Thank you for posting this episode. I made some of this using the exact ingredients you recommended and at first I wasn't sure about it. But after using it for a couple of months, giving it a good chance, I think it is the best lube I've used in all my years of road and MTB riding. My chain is quiet and very slick which I'm sure will also extend the life of my drivetrain. And I like the fact I don't get a greasy black mess all over me when I have to change a flat tire or bump into the chain as I always do. Thanks for posting those test results too, that gives that little bit of reassurance that the stuff works.
Great video. I'm a real rookie when it comes to bicycle maintenance. I had always assumed that lubricant was to make the gears and chain move more easily especially when shifting. I hadn't considered rust protection at all. My idea of chain maintenance was carwash and then glob as much oil on the chain as it will take. I've never kept a bike long enough to find out the long term effects of my method. Needless to say I always have black grease on right leg, either from oil splashing or an accidental brush against the chain.
Thanx for this tutorial! I finally made my own paraffin lubricant and I learned a couple of things on the way. First, I had to add more paraffin oil and xylene as the product got too hard when cooled. And second, Xylene can really stink up a home, I'll do it at work next time.
Just a safety tip, paraffin wax emits highly flammable fumes when heated. You really shouldn't be melting candles in a pan directly over the stove element. It takes longer, but a double boiler is much safer. If you are going to risk melting paraffin directly over the element, have a fire extinguisher close at hand.
Oz, thanks for the excellent video. I was doubtful that this was worth the trouble. But I ride a crushed limestone trail along the Missouri River several times a week and my drivetrain turned dark, full of grit, even though it was maintained. I followed your directions. Degreased. Cooked chain in parafin and oil. After one ride drive train was spotless. And when I wiped it nothing came off. Fantastic. Thank you.
I just did 75km in muddy conditions I cannot believe how clean the casset and chain are . This has got to be the best you tube video I have come across never again am I using anything else.
oz cycle yep it's fantastic but I must say I'm not a fan of the xylene I did get some and have made the mixture but it's really does stink so I'm gonna try turps or white spirit and see how that goes. Xylene is expensive as well
You've been an absolute godsend since I first watched years ago I've saved a fortune I even add ptfe to mine it's great massive thanks for your selfless Work for the bike community!
Thanks very much for showing us this method. I'am very Happy for the results , that i make a guide in Italian "how to do it" . And all the credits belong to you. Cheers mate :)
I have been on bikes all my life, ilikewasabe. I am pleased to learn it also. Ps; I like Wasabi also. I often make roast beef bread rolls with hot english mustard one side and wasabi the other, but this does not work out, unless you put kracked black pepper the fuck all over it.
Dude this is so way cool brother and totally awesome and I never knew about this nor heard about this before very fascinating stuff I must say. I definitely have to do this with all of my bikes and my motorcycle and scooter and moped chains as well. Thank you so very much for sharing your experience and your video I am so totally sold on this wax chain idea plus doing this I won't have to worry about ruining my pants lags with dirty black chain oil's nor none of my sock's when riding to as well. Keep up the good work and I love your videos.
Thanks for the inspiration! Stripped and cleaned the drive trains of both my bikes over the weekend. I did a straight paraffin dip of both chains, and used the left over wax to make your 'brew' as a top-up lube. After a 26km test ride (mtb, mud, dust) I can confirm everything they claim about paraffin lubed chains is true! Cheers...
Few more rides on the bike and have found the 'top up' lube attracts dirt and has started to cause build-up on the chain and sprockets. Will strip, clean and dip again, but only hot wax from now on...
When heated and melted the wax and paraffin penetrate the chain completely, and wax totally displaces water. The xylene is only good for applying the wax when bottled as it keeps it more liquid.
Thanks for your videos! I'm a brazilian cyclist and your tips are making my riding expirience better and cheaper! Keep up with the "Make it yourself" content.
Eu fiz apenas com vela. Limpei bem a corrente e relação. Derreti vela de sete dias num pote e fervi com a corrente dentro (ela tem link). Pendurei a corrente e deixei escorrer e secar. Coloquei na bike. Já fiz 135 km só estradão de chão e 15% asfalto. A corrente está limpa, sem rangidos, sem sujeira. Vou ver até quando ela aguenta, se chega nos 200km. Já vi misturas vídeos onde pessoal usa vela e parafina líquida, grafite em pó, teflon PTFE, molybdenum mo2s, mas ainda não testei.
Oz cycle, hi. Admittedly your concoction is the best. Bought all ingredients as per your recipe. However, after reading the warning label became so worried about using xylene. But I had found a way to overcome the Wax becoming a blob on the chain the minute it touches the cold chain. I use a soldering iron to melt the blob on the chain and it seeps into the chain parts as intended. Ever since I started using your wax lube my chain is so clean and smooth and silent, it’s like knife cutting through butter. Thank you for this great tip.
Hi @oz cycle, Thanks for the Tip mate , I make a product at work called Dermeze sensitive skin Ointment. It's exactly 50% Paraffin Liquid and 50% Paraffin white soft blended together and nothing else. You can purchase it at any chemist in 500g Jars possibly cheaper than candles So all I did was put the plastic Jar of Dermeze Ointment in hot water for 5 minutes stirred and poured it into a 2 litre bottle and added the 250ml of Turps as I couldn't get Xyline at the time. Works a treat and no melting candles to get your paraffin blend. Hope this helps.
Have been using this homemade wax lube for over 4 months now and I can report that is the best maintenance tip I've had in 5 years of coming back to cycling, if you just put it on your chain to keep it clean it will be worth it besides the performance benefit.
Good timing and informative, I am just running out. I use Rock n roll red and gold but struggle to justify the prices. This formula looks good so will give it a whirl. Good to see a comparo to RnR by readers too as it helps put it in perspective.
Thank you for an informative video. I live in South Africa and here paraffin oil is called liquid paraffin, available from pharmacies, and Duram makes a product that used to be called xylene, but now goes under the name of DTM Brush Cleaner and Thinners. However, it's still toxic, but obviously evaporates.
I've made a similar lube with only paraffin, naptha and your choice of high quality oil. I use Royal Purple synthetic gear lube for the oil. I ounce by weight of paraffin will dissolve in 6-7 ounces of naptha. Add 2-5% oil. No heating is required, but the paraffin will dissolve much faster if the mixture is warmed, or the paraffin melted before mixing. Naptha is a fast drying solvent that is cheapest when purchased as camp stove fuel or white gas. Only $8.50 a gallon at WalMart. When applied to the chain, the naptha evaporates completely, leaving only the paraffin and oil mixture. It's very dry and leaves the drivetrain very clean.
After more testing, I've refined my formula a bit. I have mixed 1 ounce or 30ml of gear lube with 60-90ml of melted wax, then added about 3 parts naptha to 1 part of the oil/paraffin mix. If the oil/paraffin mixture is allowed to cool completely, it should not have free-oil sitting on top of the wax. If it does, wipe of the excess, then reheat and mix with naptha. I never use any paraffin oil/lamp oil/ kerosene to soften the wax.
Firstly @Oz Cycle, great tip. Secondly, to those posting about $1500 wheels and finding it contradictory with saving money, let me just say that it has been my observation of wise people, sometimes also of rich people (none of these terms apply to me btw), that FOR THE THINGS THAT COUNT, they make expensive but sensible purchases of products that last a long time. These purchases are however offset by saving money elsewhere on items or services that are considered "throw away". So, I don't see any contradiction between the outlay of > $1000 on wheels and saving money on chain lube. A personal example would be once when I cut out coffee for 6 months (shock horror) which allowed me to purchase a very nice bike for my youngest daughter. They money was essentially put to better use. In any case, thanks for the tip @Oz Cycle. Love your channel.
