JHZR2
Staff member
Chain in some Ed’s red.
Should be the same as a kerosine wipe.
Chain ultrasonic cleaning
- Thread starter JHZR2
- Start date
Chain in some Ed’s red.
Should be the same as a kerosine wipe.
JHZR2
Staff member
Meh, not glistening…
It did clean more. This chain has very low miles.
It did clean more. This chain has very low miles.
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2025
- Messages
- 101
Did you try scrubbing it with some sort of brush and that eds solution? I am not sure what else to do besides buying a new chain in some sort of nickel/silver color finish, if you really want it to be glistening. It seems that is a gray chain and might be hard to get it glistening.
Things are a bit mixed up
Simple green is a base. Excess -OH It will not turn acidic. But it will etch aluminum. Aircraft are largely aluminum hence the aircraft version
Aluminum will hydrogen embrittle. So no strong acid - ie free H
Steel is a different animal. No concern with Simple Green.
My recommendation remains. Soak scrub in Simple Green. Boil in water.
As long as you already have it out, why not just replace it and stop worrying about it?
Where is the fun in that?
JHZR2
Staff member
Primarily because I’m trying to learn how to do it and what works and doesn’t.
It’s really a learning experiment, and showing what I’ve ended up with versus what I had expected to see.
JHZR2
Staff member
Do I really care about it glistening? No. I did think it would brighten up a bit though. I did try to agitate and scrub it a bit. No luck.
I’ve seen black chains, but this one struck me as a silver chain, so I don’t really know.
I admire your drive and curiosity
So no one has boiled a grubby piece of steel after hydroxide cleaning?
Ever time I have the steel is perfectly white silver clean
Just saying
Ever time I have the steel is perfectly white silver clean
Just saying
JHZR2
Staff member
So are you saying I should do those two things? I know you said boiling water above…. But is there another -OH that’s better?
As I said, I’m trying to learn. So I’m not opposed to anything, my biggest limitation right now is time…
To me, it seems like a waste of time--first ride on sand, dirt, or just a messy asphalt road, it's going to get black, again. I'm all for fun and games, but it seems like effort that will be for naught the first time the bike gets use.
For a show bike, I'd just buy a new chain, strip off the packing great, then oil. And make sure to not ride. Otherwise, it just seems like time not well spent.
I've taken to mineral spirits in a used salsa jar. I found the old trick of using a soda bottle to be annoying--the much wider opening on a glass jar is much easier to fish the chain out of. I just wish I could better filter the mineral spirts, but then again, when I clean my chain, which isn't often, it's good and truly loaded with dirt. After the bath, I do hit with a bit of brake cleaner, the chain won't quite fully dry out in the sun, and often I'm not waiting, so a quick attempt to get that off, then back on the bike. [Been using that Rock and Roll lube lately, not sure how well it would do with extra spirits left on the chain.]
For a show bike, I'd just buy a new chain, strip off the packing great, then oil. And make sure to not ride. Otherwise, it just seems like time not well spent.
I've taken to mineral spirits in a used salsa jar. I found the old trick of using a soda bottle to be annoying--the much wider opening on a glass jar is much easier to fish the chain out of. I just wish I could better filter the mineral spirts, but then again, when I clean my chain, which isn't often, it's good and truly loaded with dirt. After the bath, I do hit with a bit of brake cleaner, the chain won't quite fully dry out in the sun, and often I'm not waiting, so a quick attempt to get that off, then back on the bike. [Been using that Rock and Roll lube lately, not sure how well it would do with extra spirits left on the chain.]
Purple power or other alkaline cleaner will get at that residue. Boiling water really goes after the surfaces.
I’m just relaying what I know from gun parts to engine parts - what I know gets back to clean steel. Which I assume is the goal.
Think old school hot tanking
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Purple Power is some serious $hit! Very strong alkaline cleaner. Too strong to use straight, other than in extreme conditions. Learned my lesson with that stuff. I much prefer Simple Green, and their variants there of. The SG Pro, and/or SG Aircraft stuff is much milder.
Kestas
Staff member
Aluminum will hydrogen embrittle only at elevated temperatures.
Kestas
Staff member
I sometimes use a product called Micro-90. It'll shine up copper and brass with ultrasonics. I use it to restore tarnished contacts in 90 year old radios. It's expensive.
JHZR2
Staff member
Well I started with ultrasonic cleaning and scrubbing with simple green.
After all that’s I boiled it.
Even got a $1 pot from goodwill to use.
Then rubbed it some more.
Always more dirt coming out.
Marginal results, so back into my Ed’s red with a hint of beeswax.
Still more dirt coming out.
So not silver, not gleaming, nothing after all that.
Is what it is I guess. I’ll install it, apply some dumonde let my child run it a while, then put on a new chain.
Amazing! That is indeed one filthy chain.
Purple Power next!
Then sodium hydroxide concentrated
Boil again
I do know methylene chloride, 1,1,1, and carbon tetra chloride are out but…what solvents can you buy?
