ColonelSanders

Maybe the hard core folk do, but I believe you can buy "special" candles with wax that has a lower melting point, so it won't burn a human body upon impact.

Leisesturm

erm ... how to put this delicately ... "burning upon impact" is kind of the point ... have you checked the sales figures for those "special" candles?

ColonelSanders

I guess I should have said, "not burn too badly".


But maybe you are right and the candles with lower melting point wax is just for the newbies.

drlogik 

Bergman's Formula. It's the best home-made fly fishing fly floatant ever devised. Ray Bergman, fly fisherman extraordinaire and also to the inventor. Yes, Bergaman's works pretty excellent as a chain lube also. Shave about half a bar of grocery store paraffin into a mason jar of painters naptha or Coleman fuel.

Let it dissolve over-night. Once your chain has been fully cleaned, soak chain in Bergman's for about an hour then take out and hang dry. I've hot-waxed chains for years but this method works just as good, maybe better because the naptha lets the paraffin soak through every nook and cranny of the chain and then the naptha evaporates.

Yeah, it's a wax-based lube but it is a "liquid".

Leisesturm

Hey ... PSA time folks. Bicycling is fun, and healthier than couch surfing, but it has some risks. Elliptical Machines are safer, just saying. And that is without the significant risk to health caused by @%#$% around with solvents on a regular basis! Let the damn chain wear out. Or rust. Or whatever it is neglected chains do. Seriously. What does a decent chain cost? Less than $20 certainly. Yearly (at least) chain replacement? What a concept. I'm hanged if I can actually cite an example of a chain I've needed to replace sooner than yearly (and I ride every day) because I do not engage in weekly chain cleaning and maintenance. I squirt some Chain-L or White Lightning or other liquid chain lube monthly, or whenever I remember (and can find the bottle) and I call it good. I mean, I could still come down with a nasty case of incurable Liver Cancer in 10 years, but I at least won't have to wonder if I might have lived to 100 if I hadn't spent so much time huffing Naptha fumes.

cyccommute 

More accurate PSA time: Yes, bicycling is fun and healthy. And, yes, we spend far too much time worrying about the damned chains on bicycles. And, yes, they are cheap and they wear out no matter how many times to clean and lube them...usually they wear out at about the same rate but for different reasons. And every "home brew" recipe is mostly a recipe for excess cleaning.

That said, most of the chain lubricants have a solvent which is either similar to or exactly the same as "naphtha" or, more accurately, mineral spirits. More importantly, petroleum distillates in the "naphtha" range are relatively unreactive and aren't likely to give you "liver" cancer. Odorless mineral spirits have less aromatic compounds in it so they are even less reactive and less toxic. They belong to a broad class that are called "paraffins" (parum affinis), a name which means lacking reactivity. Your body is unlikely to do anything to paraffins other than just pass them through.

Use gloves, work with it in a well ventilated place and don't drink it. Other than that, don't worry about it in the future...you've been exposed to much worse if you just drive a car and fuel it.

woodcraft

What about lacquer thinner?

noglider 

It doesn't need to be so complicated. Pretty much any oil will do. I've never mixed stuff up. I've used whatever was on hand, such as motor oil. I've also used ATF and chainsaw oil, at separate times. The thick stuff may collect dirt more readily. The thin stuff may need reapplication more frequently. These days, I use Chain-L, but if it isn't super handy, I'll just grab the nearest bottle of lubricant, and I have many.

Use a rag to wipe off the excess.

Bob Ross

I would love to see the "analysis" done by that original poster on the other forum, because, while I have continually heard of folks getting excellent results from a blend of synthetic motor oil and OMS, I've got $20 says he's full of schidt if he thinks that's all that goes into ProLink. And I'll bet anyone else who's spent any time around both motor oil/OMS homebrews and ProLink will agree.

That being said, I've recently stopped using either homebrews or ProLink and started using NFS ...which completely goes against the OP's desire not to spend a fortune on a tiny bottle of bike-specific lube!

ThermionicScott 

If I feel the urge to mix things, I'll make myself a cocktail. Oil doesn't need thinners to get into a chain.

cyccommute 

It would depend on the contents of the "lacquer thinner". Some people call mineral spirits "paint thinner" and/or "lacquer thinner". Some lacquer thinners have acetone, ethyl acetate, toluene and other components in it. Those aren't good for the paint job on a bike but they aren't particularly toxic either. Methanol may also be present and that is more toxic.

