Dude really sold me on the instant pot. He definitely has equity in instant pot.

It is the first time I wax the chain. I clean the chain with Chain Stripper (fantastic) and used the bain-marie method using the bag (I left the chain too long in the wax to cool down and had a lot of residue sticking to the outside and the chain was like a rock, but now I have learnt my lesson). After the first ride (which softened the chain) I cleaned it with a microfiber cloth and applied super secret with the advice given in other videos, a drop at each joint, run the chain, pass the finger etc. and left it 24 hours. Yesterday I did another ride and I must say that I am very pleased. Very clean drivetrain, now I can touch the transmission without having any dirt in my fingers, at most a little bit of wax and dust (seems like some kind of miracle to me) which is the main reason I wanted to try the wax because I hate all the sludge and the process of degrease and re-lubricating, the drivetrain is also very quiet and the shifts are smooth. I wanted to write this comment to thank Josh for his fantastic work which makes a Sunday racer like me that much happier. I think I will be using only wax for my transmission from now on. Thank you from Italy! PS Just one question, if I understand correctly the wax does not protect against rust. Now some years I stay abroad during the winter for three to four months and the bike stays at home without anyone to look after it. Is there a risk of the chain rusting? If so, what do you recommend doing, would a hot wax bath before leaving it be a good method or is it better to put an oily lubricant?

I put the wax in a beaker and "float" it in my ultrasonic cleaner. I then drop in 3 chains and let the cleaner do the agitation. I generally do about 12 chains in an afternoon and keep them available and swap them out every 2 to 300 miles depending on riding conditions.

2 weeks ago I met an old friend beeing an enthusiastic cyclist since about 40 years. He told me that he is "cooking" and waxing his chain! I have never heard that before. So I reseached a bit and "stumbled" over this video and the "SECRET CHAIN BLEND" There are other solutions around but I found the presentation from Josh rather authentic and sympathetic. I applied it on my rather new (250km) chain after intense cleaning. 3x Isopropanol cycles, cooking in detergant and 2x ultrasonic cleaning. It was asthonisching how much muck came of my rather new chain. I was even dispensing it on my Cassette using a silicone brush and a hair dryer to distribute it. First drive impression and gear switching behaviour was significant better than before. After 300km and lot's of mud and dirt - I am a MTB driver - the chain and cassette looks and feels still like new. Thumps up!!!

As a scientist I can appreciate the details in videos to drive home the point! My fave was crystal structure tungsten disulfide!! I'm now a Silca Velo convert. Wished I saw this video when it first came out t2 years ago, would have saved me from those dreaded chain tats 🙂

We will be adding this protocol to our shop services. Many thanks!

Keen to give this a try, thanks for the comprehensive instructions.

Lots of respect and compliments for the in-depth video, but now it's opinion time. 1. Instant pots are typically around 80+USD, although you can hunt for one at the price you mentioned. For some, this is fine, and I'm sure they'll feel secure in their decision after noting your endorsement, however it's no surprise some might find it unnecessary. I found a brand new bare-bones slow cooker for $10 including a ceramic bowl which is important to prevent flaking of common non-stick surfaces found in other cookers (not mentioned in this video, and a seemingly common mistake to make). While the low setting took ages to melt my wax, it also proved that the "thermostatic" controller it must use maintains a more or less ideal temperature--just over the wax's melting point. That all being said, I'm glad you have the stove-top alternative method. 2. I'm curious as to why so much emphasis (and time and effort) was put into comparing the time taken to completely melt the wax. Whether it be under an hour or a few hours, I hope most wouldn't mind waiting for a completely hands-off process for something done on roughly a monthly basis. However, I'm (respectfully) less surprised when I see a reputable face of Silca endorsing such options when the company makes a $495 floor pump with a "Swiss gauge accurate to 1%". I could get into why this level of accuracy is laughably useless in an analogue gauge style pump but I digress. The one glaring caveat to this being that I'm one to put money more into function than sparkly bits.