Also, this homemade recipe looks like a bit of fun and an interesting talking point if the subject of chain lubricants comes up with riding mates. Those efficiency measurements seem intriguing as well. To me, the big improvement in cleanliness with its dirt/moisture repelling capability is the best part, even for a person that believes money is no object.
Great video! I just did it yesterday, cleaned the chain and drivetrain really well. made the mix, dipped the chain and made the liquid. Rode 30K today, chain seemed very quiet, clean and fast. Thanks for the great videos and tips.
Fricken awesome!!! Thanks for making the vid as I’m going to use this for my speed skate bearings. I wish I knew this before I wrecked my $400 ceramic bearings after being caught in the rain one day.
Fantastic chain wax tutorial! Perhaps the second best ever cycle tip I know in over forty years cycling. The best ? From the late great Sheldon Brown : to thoroughly clean any chain, remove from bike and put it into a screw top plastic bottle, add a half cup or so of solvent or petrol, screw on cap tight, then shake bottle vigorously for two minutes----- chain will be clean as a whistle! 🚴
@@stevenleffanue I want to say THANK YOU for the valuable video too! ! I am 66 years young and just starting to convert my MTB to an ebike, so doing lots of research online about bikes!
I've been using this lube for about a year now, and really do like it. I tried a new trick - vacuum deposition of the lube. I cleaned and rinsed my chain. Next I put it in a small can, and put it in a vacuum chamber I made. I pulled a vacuum on it. This caused all residual moisture between the chain surfaces to boil out. I know this is what happened, because when I removed the chain, it was quite cold, a byproduct of boiling by vacuum. Then I warmed it with a heat gun followed by putting it in a small can filled with the paraffin lube mixture. I then inserted the can into the vacuum chamber and again pulled a vacuum on it. This got all residual air out of the surfaces between the chain links. At full vacuum, the xylene started to boil out of the mixture. At that point, I reintroduced atmospheric pressure which forced the paraffin lube mixture into the tiny spaces between the sliding surfaces in the chain links. Without doing this, there is no way to guarantee that any lube used is not being blocked by residual air or liquid cleaning solutions which are already filling those voids. I believe this same problem could occur when dipping your chain in melted paraffin. It all seemed to work well, at least as far as I could tell. I've only had one ride of about 20 miles on my bike since doing this. The chain was perfectly silent which was a good sign. But only time and more miles will tell if this is a method more beneficial than just wiping the lube onto the chain. But it all makes good sense to me. In the electronics industry, sometimes we need to waterproof our circuitry by encapsulating it with liquid epoxy (called potting) and letting it harden. Mixing the two parts of the epoxy often introduces air bubbles into the mixture. Water can find passages to the circuitry through the bubbles which are caught in the hardened epoxy. To prevent that problem, we put the uncured encapsulation into a vacuum to pull all of the air out of it. It then cures as a perfectly homogeneous solid mass with no bubbles in it. I'd appreciate hearing if anyone knows if vacuum deposition of lubricants onto bicycle chains has been tried in the past, and what the results were.
@@wireshrub ... /... , it works perfectly fine as a nail vernish - cleaner . Often used by women to take-off all the polish from their nails . A much harder and radically substitute to acetone .
Hi Oz after watching your video I immediately went to find and purchase all the ingredients and bathed my chain in the parrafin & wax after deep cleansing. The Xylene I could only find at a large hardware chain store. On the road bike the feel was smooth and the chain cassette ect stay clean and dry. Then I did the same with a brand new drive chain on the MTB. The chain stays lubricated and is unneffected by dust and water taking off the oil/thinner lubes and is absolutely amazing. Like what you say what got me to watch the video in the first place is “I will never buy chain lube again” what may be confusing about people not being able to find parrafin oil is because here it’s labeled just as parrafin and not liquid or oil. From watching the video I assumed that the clear liquid is the same as general parrifin which is used in oil lamps ect... however it’s just called parrafin
Good to hear the waxing is working for you Darren. "Paraffin oil" is a general label put on many mineral oils but the true paraffin oil is used is the cosmetic,medical and veterinary type.
Thanks for all the chain cleaning, waxing tips. Using on our 2 new Lectric Ebikes. Also thanks for the Tannus liner info, hope to avoid the dreaded flat. Your tips are very educational and will make our bike pleasure more enjoyable. Thank you!
great information. thanks. l've always used possum piss ( WD40) for cleaning then Rock and Roll lub. But like u said expensive. curious about the wax, will give it a go.
Excellent lubricant..I had to buy all the ingredients mentioned here from store which sells lab chemicals!!(I am from India actually). The chain is much cleaner now, also its much more smoother.Thanks again for this wonderful tutorial..
Hi... I'm from India as well. Got a few questions. Liquid Paraffin & Paraffin oil, are they same? Xylene is there any brand that I can buy online ? Thanks in advance
Thank you for those very interesting and useful videos. I am one of those always using oil on chain and kind of being not so keen on properly cleaning it. When you say "wax on chain" normal reaction is to be skeptical as was is a solid substance as we know it. Only place I use was for a lubrications, so far, are sliding doors. I have a heavy sliding doors on balconies and also lighter ones on closets. And wax is really better here compared to oil and it is clean. Wax is applied by pressing wax stick to sliding surfaces. Wax lasts for some time and it has to be reapplied and compared to bike chain application is easy. With bike chain we want it to go inside the rollers where making wax semi liquid or immersing the chain is the only way. I was surprised to find that Xylene is available in Canadian stores and some people say not in US. Paraffin oil is also available as 'oil lamp' and even comes as scented. Right now I am converting to ebike and will try this waxing method.
I have been cycling for over 60 years, and the best chain lubricant I have ever found is chainsaw bar oil because it is specially formulated to resist being thrown off the chain when it makes its abrupt 180-degree change of direction around the saw's clutch.
Commercial wax chain lubes are stupidly expensive, so this is a great idea. But - I'm really concerned about the use of xylene as the solvent. It's nasty stuff. In histology labs, where tissue specimens are embedded in paraffin wax for sectioning, xylene is being replaced by limonene as a non-toxic alternative (d-limonene is used in cosmetics and medicines). And it smells of lemons. I'm going to make up some magic wax lube, substituting limonene for the xylene to see how it goes.
How it went? Is this working like mixture with xylene? I am asking because as you has written xylene is really bad for people, fumes, skin contact (everything).
I have to admit I haven't tried it yet. I'd been using the (extremely expensive) Boeshield T-9 wax lube, and mentioned your DIY wax lube in my local bike shop. Whereupon they produced a 250ml bottle of Squirt (an aqueous wax lube) for half the price of 118ml of T-9. So I thought I'd give it a try.... and avoid the wrath of the missus. The downside of Squirt is that - unlike T-9 or your DIY wax lube - it's not really suitable for cables and pivot points. I'm sure the limonene will work - it's 100% miscible with wax and it's volatile, like xylene. Yes, xylene really is nasty stuff. In labs, it's always used in a fume hood and handled wearing gloves. I guess you could use it outdoors, but you really don't want it on your skin.
Thanks for the videos! I found a mixture (in the USA) of about 1/4 paraffin wax, 1/4 mineral oil, and 1/2 or more of mineral spirits works for the drip lube. It seems to require a higher percentage of mineral spirits than it would if I used xylene as a carrier for the wax. It also seems to require a little longer for the mineral spirits to evaporate. Having said that, I apply it the night before and it seems to be working great
I tried a mixture of 1/4 paraffin wax, 1/4 paraffin oil, and 1/2 D-limonene for the solvent. And that was still solid at room temperature (actually: 90F). If I were to add even more solvent, I'd be afraid I'm washing paraffin out of the chain, instead of putting it into the chain... I've also tried naphtha, and finally resorted to xylene. All these produced a non-liquid "lube" at the equal thirds ratios. I guess I'll keep adding more solvent...
oz_cycle is a major solvent fan. Xylene, petrol, etc. When you see people riding around apparently off their skulls on solvents then you'll know they are acolytes of this channel.
