ZFC Note on Silca Stripper
Silca Stripper and Ceramic Speed UFO drivetrain clean are currently the two recommended products for prepping chains for either immersive waxing or top wax drip lubricants (as well as any top drip lubricant, however they are more focussed on wax base).
Traditional solvent cleaning method works fine (refer chain prep guide – instructions tab). However – using solvents typically involves multiple baths of solvent cleans, followed by alcohol baths to ensure no film left behind from cleaning so that wax can bond to clean and clear chain metal.
So whilst these fancy new chain prep products appear expensive, they will often work out cheaper as so little is needed (very powerful solvents, that are also eco friendly). You are simply looking at a single bath soak of 10 mins, shake, remove and then rinse with boiling water, dry and yeehaa. So not only does this compete well (in fact usually much better) vs solvent method on price, it is a lot less steps, a lot less faff and time – and simply extremely easy to do a perfect chain prep for your upcoming lovely super low friction and wear wax / wax drip lubricant chain.
For those who like to go all out and use ultrasonic – Both Silca Stripper and Ceramic Speed Drivetrain clean have strong cavitation / ultrasonic cleaning power. Traditional solvents have very low ultrasonic cleaning power and so need long degas and then run times across multiple baths – In short 10 mins degas and 10 mins ultrasonic run will achieve a brilliant clean into all tiny nooks and crannies and fissures with Stripper or DT clean that would take traditional solvents multiple baths and well over an hour ultrasonic time to try to match (and still may not).
If you are looking to prep on bike for a top wax drip lubricant as you do not wish to remove chain, the very powerful Silca Stripper or DT clean are the go to vs traditional solvent. It is hard for the chain to hold more than around 5ml of actual solvent – the rest will drip onto the floor. Most traditional solvents are simply not powerful enough / able to absorb enough grease / oil to effectively clean on bike without that being quite a process. Many think they have cleaned using degreaser spray or solvents, but typically the clean will be poor, and wax will not be bonding well to chain, and things can be a bit of a gunky mess as wax is still mixing with residual grease / oil.
Stripper or DT clean give those not wishing to do the recommended off bike soak in container the best chance of prepping chain well for ultra low friction and wear waxed life. Spray on liberally (have old towel underneath, excess will drip off), allow that so work for 10 mins, spray a bit more through to flush, then rinse with hot water (not boiling if on bike), dry (hair dryer is great to help that) – then lube with chosen top wax drip and allow that wax drip its required set time (normally overnight) before riding.
***IMPORTANT NOTE*** – For prepping new chains with factory grease, or existing chains with WET lubricant – both Silca Stripper and Ceramic Speed DT clean will be brilliant. However Silca stripper has been specifically designed NOT to work on waxes. So if you are looking to do flush clean maintenance on a wax drip lubricant chain, or to clean that chain ready for immersive waxing, Stripper will NOT break down that wax, you will want to use Ceramic Speed Drivetrain clean which works on wax AND grease and oils.
Zero Friction cycling has tested Silca stripper (refer YT vids on stripper and UFO DT clean testing) and can highly recommend this product.
Official Product information from Silca below
Completely strip and prep your chain for wax in 10 minutes. Submerge the chain or even just drip it on the chain, rinse, and apply super secret.
Take all the work and harsh chemicals out of chain waxing.
Far and away, the largest hurdle for people converting to a waxed drivetrain has always been the need to completely strip the factory lubricant from the chain in order for the wax to properly adhere.
Traditional methods have involved using 2-3 different solvents and rinse steps, moving from non-polar solvents that thin greases and oils to progressively more polar solvents that evaporate quickly to eliminate residues.
For the design of SILCA Chain Stripper, we started from the end and worked backwards, identifying chemicals which drive out greases and oils while promoting wax adhesion to metal.
The result is an organic cleaner that lifts and encapsulates greases and oils allowing them to easily be rinsed away from the metal surface.
The result is the world’s first wax optimized chain cleaner which not only removes greases and oils, but actually primes the metal surface for improved adhesion from wax lubricants.
The aggressive ‘lift and encapsulate’ action of SILCA chain stripper allows for 2 quick and easy cleaning options.
Option 1
- For hot-melt waxing a new, factory chain with SILCA Secret Blend Hot Melt, simply immerse the chain in the Stripper and agitate 30 seconds.
- Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes and agitate again for 30 seconds.
- Remove the chain from the Stripper and rinse with water and then drop the chain directly into the hot wax, the water will boil off within a few minutes and the chain will be fully waxed with up to 30% longer application life than a chain cleaned by traditional methods.
Option 2
- For drip applied waxing of a new or nearly new chain with SILCA Super Secret without removing the chain from the bicycle.
- Apply 1 drop of SILCA Chain Stripper to each roller of the chain while backpedalling.
- Allow to soak for 5 minutes.
- Backpedal 10 revolutions of the crank to agitate cleaner and re-apply 1 drop per roller allowing to sit for 5 more minutes.
- Rinse with clean water while backpedalling at least 10 revolutions.
What is it
SILCA Chain Stripper is a highly concentrated, biodegradable degreaser combined with a wax adhesion promoter (primer) which allows for fast, single step preparation of factory chains for waxing while also improving wax adhesion and increasing longevity.
SILCA Chain Stripper reduces the time and number of chemicals required to properly prep a factory greased chain to less than 10 minutes and can even be used to prepare chains on bicycle for drip wax application.
Specifications
- Biodegradable ingredients
- Cleans chain in 10 minutes
- Improves wax treatment adhesion
- Strip chain on or off bike
- Made in USA