Great video as always. Point to note in the crock pot vs instant pot here in Australia is that the price is nearly 10 times higher!! 20 bucks vs 200 bucks. I have a crock pot and just turn it on and come back to it an hour later, swish the chain and hang it up. Job done :-) Also., the 3L size is possibly a bit bigger than needed - you need to use more product to get the depth needed for swishing, which means that the full amount gets contaminated over time. If you use a 1.5L then you can use half the amount in the crock pot which means that you get twice as long out of the same amount you would use in the 3L. Hope this makes sense

This is the perfect video during the lockdown

I have been very impressed and pleased with both the Hot Melt and drip lube. But now I cannot appreciate how and where the 16 oz. jar with 12 oz. lube fits in? Any suggestions please?

Hi Josh, I’ve bought the bundle and hot waxed in a slow cooker it works great, is easier than I thought it would be , and is as silent a chain as I’ve ever had. Just did a drip wax touch up, looking forward to more videos on this. What citrus degreaser are you using, I used mineral spirits in 2baths , followed by 1 bath in denatured alcohol. It worked very well , but would use what you recommend . Also, what can I expect in cold weather,, say 20-40 F ? Thanks for the great product, Dave

Hi, great video. If I use the stove-top bag method, can I let the wax cool in the bag after I have waxed the chain and then re-use / re-heat the bag for future waxings? Thanks

I melted some teflon into some prarfin and put it the oven for 30 minutes then boil it in linseed oil or lamp black graphite. If I use the oven it takes about half hour with kerosene gel. Sometimes a torch helps but the oven is more consistent.

Hi Josh, I Just Started Waxing my first chains in the bag. Is it right also to cool down Like with the Pot-like in the video- for the best result? Thanks!

Great video! I just ordered a bag of wax. Can you re use the wax after one use? Can you re heat it? Thank you

What are your thoughts on transferring the heated water and bag of melted wax + chain to the ultrasonic cleaner for wax application? Too much work for a minimal gain over agitating/stirring by hand? Loving your videos btw, really helpful!

Josh, In your video you mentioned that you would be adding a link in the comments section providing more details regarding the ultrasonic cleaner you’d recommend. I didn’t find it. Is it there? If not, would you mind replying with your recommendation? Separately, would you please provide either a link to a separate video/discussion or guidance as to the recommended maintenance involving a waxed chain? I’m wondering if a waxed chain can simply be maintained through the use of Silca’s drip wax lubricant or if periodic hot re-waxings should be performed. If the chains should periodically be hot re-waxed can you provide some insight as to when and/or how often? What about chain quick-links. A few others have raised questions about this in the comments, which were never answered. If hot waxing a Shimano Dura-Ace chain, must the quick links be replaced each time? If not, then at what point should the quick-links be replaced? Thanks

hi @silca Velo . have you tried a vacuum chamber to dip the chain . it will reach every every single space.

as a kid remember my dad lubing his motorbike chain on the stove much to mums anger . can not remeber the brand but it was atin that you heated up put the chain on top when it melted its way to the bottom done . all this before o ring chains.

Cheaper option ( mine) Put the wax in a glass jar, and put the glass jar in boiling water (agitate the wax for it to melt, 20 minutes in my case ). Then, dip the chain, etc, etc... I think it's safe like that, and cheap. Be careful, though, it's hot wax.

Up to now, I used the super secret chain lube since summer 2021, and as I also want to use wax on my second/bad weather bike, it seems to be the best to first hot wax that chain. In case I use the bag which is put in hot water, do I just have to close the bag after waxing for reuse? If so, how often can I reuse the wax? If I decide to buy an Instapot, can I just leave the wax in the insert pot, and put it in a well-closed plastic bag, to just put it in the Instapot again for the next waxing session (e.g. in the case I have to ride often in bad weather)? Is this hot-waxing alone sufficient, or is that just the base for further waxing with the Super Secret Chain lube (which already seems to work fine, but I never used that bike in bad weather)?