I understand that, but I just found it funny when you mentioned saving money on lube. I totally agree with you on the importance of good lube. I'm thinking about making it myself, great video!
Hey buddy. After months of the usual weekly degrease, wash and lubricate of my chain, I had a crack at the wax dip. My god, what a difference, my chain is super quiet, I can hardly hear it. The big test is turning the bike upside down, removing proper tension from the jockeys... silky smooth. The gear changes are now instant with no dramas, and I had to look twice to make sure they had shifted. A top tip for you.. if you can’t afford, or don’t want a rice steamer, buy a 2 litre saucepan from a budget shop, keep it on simmer with the extractor fan going. Does the trick nicely and saved me £20. And if you have trouble finding clear paraffin oil, try asking your local chemist... it’s used to treat constipation 🤗 Will definitely be putting my feet up with a brewski tonight to watch more of your videos. Excellent work.. Andy, rather chuffed in England (and despite what you are hearing, we want Trump over here... over politicians are running scared... but they don’t have a super quiet chain)
+Juan Baltierrez You can use Toluene or try equal parts of Acetone and Kerosene. If all else fails,you can still make the wax mixture without the carrier (Xylene) and bath the chain in it whilst warm enough to be a liquid,take chain out after 10 minutes and allow to cool. Wipe off excess wirh cloth and its ready to use. Hope this helps Juan
Just cooked my chain in your recipe. Will get my first ride on it tomorrow. I think I will just recook every few hundred K as Im not happy about the toxicity of Xylene. Acetone wont dissolve wax so not sure it would work well as a transport medium. Anyone out there with any knowledgeable ideas? I love your videos by the way...thanks everso mate..rippahhh!!
Me too! Looking for the same solution. Regular alcohol is being recommended up above. I'm thinking down to 70% (readily available cheap) should be okay because it's going to take H20 with it as it evaporates. Worth a try! Sure a lot safer!
I do clean (if necessary), prep, and treat 3 chains at a time, however, before submerging them in the wax I apply Boeshield-T9 and let dry thoroughly and then ACF-50 and allow to dry. I live in the PNW and deal with a deal amount of rain over the year. Wax is great but I can see a big difference between the chains when treated with the ACF-50 and T-9 1st. Cheers.
I've heard of people using bacon grease to lube a bike chain. I've never used wax before, only 10w-30 motor oil, it works fine for my purposes. I like the wax idea, I'll have to give it a shot sometime! Thank you for sharing this, I really appreciate it. :)
oz cycle Really? Flyspray? What's that stuff made of? I suppose we're all lucky that bike chains are quite durable and can serve us well, even in less than desirable conditions. :)
I'll try this, thank you.One safety note, melting the wax and parrafin oil over a stove would be safer if you use a double pan. One pot for the wax sitting in a pot of hot water, otherwise there is a fire hazard
Thanks budy, it is very clear what is not only cheap but in benefit for the bike and the biker. As far as xylene, well as l;ong as you don't drink it.... is not that bad. I use it every day in my practice. Congrats.
Hi @ozcycle, I have taken the plunge into the world of paraffin wax chain lube with the aid of your videos. It’s really very good. I rode a 100km ride yesterday and the chain was clean at the end of it. I do have some questions, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Firstly before that ride I removed the chain and stripped it of the old oils and bathed it in a bath of Paraffin wax and oil as you suggested. Aside from making a fundamental error when lifting the chain out of the bath and accidently dropping part of the cleaning rag into the bath and flinging melted wax onto the patio floor (damn), it really worked very well. What isn’t working quite so well is the wax preparation for the little squirty bottle. I’m not that keen on the idea of using Xylene, so I took the alternate approach mentioned in comments of using Kerosene and Acetone. The ratio of the various components in my batch is roughly as follows: Wax 330ml; Paraffin Oil 300ml; Kerosene 150ml; Acetone 100ml. This mixture is liquid when warm, but as we approach winter on a 15 degree C day, this solidifies. I’ve had to warm up the little squirty bottle in hot water to use it, but when I apply it to a cold chain it solidifies quickly and does not look as though it will properly run between the rollers and pins. What do you suggest I do to make the squiry bottle lubricant mixture liquid at a lower temperature? Do I need to increase the proportion of kerosene and acetone, or Xylene the only way to go with this? (or do I need to warm the chain?)
+Brett McLean If you have a removable link,always do the hot wax bath method,Brett. The squirty bottle is for emergencies and those who cannot take their chain off the bike. For a cold chain,warm it up with a hairdryer or add more xylene to the mix. The xylene will evaporate and leave the wax only.
When I lubricate the moving chain from the bottle it cools down extremely quickly and clumps on the chain and that's here where we get temperatures in the high 30C
7:38 oh wow. I remember long ago, a dirt track biker told me about how they'd cook their chains in wax&oil to lube them. I remember seeing the coat hanger with the preped chains draped over it so they could cool.
I bought a K Mart $13 rice cooker to mix the paraffin wax and oil and soak the chain. 750 ml oil per candle is a good starting point. I then used two parts of the wax/oil mix to one part xylene to make the other mix.
automatic transmition fluid works great , and doesn't seem to attract too much gunk . lasts a pretty long time . put it into a squeeze bottle and apply to each link individually .
Great video you can purchase paraffin wax from your local beauty supply as it's used for hand therapy which melts at 45 degrees celcius, heated paraffin baths can also be purchased instead of using the stove. Instead of xylene could you use isopropanol ?
Thank you Oz for the great video. I would like to know if your mixture is intended only for the chain, or can it/should it also be used on the derailleur pivot points and bearings.
+Jerry Viviano Glad you like vids. Yes you can use the wax on gear/brake cables,rear jockey wheels and other sliding parts like you said...derailleur pivots,Jerry. Not sure about bearings tho.
Just saw this videos Oz! I started hot dipping my chains using your ptfe and wax mixture. Thank you for all the advice! How do commercial waxes stay liquid at all temperatures? Which do you feel works better between paraffin oil/wax compared to straight wax and just ptfe powder.
Having watched this, and not having any wax available, I tried something similar. After cleaning the chain on my singlespeed (cheapo chain, so it's worth experimenting) I sprayed it with beeswax furniture polish. It may not last quite as long as the method above - time will tell - but it's certainly very smooth, even after a few days. It was certainly quicker and easier.
+Paul Sherwood Nice Paul. Bees wax tended to be "sticky",more expensive and less available than paraffin wax. Let us know how you go with that tho...thanx.
+oz cycle Thanks for the great video. I've always been a DIYer so making the wax lubricant rather than buying commercial appealed to me. However, I have two suggestions. First, rather than risking exceeding the flashpoint of the candle wax I recommend melting the wax in a can immersed in slowly boiling water. It'll take a little longer but will be a lot safer. Two, xylene is really bad to breathe so you need to pour it in a really well ventilated area. As aside, xylene is unavailable in some states here because idiots are huffing it. I couldn't get it in NH but the hardware store in Maine carried it. Btw, I tried this concoction on my double barreled shotgun. It left a really nice film on the barrel and a nice shine on the stock.
+John Brandolini Yes wax is good for sliding parts. As long as the heat source is not near flashpoint ie:naked flame , it will be fine. Agree Xylene is not a human friendly substance but as you say,handled safely its fine. See vid "wax chain-comonly asked questions Pt2" for a list of xylene substitutes. Cheers John
Nice. I live in dusty dry los angeles and ride the beach alot. I go through 60ml bottle of white lightning dry lube every few weeks. I ride the beach alot and sand salt dust is my terrain. It does keep my chain clean. A wipe down and relube its back to life. Can i use 91% isopropyl alcohol as a carrier?
