I'd rather buy a new chain than suffer that Sheldon Brown protocol. The Park Tool encapsulated brush tool is terrific and not too messy. I use Simple Green as a degreaser. I hate spray lubes. so I just use a rag with a dollop of motor oil clenched around the chain for a few revolutions backward and forward. My drive train is perfectly silent, and I don't have over-spray on my wheels and such.