Hello Josh, I have been using your Super Secret Lube in a bottle for a few months now and have already got an ultrasonic cleaner after watching one of you previous videos, and have just ordered an Instant Pot, an infrared thermometer and some Super Secret Hot wax after watching this one. Just a question about the drip lube, I have been using it on my indoor bike which is on a Neo and the first few rides after a fresh lube I get little black bits of wax under the chain line. Why is this excess wax black? Is it because my chain isn't clean enough or is that just how the wax goes? Thanks

Thanks for the video Silca. Just too much chat about the pressure cooker. Could really trim this video without the spruiking of the pressure cooker.

Can we get some more of those silicone wheel speed shields? Also, would they fit the razor sharp edges of madfiber wheels? I have multiple sets and am needing a similar solution.

I've been making my own wax mix for the best part of a decade and I would never go back to drip lubes.

Hi SILCA Velo! So far, so good with the Secret Chain Blend - Bag method (two bikes converted). One thing I'm noticing is the need to reapply more frequently when riding in all weather. Year round bike commuting in the PNW brings all the elements. You had also promised a video showing the bag method application, along with topping it off using the battle reapplication method... do you have an updated timeline to get that video out? I just reapplied using the bag method just yesterday... not crazy time-consuming, but if there's a quicker/ better method, I'm in!!

Thanks for the vid. A few comments: - I think it is important to remember critical chain wear occurs between bushings and pins. You cannot see the surfaces that wear, so it is difficult to know whether your cleaning method has been effective. A great research video would be to sacrifice a few chains to inspect the bushings and pins before and after cleaning....and after waxing..... This would be more revealing and scientific in discovering the true effectiveness of a particular cleaning and waxing protocol. - Because bushings and pins are where all the wear occurs, it is important that these areas be cleansed very well between use. Grime that collects in these inner surfaces is likely going to adhere to the wax coating, so it is important that old wax be removed to some degree. It doesn't have to be removed totally, just the dirtier out layers. Degreasers and ethanol are not going to remove wax. What will remove old wax better is this: 1. drop hosed chain in boiling soapy water to soften the wax 2. remove and apply a hair dryer closely to the chain to super heat the links for several minutes 3. back into boiling soapy water and agitate. 4. remove and heat again with hair dryer 5. into degreaser (I use kerosene) and agitate 6. into ethanol (I use methylated spirits in Australia. This is ethanol with an insignificant amount of chemical to spoil the taste of the ethanol, in order to stop some people drinking it as recreational alcohol). 7. before adding to wax bath, super heat the chain with hair dryer again to ensure it is dry and hot. It is the heat that helps the wax penetrate deep into the bushings and pins, where it is needed. BTW, the quickest method to heat wax is on a stove top (gas or electric), though you have to be careful not to heat too quickly. The wax should be brought up to 85-93 degrees Celsius. The melting point of most paraffin waxes is under 70C. Lowest flash point is 200C (temp at which a combustible vapour is created above the wax....and adding a spark or flame will cause combustion). Lowest boiling point is 370C. So there is a large margin to carefully heat wax on a stove top without risking it ignite or boil. Finally, I have heated wax up to 110C in a slow cooker (crock pot). Incidentally, I use a digital infrared thermometer as you do. Theoretically, the hotter the wax, the greater its penetration quality should be. And this raises the question of whether waxing might be more effective if done twice, once at 105-110C, then allow the wax to solidify, then dip again when wax is at 85-90C and don't remove until temp is solidifying ~63-70C. This should give thicker coverage, though whether of the bushings and pins remains to be investigated.

Hello, could you be as kind as to let me know, with the brand and model of the ultrasonic cleaner please? Thank you.

Worth mentioning the steps after this as it can prove pretty painful. I ended up with many stuck links which really effected the drive chain, made a lot of noise and messed with my shifting. Much time was spent further freeing up those links, to the point where I'm not sure there's any wax left in the links. Several KMs in, the chain is still worryingly noisey. Very close to going back to lube.

cant you put wax in sealable glass container, then put that in ultrasonc cleaner to melt wax. then put chain in that container and drive wax in ultrasonically?