I love RUclips...!! Homemade chainlube...!! That's no doubt what they're using give or take in the over the counter wax chainlube products. Thank you Sir...!!
Hello Stephen. Waxing chain has been excellent. Monitoring test mileage has been between 300- 600 miles before complete clean (Gas) and re-wax.Settling on around 400-450. My question is here in Missouri the summers are hot and the wax app and use have been fine. But the cold ass winter is about here. Should I increase the paraffin oil ratio a bit or not because of the cold? Note: as i don't have a heated shop this is going to be an in the apt. event, no worries here. Thanks again from the US. David
+ryoiter For bottled application of wax in colder conditions add more xylene. The xylene keeps it liquid but will evaporate after a while once applied leaving your chain well lubricated with wax.
Thanks for the reply! If you ever come out this way, let me know, I would be more than happy to help out. This is my website: www.biking-laos.com/tours/
i just finished putting my drive train back together after a thorough cleaning and it is spotless. the GCN guys did a wax treatment thing, but only dipped in wax, melted and complained of noise. my question is; did your extra ingredients make the drive train quiet as well? excellent videos ! thanks from Newfoundland.
Great vid! Went out and got all the ingredients and made my first batch! Easy as! However, everything has solidified in the bottles! I even brought a bottle inside, and its still hard! At what temperature do you expect the lube to remain liquid? I really want to like this stuff, and I now have gobs of it, but it needs to be easier to use. Will a higher portion of paraffin oil help? And, I assume, Citronella burner oil, is similar to/replacement for paraffin oil? And thirdly, can paraffin oil be used on its own?
+Rob Leviston At lower ambient temps you can put your bottle of lube in warm/hot water to liquify it before application. In very cold conditions you may need to warm the chain up also so the lube gets into the pins and rollers. The portions are to keep the wax like a hard cream,not to accomodate temperatures. Only use "paraffin oil" or "liquid paraffin". Paraffin oil only as a lube will run and spread like oils do....gets on everything,messy and thins out too much. Cheers Rob
For what it's worth, 200ml = 6.7 oz which is what will fill that glass jar. For measurement purposes here in the US, it would be easier to measure out 3oz of each to get the 1/3 ratio correct. Great video..!! Thank you...!!
Great lube thanks for info just subscribed.....For the comments section....yes chemicals can be bad. No worse than what you will find in most household cupboards. Practice making some luv until you happy with consistency and have ago on old chain.....before using the one you ride with. Thank you for the vid.
Hi, oz cycle, I was wondering if I can use this mixed wax not to just my chain but also to my cogs/sprocket? I'll wait your reply before I make my next move. Thanks in advanced.
I made a batch of this but even using twice the amount of Xylene that the video creator did, the lubricant still becomes solid at room temp. Even in my garage which is around 80f this time of year it is still solid. I wish there was a solvent that would keep the mixture liquid like the commercial stuff.
Thanks for the video, followed the guide but it turned solid with 100ml of each ingredient . The consistency on the knife was spot on. Do I need to add more paraffin oil or xylene ?
+Steve Mold It will go harder with lower temperatures Steve. Yes, add more xylene to keep it liquid. After application the xylene evaporates and leaves the wax in the chain.
+Gary CROSSETT By keeping your drivetrain clean the rear derailleur will stay cleaner too. Occasionally give the jockey wheels a spin on a clean cloth.
Hi there, I just used the same wax, with a KMC Ti chain and while I can definitely feel the difference in performance, the chain is just too noisy :( any advise pls ? )
Used paraffin candles, liquid paraffine (can be found at the medical store it is used to treat constipation) and instead of xylene used turpentine oil. Works great big difference felt in effort and super silent.
Like your videos! I was looking around and bought Turpentine and not mineral Turpentine (aka white spirit) you think it will work as good as Xyelene or do you think I should use the White spirit?
Just been looling at ingredients and comments section, lot of people saying xylene toxic+carcinogenic, but when I google the IARC and EPC reports state xylene has no significant evendence on either stated health aspects. Can someone point to me a study that says otherwise. Cheers
Thank you for posting this episode. I made some of this using the exact ingredients you recommended and at first I wasn't sure about it. But after using it for a couple of months, giving it a good chance, I think it is the best lube I've used in all my years of road and MTB riding. My chain is quiet and very slick which I'm sure will also extend the life of my drivetrain. And I like the fact I don't get a greasy black mess all over me when I have to change a flat tire or bump into the chain as I always do. Thanks for posting those test results too, that gives that little bit of reassurance that the stuff works.
Great video, thanks! For anyone having difficulties sourcing xylene, Acetone seems to work as well but need to add a bit more to the mix!
thanks for the information
Great video. I'm a real rookie when it comes to bicycle maintenance. I had always assumed that lubricant was to make the gears and chain move more easily especially when shifting. I hadn't considered rust protection at all. My idea of chain maintenance was carwash and then glob as much oil on the chain as it will take. I've never kept a bike long enough to find out the long term effects of my method. Needless to say I always have black grease on right leg, either from oil splashing or an accidental brush against the chain.
Thanx for this tutorial!
I finally made my own paraffin lubricant and I learned a couple of things on the way. First, I had to add more paraffin oil and xylene as the product got too hard when cooled. And second, Xylene can really stink up a home, I'll do it at work next time.
Just a safety tip, paraffin wax emits highly flammable fumes when heated. You really shouldn't be melting candles in a pan directly over the stove element. It takes longer, but a double boiler is much safer. If you are going to risk melting paraffin directly over the element, have a fire extinguisher close at hand.
Conrad Griffith that's a good tip.
Oh and don't go out riding your bike as this could hurt you.
I made my first mix over the BBQ hot plate........ whoops! Did the second mix over the BBQ hot plate. Worked much better!
@@rlevo it's a very big cabuuuuuummmmmm !!!!
Induction plate stove should be safe -
Oz, thanks for the excellent video. I was doubtful that this was worth the trouble. But I ride a crushed limestone trail along the Missouri River several times a week and my drivetrain turned dark, full of grit, even though it was maintained.
I followed your directions. Degreased. Cooked chain in parafin and oil. After one ride drive train was spotless. And when I wiped it nothing came off. Fantastic. Thank you.
+Dan Carnesciali Thanx for relating your experience Dan,thats great feedback. Cheers...Steven
I just did 75km in muddy conditions I cannot believe how clean the casset and chain are . This has got to be the best you tube video I have come across never again am I using anything else.
Nice to hear your experience Stephen 😁
oz cycle yep it's fantastic but I must say I'm not a fan of the xylene I did get some and have made the mixture but it's really does stink so I'm gonna try turps or white spirit and see how that goes. Xylene is expensive as well
It has a high odor because it evaporates quickly. Otherwise go the hot wax method ?
You've been an absolute godsend since I first watched years ago I've saved a fortune I even add ptfe to mine it's great massive thanks for your selfless Work for the bike community!
Thanks very much for showing us this method. I'am very Happy for the results , that i make a guide in Italian "how to do it" . And all the credits belong to you. Cheers mate :)
So happy I found your channel. Top advice all around! Cheers from Poland!
+Peter Willard Your welcome Peter. Howdy from Australia :)
I found your video's by accident. Well happy and enjoying them all.
Great video, I have tried using tallow with the candle wax. Brilliant results so far after 500K!
alternatively you could put the jar in a pot of boiling water and melt the wax inside the jar saving your pan for cooking :P
Thanks for this. I'm using it on all my bikes now and loving it.
how was your experence using this
Great video! Looking forward to checking your other ones!
Thanks for the clear and easy to follow tips!!
Sir, this is the best diy, it works like a charm, deraileur wheels, hubs, freewheel and chain all waxed and working
i can believe i spent all those money for 2 years on those posh chain lube.. glad i came upon this video.. il definitely try it
it works. I have been using this for years
I have been on bikes all my life, ilikewasabe. I am pleased to learn it also. Ps; I like Wasabi also. I often make roast beef bread rolls with hot english mustard one side and wasabi the other, but this does not work out, unless you put kracked black pepper the fuck all over it.
