As others have said, if you use a wax that has a black additive in it, expect a black chain. If you want to get rid of the black deposits, use a colorless wax (known to nonchemists as “white” wax). You’ll save yourself a whole bunch of money because the wax will work just fine without the tungsten disulfide. The use of tungsten disulfide is largely useless anyway and about the only thing it does is remove money from your wallet. You can buy five 1 lb boxes of Gulf canning wax for less than 1 lb of Silca’s magic blend. That will keep you in lubricated chains for years if not decades.

In chemistry, we talk about “homologous series” which are organic chemical compounds that have similar properties and similar structures but differ only in the number of carbon atoms in the chain of atoms that make up the molecule. “Wax” is part of a homologous series that includes methane, propane, butane and other hydrocarbons which are made of only hydrogen and carbon. A mixture of hydrocarbons that do a really good job of dissolving grease and oils and wax is known a “mineral spirits”. Mineral spirits are related to wax but it is liquid at room temperature. The operative word there is “liquid”. Once the wax is melted it is liquid and works similarly to mineral spirits for removing oil, grease, and wax.

The material on the outside of a new chain isn’t “grease” which is an oil or other lubricant in the presence of a thickener like a soap. It’s a soft wax similar to Vaseline and is readily soluble in the wax you are using. If you really don’t want to put the soft wax into your hard wax (it won’t hurt either but…), remove the soft wax with mineral spirits by shaking it in an old Gatorade bottle until your arm gets tired or about 30 seconds, whichever comes first. Let the chain dry (putting it out in the sun speeds the process). That’s it. That’s all that is needed. There is no need for 700 steps involving water, acetone, or alcohol or sacrificing chickens.

​​​​​​​Keep it simple.