I’m baked and my first time wax is almost melted, super clean chain ready to go. I’ve got a beer and a delivery pizza is on the way. This video is making me happy, especially the rambling.

Josh mentions to pull the chain from the wax when the temp is 138 to 140 degrees and has a little film forming on top. When I do it, I'm getting a film forming at 146 to 150 degrees. The first two times I've pulled the chain at 140, the links ended up absolutely packed with wax. I thought maybe it was just the small mass of wax in the sous vide bag. So I purchased an instapot and have two bags worth of wax in the pot (more mass holding the temp longer), but again, I'm getting a film at 150 degrees. Is the answer less wax? I'm sure my IR thermometer is close enough... For my third time, I pulled at 150 degrees and still the wax is clogging up the links, just not as bad. I end up with a toothpick pushing wax out of the links...Am I doing this wrong? Should I wave a heat gun around to melt the wax jammed in the links? Pull it at a higher temperature?

On the 3 quart Instant Pot, what setting do you use to melt the wax to the proper temperature. I do not see how you can set an actual temperature.

So I just realized that your probably using a smaller 3 quart instapot. I just bought a 2nd pot liner for my 8 quart instapot. Dumped the wax in it and I got a shock. Don't think when the wax melts that it will be deep enough to soak chains. Dang! Can't believe I missed this.

After watching this, I am curious on post processing the chain after waxing is done. I have recently hot melt waxed (pure paraffin wax, though) my chain for my indoor setup, and on the first ride, there was dry wax from the outside all over the place. Will your wax leave a stiff residue on the outside like the paraffin wax?

Great details and insights. I have now incorporated this as a service to the tune-up I do and using the Secret hot melt wax. Plus added a few videos with more gold nuggets of tech tips. lol

@josh. I have just bought an instant pot 3 quart. Please describe how to use the pot for waxing the chain. Which programs I have to use? Thanks

Great video, thanks. Two things puzzle me - One: why the obsession with a fast warm up? I use a small cheap wax pot made for body hair removal, it takes two chains and it takes 30min to warm up but I just turn it on before I need it so no delays. I can eat lunch, wash the bike or play with the kids. Two: I pull the chain out at full temperature because the wax I gain by pre-cooling would just be wasted/brushed off when preparing it for the bike. The capillary action will keep the melted wax in the chain internals anyway, where I want it, so I pull the chain out at full temp and then turn the pot off. It is usually 200miles or 300km before I start to get any signs to re-wax.

Sidebar: What's the proper disposal for the spent wax? And how many chains could you properly treat per 1 batch of wax?

Question. My hot pot heated up far faster than expected. I dropped the chain in on the cold wax, turned the pot on, then went and did 25 minutes on the rollers. When I got back, the wax was at 217 degrees F. Did I damage the wax or the chain by letting it get this hot?

Is there any disadvantage of putting just some of the wax granules in a say 5 inch by 5 inch plastic container and melting that in a large pot of water? I used just enough wax granules to cover the chain and allow me to swirl it. I could leave it there for a while to cool as you diid. I thought that by doing it this way I would keep the unused wax clean and not get contaminated by rewaxing chains that weren't perfectly clean. Is it possible that by using only partial amounts of the wax granuals that the chemical ratio might be inconsistent?

Awesome video and great recommendation on the Instapot. My slow cooker takes 2 hours to get to 93 degrees celsius so an Instapot would be really helpful. However, I'm curious why people don't recommend electric skillets? It seems that they would heat as fast as an Instapot, they are less expensive, and they have an exact temp control so you aren't always wondering what the temperature it is and how to keep it one specific temperature.

Just for education boiling temperature of water depends on airpressure. Sealevel at standard atmosphere is 100°C but on the mount everest it looks totally different below 80°C

What setting on your instant pot do you use for heating the wax?