I made up a batch for my motorcycle. Works good for me especially since I service my bike often.
this is perfect! now all i jave to do is find the ingredients :) thanks man!
Dude this is so way cool brother and totally awesome and I never knew about this nor heard about this before very fascinating stuff I must say.
I definitely have to do this with all of my bikes and my motorcycle and scooter and moped chains as well.
Thank you so very much for sharing your experience and your video I am so totally sold on this wax chain idea plus doing this I won't have to worry about ruining my pants lags with dirty black chain oil's nor none of my sock's when riding to as well.
Keep up the good work and I love your videos.
Thanks for the inspiration! Stripped and cleaned the drive trains of both my bikes over the weekend. I did a straight paraffin dip of both chains, and used the left over wax to make your 'brew' as a top-up lube. After a 26km test ride (mtb, mud, dust) I can confirm everything they claim about paraffin lubed chains is true! Cheers...
Few more rides on the bike and have found the 'top up' lube attracts dirt and has started to cause build-up on the chain and sprockets. Will strip, clean and dip again, but only hot wax from now on...
I think the xylene makes the wax too oily. Just use the paraffin wax and paraffin oil and maybe not quite so much of the oil.
When heated and melted the wax and paraffin penetrate the chain completely, and wax totally displaces water. The xylene is only good for applying the wax when bottled as it keeps it more liquid.
Thanks for your videos! I'm a brazilian cyclist and your tips are making my riding expirience better and cheaper! Keep up with the "Make it yourself" content.
Olá João Paulo Alves. I'm also a brazilian trying to safe some pennies :)
Cara, tu chegou a fazer esse lub pra ti?
+Tom Boff Dois Brasileiros aqui nice!
Eu fiz apenas com vela. Limpei bem a corrente e relação. Derreti vela de sete dias num pote e fervi com a corrente dentro (ela tem link). Pendurei a corrente e deixei escorrer e secar. Coloquei na bike. Já fiz 135 km só estradão de chão e 15% asfalto. A corrente está limpa, sem rangidos, sem sujeira. Vou ver até quando ela aguenta, se chega nos 200km.
Já vi misturas vídeos onde pessoal usa vela e parafina líquida, grafite em pó, teflon PTFE, molybdenum mo2s, mas ainda não testei.
Oz cycle, hi. Admittedly your concoction is the best. Bought all ingredients as per your recipe. However, after reading the warning label became so worried about using xylene. But I had found a way to overcome the Wax becoming a blob on the chain the minute it touches the cold chain. I use a soldering iron to melt the blob on the chain and it seeps into the chain parts as intended. Ever since I started using your wax lube my chain is so clean and smooth and silent, it’s like knife cutting through butter. Thank you for this great tip.
Great tip to know! Where I live it never rains and I'm only dealing with dust really, but still is good info to know.
Did you ever try it? How well did it work against dirt?
Hi @oz cycle, Thanks for the Tip mate , I make a product at work called Dermeze sensitive skin Ointment. It's exactly 50% Paraffin Liquid and 50% Paraffin white soft blended together and nothing else. You can purchase it at any chemist in 500g Jars possibly cheaper than candles So all I did was put the plastic Jar of Dermeze Ointment in hot water for 5 minutes stirred and poured it into a 2 litre bottle and added the 250ml of Turps as I couldn't get Xyline at the time. Works a treat and no melting candles to get your paraffin blend. Hope this helps.
+Loanwolfz I never knew Dermeze existed. I will check it out. Thank you for that,Loanwolfz.
www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/33328/Dermeze-Ointment-500g
I'm not sure if that's cost effective or not but it's already blended for you, just add xylene 👍
Hey loanwolfz, could I check if the mixture of the Dermeze ointment and Turpentine has worked well?
Hi does it mean, 1.5 litres of Dermeze and 250ml of Turpentine? Loanwolfz? i bought the 500mg today and will calculate the turps from your suggestion
Have been using this homemade wax lube for over 4 months now and I can report that is the best maintenance tip I've had in 5 years of coming back to cycling, if you just put it on your chain to keep it clean it will be worth it besides the performance benefit.
Good timing and informative, I am just running out. I use Rock n roll red and gold but struggle to justify the prices. This formula looks good so will give it a whirl. Good to see a comparo to RnR by readers too as it helps put it in perspective.
Thank you for an informative video. I live in South Africa and here paraffin oil is called liquid paraffin, available from pharmacies, and Duram makes a product that used to be called xylene, but now goes under the name of DTM Brush Cleaner and Thinners. However, it's still toxic, but obviously evaporates.
I am making a batch today thanks you for excellent videos and hard work
UPDATE: I have been using this for a week it works like a charm buttery smooth especially on the trainer. Thank you
That's the feedback i was looking for, thanks! How's it going so far and in what conditions/bikes have you ridden on using this lub? Cheers mate!
I've made a similar lube with only paraffin, naptha and your choice of high quality oil. I use Royal Purple synthetic gear lube for the oil. I ounce by weight of paraffin will dissolve in 6-7 ounces of naptha. Add 2-5% oil. No heating is required, but the paraffin will dissolve much faster if the mixture is warmed, or the paraffin melted before mixing. Naptha is a fast drying solvent that is cheapest when purchased as camp stove fuel or white gas. Only $8.50 a gallon at WalMart. When applied to the chain, the naptha evaporates completely, leaving only the paraffin and oil mixture. It's very dry and leaves the drivetrain very clean.
After more testing, I've refined my formula a bit. I have mixed 1 ounce or 30ml of gear lube with 60-90ml of melted wax, then added about 3 parts naptha to 1 part of the oil/paraffin mix. If the oil/paraffin mixture is allowed to cool completely, it should not have free-oil sitting on top of the wax. If it does, wipe of the excess, then reheat and mix with naptha. I never use any paraffin oil/lamp oil/ kerosene to soften the wax.
Firstly @Oz Cycle, great tip. Secondly, to those posting about $1500 wheels and finding it contradictory with saving money, let me just say that it has been my observation of wise people, sometimes also of rich people (none of these terms apply to me btw), that FOR THE THINGS THAT COUNT, they make expensive but sensible purchases of products that last a long time. These purchases are however offset by saving money elsewhere on items or services that are considered "throw away". So, I don't see any contradiction between the outlay of > $1000 on wheels and saving money on chain lube. A personal example would be once when I cut out coffee for 6 months (shock horror) which allowed me to purchase a very nice bike for my youngest daughter. They money was essentially put to better use. In any case, thanks for the tip @Oz Cycle. Love your channel.
Those are Chinese with Easton stickers. Watch his other video.
Also, this homemade recipe looks like a bit of fun and an interesting talking point if the subject of chain lubricants comes up with riding mates. Those efficiency measurements seem intriguing as well. To me, the big improvement in cleanliness with its dirt/moisture repelling capability is the best part, even for a person that believes money is no object.
Great video! I just did it yesterday, cleaned the chain and drivetrain really well. made the mix, dipped the chain and made the liquid. Rode 30K today, chain seemed very quiet, clean and fast. Thanks for the great videos and tips.
what a brilliant video im off to woolies and bunnings to get supplies
Put your bottle of lubricant on top of oil burner or hot water heater. The small amount of heat that comes from unit keeps the lube from waxing up.
Fricken awesome!!! Thanks for making the vid as I’m going to use this for my speed skate bearings. I wish I knew this before I wrecked my $400 ceramic bearings after being caught in the rain one day.
