubbing with a brush.. none of that is happening. We've solved both of those issues with this.

But maybe most importantly, the product 'residue' is an actual wax adhesion promoter, which is why you don't need a second solvent to remove it.. so not only is it a 10 minute clean, but it's a longer lifespan for the wax as well.