After pull and wait for wax solidifies / does it need to remove the flakes before installing on bike / the links are kinda stiff after waxing - does it need an additional process to free the links before installing ?

Is it really necessary to let the wax cool before removing the chain? It seems like a superfluous step that would be a barrier to getting people to switch to hot wax. I started using Molten Speed Wax at the beginning of the pandemic because using drip lube my chains were done in around 1500 to 2000 miles and getting parts was difficult. I figured I’d hot wax until the supply chain improved and then go back to drip. Well I haven’t gone back because hot racing turns out to be easier/faster than drip lube, but babysitting a pot of wax waiting for it to start hardening would have been a deal-breaker. I find that when you pull that chain out of the wax it cools really fast. I doubt there’s much egress of Molten Wax from the pins and bushings in that time and I heat my wax up much hotter (around 190° F which I believe is MSW’s recommendation for their product). I have two chains with 4800-5000 miles on each of them, and rewaxing approximately every 200 miles there’s no sign of wear on either. If I only get 6000 to 7000 miles out of these chains I’ll still consider that a huge success.

I have always let the chain heat up on top of the cold wax. I figure that this evenly heats the chain better instead of putting the cold chain straight into hot wax. There is probably no scientific basis for this but kinda makes sense to me :)

If I have an Instant Pot dedicated to using for hot waxing, what do I do with the leftover wax that is in the liner after I remove the chain? Can I just leave it in there and reuse it at a later date?

Hi guys, love your content and podcast. I just wish either your wax packaging, or the website the QR code on the packaging points to , simply listed the temperature for melting and for hardening.

what do you do with the left over wax?

I wonder if a brand new chain needs still to be deep cleaned or its ready to go , and also after the wax is dry should we move all links around trying to “break” the wax , the video doesnt show up to this stage, but i imagine once wax is dry that chain should be rock hard right ? Tks for the video by the way

Can I put the bag in the instant pot instead of the wax to save the pot

I watched the whole video...and my first thought is: have you seen a doctor about your OCD? No, I do get it. Back in the day...serious...my friends and I would use acetone to remove the decals from the bike in order to make it lighter. I suspect only bikers will get this comment. Anyways...my takeaway from the instapot vs hot water process is you say the instapot is way faster. Huh. I am not working on an assembly line, so time is not the issue. I have a pot of water getting warm. As for cleaning the chain, I used a five part wash: paint thinner, acetone, brake cleaner, methyl alcohol (which by the way is Heet at the car store, lots cheaper) and a final of xylene. Chain is sparkly. Thanks for the vid.

Hi Josh. One simple and silly question. Done the hot wax process ok. Then, do you have to clean off the chain the excess of wax or just you put the chain as it is on the bike and the wax will be removed just pedalling. Thank you. Regards from Italy

You said do not overheat the wax - when would this point be reached and is it just to prevent fire 🔥 or more about braking down the formula and degrading the lubricant? I think the best way is to melt in the bag on the stove and then transfer it as a whole to my ultrasonic and let it do the aggregation for me 😁 I just want to know what would happen if the wax reaches over 200 Fahrenheit f.e. ? Would it brake down and be unusable or anything? Or is it just a safety’s issue ? Thx

What setting or temperature is recommended for the Instant Pot?

Reason you should use a instant pot is that wax steam is highly flammable, that's how candle works, don't wanna burn down the house ehh.

Since the combustion temperature of paraffin is well above water’s boiling temp, the bigger concern with the bag or double boiler is that boiling the water could cause you to spill or splatter hot wax. Not as bad as an ignition, but not good

Does the treatment need doing on all of the drive chain components? Once the chain is waxed: Cassette waxed, just a good clean, or additional product needed? Chain ring? Rear derailleur?

Can i just put the chain on top of the cold wax right when I turn the the pot on--let it sit in there while the wax heats up? is there a disadvantage to this?