Fantastic chain wax tutorial! Perhaps the second best ever cycle tip I know in over forty years cycling. The best ? From the late great Sheldon Brown : to thoroughly clean any chain, remove from bike and put it into a screw top plastic bottle, add a half cup or so of solvent or petrol, screw on cap tight, then shake bottle vigorously for two minutes----- chain will be clean as a whistle! 🚴
Thanks for the great DIY video; I've found all your videos extremely informative (and don't understand some of the negative comments viewers make).
+warren reif Thank you Warren,glad you like the vids. Yeh,its the net...theres always the negatives.
@@stevenleffanue I want to say THANK YOU for the valuable video too! ! I am 66 years young and just starting to convert my MTB to an ebike, so doing lots of research online about bikes!
Nice. You will soon be beating those young guns uphills 😁
I've been using this lube for about a year now, and really do like it. I tried a new trick - vacuum deposition of the lube. I cleaned and rinsed my chain. Next I put it in a small can, and put it in a vacuum chamber I made. I pulled a vacuum on it. This caused all residual moisture between the chain surfaces to boil out. I know this is what happened, because when I removed the chain, it was quite cold, a byproduct of boiling by vacuum. Then I warmed it with a heat gun followed by putting it in a small can filled with the paraffin lube mixture. I then inserted the can into the vacuum chamber and again pulled a vacuum on it. This got all residual air out of the surfaces between the chain links. At full vacuum, the xylene started to boil out of the mixture. At that point, I reintroduced atmospheric pressure which forced the paraffin lube mixture into the tiny spaces between the sliding surfaces in the chain links. Without doing this, there is no way to guarantee that any lube used is not being blocked by residual air or liquid cleaning solutions which are already filling those voids. I believe this same problem could occur when dipping your chain in melted paraffin.
It all seemed to work well, at least as far as I could tell. I've only had one ride of about 20 miles on my bike since doing this. The chain was perfectly silent which was a good sign. But only time and more miles will tell if this is a method more beneficial than just wiping the lube onto the chain. But it all makes good sense to me.
In the electronics industry, sometimes we need to waterproof our circuitry by encapsulating it with liquid epoxy (called potting) and letting it harden. Mixing the two parts of the epoxy often introduces air bubbles into the mixture. Water can find passages to the circuitry through the bubbles which are caught in the hardened epoxy. To prevent that problem, we put the uncured encapsulation into a vacuum to pull all of the air out of it. It then cures as a perfectly homogeneous solid mass with no bubbles in it.
I'd appreciate hearing if anyone knows if vacuum deposition of lubricants onto bicycle chains has been tried in the past, and what the results were.
Thanx for your wonderful research into this Jerry,mych appreciated. Let us know how you go with more mileage in the chain?
@@stevenleffanue what is the purpose of the xylene may I ask? Is it a medium that evaporates once it has applied to the chain?
@@wireshrub ... /... , it works perfectly fine as a nail vernish - cleaner . Often used by women to take-off all the polish from their nails . A much harder and radically substitute to acetone .
Hi Oz after watching your video I immediately went to find and purchase all the ingredients and bathed my chain in the parrafin & wax after deep cleansing. The Xylene I could only find at a large hardware chain store. On the road bike the feel was smooth and the chain cassette ect stay clean and dry. Then I did the same with a brand new drive chain on the MTB. The chain stays lubricated and is unneffected by dust and water taking off the oil/thinner lubes and is absolutely amazing. Like what you say what got me to watch the video in the first place is “I will never buy chain lube again” what may be confusing about people not being able to find parrafin oil is because here it’s labeled just as parrafin and not liquid or oil. From watching the video I assumed that the clear liquid is the same as general parrifin which is used in oil lamps ect... however it’s just called parrafin
Good to hear the waxing is working for you Darren. "Paraffin oil" is a general label put on many mineral oils but the true paraffin oil is used is the cosmetic,medical and veterinary type.
Thanks for all the chain cleaning, waxing tips. Using on our 2 new Lectric Ebikes. Also thanks for the Tannus liner info, hope to avoid the dreaded flat. Your tips are very educational and will make our bike pleasure more enjoyable. Thank you!
We live in AZ. Dry and dusty conditions.
✋
Saludo desde Colombia, Gracias por informar!
great information. thanks. l've always used possum piss ( WD40) for cleaning then Rock and Roll lub. But like u said expensive. curious about the wax, will give it a go.
George Redbranch Possum Piss!
That's awesome! I'm an Aussie & I've never heard that before!
Excellent lubricant..I had to buy all the ingredients mentioned here from store which sells lab chemicals!!(I am from India actually). The chain is much cleaner now, also its much more smoother.Thanks again for this wonderful tutorial..
Hi... I'm from India as well. Got a few questions. Liquid Paraffin & Paraffin oil, are they same?
Xylene is there any brand that I can buy online ?
Thanks in advance
Thank you for the knowledge you share!
another bicycle job for the thermomix ;)
..a few drops of food dye,in the mix,could add a colour to your Lube...
+tim hammond Great suggestion tim....perhaps 'red' ....hehe.
red,or blue,would be cool..thanks Oz cycle..
..or,use coloured candles,to add the colour...worth a try...
would color show up very well though?
'Knock, knock' .....
........'who's there?'
'Rock'nRoll'...
......'Oh shivers'
Love the vid and advice, thankyou.
Thank you for those very interesting and useful videos. I am one of those always using oil on chain and kind of being not so keen on properly cleaning it. When you say "wax on chain" normal reaction is to be skeptical as was is a solid substance as we know it. Only place I use was for a lubrications, so far, are sliding doors. I have a heavy sliding doors on balconies and also lighter ones on closets. And wax is really better here compared to oil and it is clean. Wax is applied by pressing wax stick to sliding surfaces. Wax lasts for some time and it has to be reapplied and compared to bike chain application is easy. With bike chain we want it to go inside the rollers where making wax semi liquid or immersing the chain is the only way. I was surprised to find that Xylene is available in Canadian stores and some people say not in US. Paraffin oil is also available as 'oil lamp' and even comes as scented. Right now I am converting to ebike and will try this waxing method.
I have been cycling for over 60 years, and the best chain lubricant I have ever found is chainsaw bar oil because it is specially formulated to resist being thrown off the chain when it makes its abrupt 180-degree change of direction around the saw's clutch.
Commercial wax chain lubes are stupidly expensive, so this is a great idea. But - I'm really concerned about the use of xylene as the solvent. It's nasty stuff. In histology labs, where tissue specimens are embedded in paraffin wax for sectioning, xylene is being replaced by limonene as a non-toxic alternative (d-limonene is used in cosmetics and medicines). And it smells of lemons. I'm going to make up some magic wax lube, substituting limonene for the xylene to see how it goes.
+FangPaw Sounds like yur on to somethin there FangPaw. Please let ud know how it turns out.
+oz cycle. WIll do!
How it went? Is this working like mixture with xylene? I am asking because as you has written xylene is really bad for people, fumes, skin contact (everything).
I have to admit I haven't tried it yet. I'd been using the (extremely expensive) Boeshield T-9 wax lube, and mentioned your DIY wax lube in my local bike shop. Whereupon they produced a 250ml bottle of Squirt (an aqueous wax lube) for half the price of 118ml of T-9. So I thought I'd give it a try.... and avoid the wrath of the missus. The downside of Squirt is that - unlike T-9 or your DIY wax lube - it's not really suitable for cables and pivot points.
I'm sure the limonene will work - it's 100% miscible with wax and it's volatile, like xylene. Yes, xylene really is nasty stuff. In labs, it's always used in a fume hood and handled wearing gloves. I guess you could use it outdoors, but you really don't want it on your skin.
FangPaw please post the results of the limonene/wax lube here, that would be amazing!
Thanks so much for the awesome video. I can't wait to make my first batch. Oz Cycle rocks!