Some of the compounds can actually be formed in your body. Acetone can be present in urine. It's not good to have it in your urine because it's a signal of things wrong with you but it can be there. If you drink isopropyl alcohol, it metabolizes to acetone. Ethyl acetate is an ester and we use esters everywhere in our food. Artificial flavors can be and are esters. The "banana" odor of Triflow is from isoamyl acetate and is the flavoring for artificial banana flavor.

Again, don't drink it, use it in a well ventilated area and wear gloves.

TGT1

8 oz Gulf Wax 4 oz WS2 0.6 micron

10 dollar crock pot

good for a couple of years of once a month relubes

panzerwagon 

This might help: https://www.scribd.com/document/2620...ficiency-Tests

I find the more interesting question is how it gets applied. Simply dripping onto a cleaned chain as you turn the crank seems inadequate to the task of getting the lube inside the small spaces. Has anyone ever used one of those chain cleaner/scrubber machines and filled it with lube instead of cleaner? (using a new unit of course). That has always seemed like a good way to agitate the oil into each link with the chain installed on bike.

ottothecow

Well that sure makes it sound like a crockpot full of wax (maybe mixed with a little "special sauce") is the way to go.

panzerwagon 

ottothecow

I dunno, I've used it some (and at one point, did squirt some teflon-based lube into the jar, so I guess I am sort of on the "special sauce" train), especially on my grocery-getter since it means there's nothing nasty on the chain to stain your pants.

I just have this tiny crock pot that I found at a thrift store that I believe is meant for Potpourri. No heat settings or anything, and just big enough to hold a nicely rolled up double-layered chain.

Just melt a bunch of wax in it, let soak for a bit, and then hang over the sink for some drip action. A few times in the past I have heated it up just enough to pop the wax disc out and then used something to scrape off the bottom (where all the black gunk gathers) although that may be a waste of time compared to just starting with new wax.

Racing Dan

I find normal multi grade motor oil to bee too thin. By chance I came across a SAE 30 mono grade motor oil. It is much more viscous at room temperature and works very well as a chain lube.

woodcraft

I'm guessing that the first try of an oil filled chain scrubber & cleaning up the mess after would also be the last.

Folks underestimate capillary action IMO. It's actually the small spaces where the oil most readily goes.

When a chain is submerged & bubbles rise, that is from voids filling with excess lubricant which will later flake or splatter off.

Wattsup

I use "Hornady One Shot Gun Cleaner and Dry Lube." It's basically lanolin in a solvent carrier. Cleans the chain and leaves a thin, dry, water resistant film of lanolin. A spray can of the stuff costs about 10 bucks and will last you many, many months. The stuff is great.

panzerwagon 

leob1

Ever use a chain saw? Bar oils gets flung off the chain, where do you think it went when the oil tank is empty?

In the shop I volunteer at, in which we rehab donated bike, we use lots of oil. The 50/50 mix of OMS and motor oil is the cheapest most effective. We mix it by the gallon.

brian3069

Find someone else to troll.

rydabent

Just plain Mobil 1.

DaveSSS 

Maintaining a clean drivetrain seems to be of more importance to many riders, rather than doing a good job of lubing the chain. I don't see any reports of extreme chain life with any of these products. I used a mixture of naptha and synthetic gear lube for many years and got up to 6,000 miles from Campy 10 chains. I did apply it after nearly every ride and wiped the chain before and after each application. It can get messy and dirty and require frequent chain cleaning.

Now I'm trying a very dry lube, similar to what has been suggested by another poster. I dissolved paraffin wax in naptha and added 2-3% of the same Royal Purple synthetic gear lube into the mix. It takes about 24 ounces of naptha to dissolve a 4-ounce block of paraffin. If too little naptha is used, you'll get a mushy-cloudy mixture, depending on the room temperature. For a small experiment, try 1 ounce with about 6 ounces of naptha. My thought is that paraffin alone is easily displaced and may not be a very good lube either. Adding a small percentage of high quality oil seems wise. A 2-cycle engine gets by with only 2% oil in the gas mixture.

So far, the lube is doing a good job of keeping the drivetrain clean, but who knows if it will do a good job of preventing chain wear.

davidad

I use a 4to1 mix of chainsaw bar oil and unscented mineral spirits. The real secret to chain and drive train life is removing and cleaning the chain. I use an ultrasonic cleaner with dilute Simple Green. My chains last from over 16,000 miles to 20,000 miles.