Originally Posted by cyccommute

It took you an inordinate amount of time because you used the wrong cleaner and the wrong procedure. Soaking a chain with oil on it overnight in water does zero to remove the oil. They aren't miscible so it's a useless step.

A bottle (I use a wide mouth Gatorade bottle) with about a cup of mineral oil in it will clean a dozen chains. Drop it in, shake it vigously for about 30 seconds and fish it out. Hang to dry. Total time is about 15 minutes including taking the chain off and putting it on. It doesn't need to be hard.

I agree with the wax based lubricant. I used Phil's Tenacious Oil for a while until White Lightning was introduced. I haven't used anything since nor have I had to do a whole lot of cleaning. The above pictures speak volumes.