+Charles Chandler Hope it goes well Charles. You can always do the hot wax method too :)
Thanks for the videos! I found a mixture (in the USA) of about 1/4 paraffin wax, 1/4 mineral oil, and 1/2 or more of mineral spirits works for the drip lube. It seems to require a higher percentage of mineral spirits than it would if I used xylene as a carrier for the wax. It also seems to require a little longer for the mineral spirits to evaporate. Having said that, I apply it the night before and it seems to be working great
+C Tucker Thanx for that. Yes best to let the carrier evaporate before riding....just takes longer to evaporate in colder weather
I tried a mixture of 1/4 paraffin wax, 1/4 paraffin oil, and 1/2 D-limonene for the solvent. And that was still solid at room temperature (actually: 90F). If I were to add even more solvent, I'd be afraid I'm washing paraffin out of the chain, instead of putting it into the chain... I've also tried naphtha, and finally resorted to xylene. All these produced a non-liquid "lube" at the equal thirds ratios. I guess I'll keep adding more solvent...
Xylene is amazingly dangerous
oz_cycle is a major solvent fan. Xylene, petrol, etc. When you see people riding around apparently off their skulls on solvents then you'll know they are acolytes of this channel.
I drunk an ounce yesterday by a hose sucking transfer process. Damn.
What did you use instead of xylene
We are all going to die eventually
@@MrPowertab Soy milk
"Save money on chain lube"
*rides around with 1500 dollar wheels*
+HugoH The main advantage of the paraffin lube is its superior lubrication,Hugo...saving power and extends life of your entire drivetrain.
I understand that, but I just found it funny when you mentioned saving money on lube. I totally agree with you on the importance of good lube. I'm thinking about making it myself, great video!
HugoH haha, my thought exactly
saving money in other places to be able to afford expensive wheels?
must admit it was also one of my first thoughts, But parts is no cost, it is investment...:)!
I needed this, thanks! Here in Arizona it'll stay soft.
+Paul Barton We get 40-44deg here on occasional summer days too and the wax is fine....altho it wouldnt be good to ride in temps like that.
Hey buddy. After months of the usual weekly degrease, wash and lubricate of my chain, I had a crack at the wax dip. My god, what a difference, my chain is super quiet, I can hardly hear it. The big test is turning the bike upside down, removing proper tension from the jockeys... silky smooth.
The gear changes are now instant with no dramas, and I had to look twice to make sure they had shifted.
A top tip for you.. if you can’t afford, or don’t want a rice steamer, buy a 2 litre saucepan from a budget shop, keep it on simmer with the extractor fan going. Does the trick nicely and saved me £20. And if you have trouble finding clear paraffin oil, try asking your local chemist... it’s used to treat constipation 🤗
Will definitely be putting my feet up with a brewski tonight to watch more of your videos.
Excellent work..
Andy, rather chuffed in England (and despite what you are hearing, we want Trump over here... over politicians are running scared... but they don’t have a super quiet chain)
Sounds like you got waxing down pat there Andy. My first waxings were in a saucepan too 😂....works fine.
Mr. Trump is a U.S. citizen ; nor an Australian , neither a British citizen !
Xylene ban in California I'm F#$%k!
+Juan Baltierrez You can use Toluene or try equal parts of Acetone and Kerosene. If all else fails,you can still make the wax mixture without the carrier (Xylene) and bath the chain in it whilst warm enough to be a liquid,take chain out after 10 minutes and allow to cool. Wipe off excess wirh cloth and its ready to use. Hope this helps Juan
so i can use... candles+paraffin oil+kerosene =mixture?
+Juan Baltierrez acetone+kerosene equal portions will make the carrier.....then add the candle+parrafin oil mixture.
With good reason, Xylene is a dangerous carcinogenic solvent. I'd try acetone before xylene.
Juan Baltierrez order it from Amazon. worked for me.
GOT TO LOVE IT‼️🤩👍🏽 YOU THE MAN‼️👍🏽👏🏽
thx a lot! i already went on wax. now i need the Xylen to make the squirt-bottle mixture ;-)
I was searching for such kind of solutions! Thanks for the video! Really mindblowing! Really satisfactory!
Just cooked my chain in your recipe. Will get my first ride on it tomorrow. I think I will just recook every few hundred K as Im not happy about the toxicity of Xylene. Acetone wont dissolve wax so not sure it would work well as a transport medium. Anyone out there with any knowledgeable ideas? I love your videos by the way...thanks everso mate..rippahhh!!
Me too! Looking for the same solution. Regular alcohol is being recommended up above. I'm thinking down to 70% (readily available cheap) should be okay because it's going to take H20 with it as it evaporates. Worth a try! Sure a lot safer!
Dzięki oz dzisiaj zrobiłem twoją miksturę i będę jej wkrótce używał.Pozdrawiam Jurek z Polski.
I do clean (if necessary), prep, and treat 3 chains at a time, however, before submerging them in the wax I apply Boeshield-T9 and let dry thoroughly and then ACF-50 and allow to dry. I live in the PNW and deal with a deal amount of rain over the year. Wax is great but I can see a big difference between the chains when treated with the ACF-50 and T-9 1st. Cheers.
I've heard of people using bacon grease to lube a bike chain. I've never used wax before, only 10w-30 motor oil, it works fine for my purposes. I like the wax idea, I'll have to give it a shot sometime! Thank you for sharing this, I really appreciate it. :)
I used flyspray once in an emergency 😁
oz cycle Really? Flyspray? What's that stuff made of? I suppose we're all lucky that bike chains are quite durable and can serve us well, even in less than desirable conditions. :)
I'll try this, thank you.One safety note, melting the wax and parrafin oil over a stove would be safer if you use a double pan. One pot for the wax sitting in a pot of hot water, otherwise there is a fire hazard
Wow...can't wait to try this. Thanks buddy!
Thanks budy, it is very clear what is not only cheap but in benefit for the bike and the biker. As far as xylene, well as l;ong as you don't drink it.... is not that bad. I use it every day in my practice. Congrats.
Hi @ozcycle, I have taken the plunge into the world of paraffin wax chain lube with the aid of your videos. It’s really very good. I rode a 100km ride yesterday and the chain was clean at the end of it. I do have some questions, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Firstly before that ride I removed the chain and stripped it of the old oils and bathed it in a bath of Paraffin wax and oil as you suggested. Aside from making a fundamental error when lifting the chain out of the bath and accidently dropping part of the cleaning rag into the bath and flinging melted wax onto the patio floor (damn), it really worked very well.
What isn’t working quite so well is the wax preparation for the little squirty bottle. I’m not that keen on the idea of using Xylene, so I took the alternate approach mentioned in comments of using Kerosene and Acetone. The ratio of the various components in my batch is roughly as follows: Wax 330ml; Paraffin Oil 300ml; Kerosene 150ml; Acetone 100ml. This mixture is liquid when warm, but as we approach winter on a 15 degree C day, this solidifies. I’ve had to warm up the little squirty bottle in hot water to use it, but when I apply it to a cold chain it solidifies quickly and does not look as though it will properly run between the rollers and pins. What do you suggest I do to make the squiry bottle lubricant mixture liquid at a lower temperature? Do I need to increase the proportion of kerosene and acetone, or Xylene the only way to go with this? (or do I need to warm the chain?)
+Brett McLean If you have a removable link,always do the hot wax bath method,Brett. The squirty bottle is for emergencies and those who cannot take their chain off the bike. For a cold chain,warm it up with a hairdryer or add more xylene to the mix. The xylene will evaporate and leave the wax only.
When I lubricate the moving chain from the bottle it cools down extremely quickly and clumps on the chain and that's here where we get temperatures in the high 30C
7:38 oh wow. I remember long ago, a dirt track biker told me about how they'd cook their chains in wax&oil to lube them. I remember seeing the coat hanger with the preped chains draped over it so they could cool.
I bought a K Mart $13 rice cooker to mix the paraffin wax and oil and soak the chain. 750 ml oil per candle is a good starting point.
