evancds

I cleaned my chain with mineral spirits, and some degreaser to get it shiny, then rinsed it with water. I was going to put some lube on, but figured I'd let it hang dry first so that any mineral spirits / degreaser would evaporate. I come back 24hrs later to put some lube on and there is a small amount of rust near the rollers on a good portion of the chain. What did I do wrong?

Wil Davis

Your drying was inadequate, and there was water left on the chain. I clean my chains with citrus de-greaser, and rinse with water, and then dry with paper towels followed by a hair-dryer; you really need to remove all the water. You could always pop it in the oven (not microwave ) for 10 mins at 200ºF.

- Wil

bkaapcke

This is why you don't want water anywhere near the chain. There's probably some rust inside the rollers too. I don't know if the chain is ruined or not. In the future, clean it with Brake Klean (at your auto parts store) and a nappy towel. If you clean the chain fairly often, this is all you will need. You don't even have to take it off the bike. One pipe cleaner, bent in half, will get between the rollers. I clean mine once a week and it takes about 10 minutes. bk

BearSquirrel

Try rinsing with Isopropyl Alcohol. For that matter, you can just clean it in alcohol. It won't rust, I guarantee.

operator

Whoa serious? Man all those idiots riding in the rain should know better.

dejinshathe

+1 degreaser then a good wipe down with a rag and then regrease. It takes ten minutes and as I make sure each bike gets the treatment every 100kms, nothing ever gets ingrained enough to need more than that. I cheat on the pipe-cleaner front, though; I bought a cheap "cleaning machine" with rolling brushes and a degreaser reservoir - it works just fine.

JanMM

don't put your chain in the oven unless you never cook food in it

Bikedued

Compressed air to dry, and lube soon after blowing the water out. Although I just soak mine in Chem tool carb cleaner. Leaves them spotless in a half hour or less. Then I blow them out, and hit with LPS-3 which a waxy dryish lube. Made for machinery, etc. Maybe a little Tri flow if I feel like it.,,,,BD

OneTinSloth

all those idiots riding in the rain probably have rusty chains, if they're not all coated with gobs and gobs of lube.

Quijibo187

or clean and re-lube properly after a ride in the rain...

EvilV

Wd40 disperses water just fine. Then it evaporates leaving a small trace of waxy oil. You can add whatever additional lubricant you like after it has dried in a half an hour.

Content of wd40:

HYDROCARBON SOLVENT 67%
(WHITE SPIRIT)
MINERAL OIL 21%
CARBON DIOXIDE 2-3%

jemoryl

Just totally skip the steps after the mineral spirits (or kerosene, or similar petroleum based solvent). No need to use water or water-based degreasers after that (or ever). Get a (light) coating of lube on the chain after degreasing and you are set. Yes, we need to ride in the rain, but it is never good for the chain.

Kotts

No surprise. That's what it was developed for. (WD40 means "Water Dispersant, 40th formulation".)
It's not a lubricant, or a penetrating oil, or even a pain releiever, it gets water out and keeps it from corroding fine metal parts.

Kotts

cny-bikeman

I agree that you should not use water after mineral spirits or any other solvent (as opposed to cleaner).

If there was no rust previously (and you don't know that there wasn't) the amount of rust that formed in less than 24 hours is not a problem. Just lube and ride.

tellyho

Although we have this discussion monthly, I'm of the "lube-and-a-rag" school of cleaning. Degreaser never gets anywhere near my chain. Also an old paintbrush to knock the big crap off.

BikeWise1

FWIW, KMC says the sure fire way to kill a chain is to use solvents on it.

We use ProLink as both cleaner and lube. 1 bottle, 1 rag, a few seconds a week....done.

ATB people use ProLink, a toothbrush, and a rag.

cyccommute 

Yep. Mineral spirits will evaporate faster than water anyway and won't set up the little electrochemical cells that make iron rust.

If you are going to clean your chain with a water based degreaser, evancds, the order of cleaning should be degreaser, water rinse, water displacement rinse. I wouldn't use WD-40 since it leaves a residue that really isn't that go a lubricant. I'd use either mineral spirits (not the best for water displacement), acetone (kinda highly flammable) or an alcohol...denatured alcohol (poisoned ethanol) or isopropyl alcohol aka 2-propanol. Of the 4 above choices, isopropyl alcohol would probably be best, cheapest and safest. None of them...even acetone...is a very good degreaser, however.

Nestoreitor

Aren't all these degreasers and lubricants extremely toxic? how do you dispose of the excess lube/degreaser/stained rags/etc? I can understand the need for keeping a chain in spotless condition if you are a pro rider, but for commuting, general use? I don't know.

In my old beater I use some sewing machine oil every 1-2 years, or sooner if it gets really squeaky, and of course the chain and cassete are rusted all over, but who cares? it keeps working after a decade. Not very good looking, but working anyway.

cyccommute 

Not terribly toxic. Not when compared to the 15 to 20 gallons of highly flammable, highly toxic gasoline you'll find in most cars. Mineral spirits and alcohols are pretty innocuous. Acetone isn't that toxic. The stuff you find in water degreasers isn't something I'd pour on my morning Wheaties and I'd definitely rinse any of it off my skin but it's not too bad.

As for disposal, I try to use a little as possible. 2 1/4 cup aliquots (a fancy chemistry word meaning amounts) of mineral spirits...one dirty one to knock the grease of and one clean one to rinse...will do the trick. I then either evaporate it, put it in a bottle for disposal (probably the best) through my municipality or burn it (I don't recommend that one). I've never used the water based degreaser so I'm not sure what to do with it. Probably not a good idea to send it into the waste water supply however.

Al1943

One of the earliest uses for crude oil was for medicinal purposes. A good spoonful of "rock oil" was good to clean out your innards. I don't recommend it in your water bottle though.

webist

Nestoreitor

Oh yeah, a sip of gas-laced gatorade and two sodium pills to keep you burning. The ultimate exotermic energy drink.