Go Figure ?
 

I found an old (fully rusted solid) chain last week,and I chucked it in a bucket of the famous "Oxalic Acid"to see wot would happen, well,to cut a long story short,I FORGOT about it and now (one week later) I just pulled it up outa the GOO and hosed it down and gave it a quick scrub with an old toothbrush ,and believe it or not this chain looks like new, ----- so ---(breath here and keep talkin) --- if I submerge it in oil and let it soak for a day or 2 do YOU think it will become usable again ? or shud I trash it ???:rolleyes:

I don't know, but I always treat chains the same way I treat handlebar wraps and cables: They are disposable.

Remember that all that rust used to be metal holding the chain together. I would use it if it rolls smoothly, but I'm cheap. Don't expect this chain to last very long.

Removing rust will do nothing to deal with chain wear. If the chain is worn, you better not use it. If you are not sure if it is worn or not, better not use it. Just my opinion.

All opinions are taken on board with thanx !

I agree with Randy. If the chainring/RD has any value, you are better off tossing the chain. If it is going on a beater or cheap flipper with a really crappy set of components, then I might be cheap enough to use it.

Oh, what the heck! Go ahead and give it a try! Measure 12 links; if they measure 12 1/4", throw it in the recycle bucket. If exactly 12" then it should be okay for a while. But it also depends on the bike you intend this for; but certainly for an old 3 speed with steel chain ring etc it should be okay.

If for no other reason than seeing if the chain can be made usable again, I vote for conducting the experiment. If it is worn, it's worn, but I'm interested in knowing what technique could salvage a crusty chain.

When in doubt, throw it out.

I'm not against re-using it, personally I'd toss it, 'cause if you use it on an aluminum chain ring, it is going to wear it unnaturally fast, steel ring, not so much.
It's just that the chain is such a vital part of the transmission, not to use a friction-free one is such a waste of effort.

If it's 12 3/4" or more then a couple of months of riding will get it to an even 13" and you're good to go.

If this works I'm going to do some skip tooth chains. They're rather expensive to buy new and there's not that much wear on them.

As far as newer chains, I don't bother trying to get the old one lubed up. If it's going on a cheaper flipper I splice pieces of good chain together and call it good. If it's a nice flipper I put a walmart chain on it. If it's a keeper I get a nice SRAM. (You can see where my priorities are;)) There are no refurbished chains in my shop.

EDIT: To add to the horror of what I said about splicing, I also splice cable housing pieces together.

Wd40
 

If the structure of the chain is not compromised (not worn too badly), you can just soak it in WD40, dry it off and blow out the links with compressed air. You might want to use a hand held wire brush to loosen more stubborn oxidation. Repeat a couple of times in an effort to do your best to flush out debris.

Now, clean the chain one more time with WD40 and blow dry. Apply your preferred chain lube. I use Prolink. After trying several different brands and formulas, Prolink has proved to work the best and with least maintenance hassle. Soak every single pivot point. Every one!

Dry the exterior of the chain off and off you go. I have done this many times and with great success. But the chain must not be worn.

Hope this is a help.

it is !

ya gotta help me out here. how do you splice housing pieces together?

I rem joining chains together yrs ago with "spring links" dont know if they r available anymore ,maybe LBS can help u out there ! (hope this helps u Luker) .

As for splicing "Cable" housing goes , Thats got me stumped,I got nuthin !