I then used two parts of the wax/oil mix to one part xylene to make the other mix.
automatic transmition fluid works great , and doesn't seem to attract too much gunk . lasts a pretty long time . put it into a squeeze bottle and apply to each link individually .
Great video you can purchase paraffin wax from your local beauty supply as it's used for hand therapy which melts at 45 degrees celcius, heated paraffin baths can also be purchased instead of using the stove. Instead of xylene could you use isopropanol ?
Thank you Oz for the great video. I would like to know if your mixture is intended only for the chain, or can it/should it also be used on the derailleur pivot points and bearings.
+Jerry Viviano Glad you like vids. Yes you can use the wax on gear/brake cables,rear jockey wheels and other sliding parts like you said...derailleur pivots,Jerry. Not sure about bearings tho.
Just saw this videos Oz! I started hot dipping my chains using your ptfe and wax mixture. Thank you for all the advice! How do commercial waxes stay liquid at all temperatures? Which do you feel works better between paraffin oil/wax compared to straight wax and just ptfe powder.
Having watched this, and not having any wax available, I tried something similar. After cleaning the chain on my singlespeed (cheapo chain, so it's worth experimenting) I sprayed it with beeswax furniture polish. It may not last quite as long as the method above - time will tell - but it's certainly very smooth, even after a few days. It was certainly quicker and easier.
+Paul Sherwood Nice Paul. Bees wax tended to be "sticky",more expensive and less available than paraffin wax. Let us know how you go with that tho...thanx.
+oz cycle Thanks for the great video. I've always been a DIYer so making the wax lubricant rather than buying commercial appealed to me. However, I have two suggestions. First, rather than risking exceeding the flashpoint of the candle wax I recommend melting the wax in a can immersed in slowly boiling water. It'll take a little longer but will be a lot safer. Two, xylene is really bad to breathe so you need to pour it in a really well ventilated area. As aside, xylene is unavailable in some states here because idiots are huffing it. I couldn't get it in NH but the hardware store in Maine carried it. Btw, I tried this concoction on my double barreled shotgun. It left a really nice film on the barrel and a nice shine on the stock.
+John Brandolini Yes wax is good for sliding parts. As long as the heat source is not near flashpoint ie:naked flame , it will be fine. Agree Xylene is not a human friendly substance but as you say,handled safely its fine. See vid "wax chain-comonly asked questions Pt2" for a list of xylene substitutes. Cheers John
Cheers thanx for the vid and the reply.
Nice. I live in dusty dry los angeles and ride the beach alot. I go through 60ml bottle of white lightning dry lube every few weeks. I ride the beach alot and sand salt dust is my terrain. It does keep my chain clean. A wipe down and relube its back to life. Can i use 91% isopropyl alcohol as a carrier?
Thanks a lot man
I will make my own from now on
I love RUclips...!! Homemade chainlube...!! That's no doubt what they're using give or take in the over the counter wax chainlube products. Thank you Sir...!!
Hello Stephen. Waxing chain has been excellent. Monitoring test mileage has been between 300- 600 miles before complete clean (Gas) and re-wax.Settling on around 400-450. My question is here in Missouri the summers are hot and the wax app and use have been fine. But the cold ass winter is about here. Should I increase the paraffin oil ratio a bit or not because of the cold? Note: as i don't have a heated shop this is going to be an in the apt. event, no worries here. Thanks again from the US. David
+ryoiter For bottled application of wax in colder conditions add more xylene. The xylene keeps it liquid but will evaporate after a while once applied leaving your chain well lubricated with wax.
Big thanks from Laos! Great vids, keep it up!!!
+Rasta Love Thanx Rasta. One of my favorite places along with Chiang Mai that Ive never been. Cheers
Thanks for the reply! If you ever come out this way, let me know, I would be more than happy to help out. This is my website:
www.biking-laos.com/tours/
i just finished putting my drive train back together after a thorough cleaning and it is spotless.
the GCN guys did a wax treatment thing, but only dipped in wax, melted and complained of noise. my question is; did your extra ingredients make the drive train quiet as well?
excellent videos !
thanks from Newfoundland.
Paraffin wax only tends to flake so to keep it soft add paraffin oil.
Is there anything can do to prevent the hardness of this lubricant? thanks for the answers
Great vid! Went out and got all the ingredients and made my first batch! Easy as! However, everything has solidified in the bottles! I even brought a bottle inside, and its still hard! At what temperature do you expect the lube to remain liquid? I really want to like this stuff, and I now have gobs of it, but it needs to be easier to use.
Will a higher portion of paraffin oil help?
And, I assume, Citronella burner oil, is similar to/replacement for paraffin oil?
And thirdly, can paraffin oil be used on its own?
+Rob Leviston At lower ambient temps you can put your bottle of lube in warm/hot water to liquify it before application. In very cold conditions you may need to warm the chain up also so the lube gets into the pins and rollers. The portions are to keep the wax like a hard cream,not to accomodate temperatures. Only use "paraffin oil" or "liquid paraffin". Paraffin oil only as a lube will run and spread like oils do....gets on everything,messy and thins out too much. Cheers Rob
Love your videos dude :) Any tips on something you can add to stop the solidification?
+Alan Lyne Cheers Alan. Warm it up to liquid before applying to the chain.
For what it's worth, 200ml = 6.7 oz which is what will fill that glass jar. For measurement purposes here in the US, it would be easier to measure out 3oz of each to get the 1/3 ratio correct. Great video..!! Thank you...!!
Great lube thanks for info just subscribed.....For the comments section....yes chemicals can be bad. No worse than what you will find in most household cupboards. Practice making some luv until you happy with consistency and have ago on old chain.....before using the one you ride with. Thank you for the vid.
Hi, oz cycle, I was wondering if I can use this mixed wax not to just my chain but also to my cogs/sprocket? I'll wait your reply before I make my next move. Thanks in advanced.
we are p as ying $10 for 4 oz. of chain oil in the us. thanks for the vid mate
I made a batch of this but even using twice the amount of Xylene that the video creator did, the lubricant still becomes solid at room temp. Even in my garage which is around 80f this time of year it is still solid. I wish there was a solvent that would keep the mixture liquid like the commercial stuff.
Thanks for the video, followed the guide but it turned solid with 100ml of each ingredient . The consistency on the knife was spot on. Do I need to add more paraffin oil or xylene ?
+Steve Mold It will go harder with lower temperatures Steve. Yes, add more xylene to keep it liquid. After application the xylene evaporates and leaves the wax in the chain.
Great vid. Is it worth putting this on the other parts such as rear derailleur to keep them dirt free?
+Gary CROSSETT By keeping your drivetrain clean the rear derailleur will stay cleaner too. Occasionally give the jockey wheels a spin on a clean cloth.
Hi there, I just used the same wax, with a KMC Ti chain and while I can definitely feel the difference in performance, the chain is just too noisy :( any advise pls ? )
Wow! Thank you!
Used paraffin candles, liquid paraffine (can be found at the medical store it is used to treat constipation) and instead of xylene used turpentine oil. Works great big difference felt in effort and super silent.
Hello! Can I use non mineral turpentine??? Or any kind of it??
For the best result , no. However it will make a lube but will attract dirt
Like your videos!
I was looking around and bought Turpentine and not mineral Turpentine (aka white spirit) you think it will work as good as Xyelene or do you think I should use the White spirit?
+Levi Slap Xylene,toulene and acetone are best
Just been looling at ingredients and comments section, lot of people saying xylene toxic+carcinogenic, but when I google the IARC and EPC reports state xylene has no significant evendence on either stated health aspects. Can someone point to me a study that says otherwise. Cheers
oz which isomer of xylene we should use? because on internet they show 3 types of xylene
Hi great video, do you think it would work to lubricate a motorcycle chain ?