Hi Josh, since marginal gains are desirable, I will give you an extra tip! Soak your beans to deactivate Phytic Acid which is an anti-nutrient. That way, you will gain more minerals like Calcium, Magnesium, Copper etc. from your food. Phytic acid will pull minerals from your intestines, bind the metals in your stomach and intestines coming from other sources too, which is a huge loss. That loss on the long run creates more hunger and decreases satiation since the calories become emptier. I hope this makes sense.

Would an induction hot plate be more effective than a crock pot or do they regulate the temperature in the same way?

Should you have your quick link waxed or not?

What setting did you use on the Instapot? Saute or Slow Cook?

@SilcaVelo, what chain “wear” measuring tool do you guys use in the shop? Thanks!

I hot wax my trikes chain but I'm going to be doing multiday, week month tours away from home so wondered how to maintain my chain while I'm doing a transamerica tour.

What do you do with the wax when you are done waxing the chain? Can you just leave it in dedicated pot to reheat later for another wax job?

As someone who wants to do things precisely, I was wondering what the ratio of water to wax is in the pot? Would it be 4 cups of water for a bag of wax?

Love my hot dip waxed chain. Reduced wear on everything. My system is smooth now and the time spent re-waxing is way less than the time I used to spend cleaning. Quite a few times I’ve ended up with wax filling the inside of the chain. I’m guessing I took it out of the pot when the wax was too cool?

Oops, I waxed a new chain, but didn't remove the factory lube first. Anything I should do to rectify?

Hey Josh: That about cleaning the cassette and derailleurs? Thanks

So ultimately, what are the benefits of this hot wax method over the Super Secret Lube formulation in the jar you also sell?

PTFE vs. Tungsten Di. What makes Tungsten better? I have the PTFE powder from Runaway bike.

would it be beneficial to also dip a new cassette in the wax if it "changes the metal"

one note: get the 3 quart instant pot. I have a 6 quart and one bag melted is barely enough to submerge a chain.

what would be best option when doing a batch of chain lets say 2-3...do them together? or one by one - but then one has to cool and reheat the wax?

For a new chain is it better to use mineral spirits or degreaser….I’ve seen examples of both. Is one better than the other?

Can I microwave the wax pellets in a bowl and then drop my chain in while it's still liquid? Or will microwaving the wax breakdown some of the additives??

If you prefer the solvent jars then why do you even display an ultrasonic cleaner?

The safety google video doesnt work ...

Just a question. How do you deal with the wax in the instant pot after?? I would still like to use mine for cooking

Can you reuse if use the crockpot method? I take it you need to keep the wax in the pot or can it transfer back to the bag?

Does anyone have thoughts on quick links losing strength from repeated on/off cycles?

I assume that one could do the bag sous vide as well? Talk about temperature control!

What do people think about using a steamer to do the first round of cleaning? Would that get the chain clean enough so that a single degreaser bath is needed?

I use a little camp stove and an empty soup can to melt the wax. Takes 5 minutes.

It would be good to see you preparing the waxed chain for installation on the bike. Tips to break the wax to get the chain flexible to route through the chainrings, cassette and jockey wheels. I have found this last step a little tiresome

So how long does it take for the chain to lose stiffness once the wax has cooled?

I tried this method but used a crummy wax melter that took roughly an hour to melt the wax. I must have done something wrong though, because I have rust on my chain on a few pins after a ride in the damp. I even made sure to wipe the chain down after the damp ride. Maybe I pulled the chain out of the wax too late? My wax was clumped and I had pretty thick wax layers on the plates and a lot inbetween the pins where the cassette teeth would engage. Maybe the pins were left unprotected where those wax clumps/layers broke off?

Anyone wondering what size Instapot? It’s a 3 Quart As stated at 9:13

I've noticed that the hot wax appears to separate after a while in the instapot... a clear liquid on top and tiny black spherules settling to the base. Is this normal? It didn't happen on the first chain, but the second and third I've dipped with the same bag of wax it did. I re-agitated before pulling the chains to hopefully maximize the penetration of the tungsten, but I'm wondering if this is some indication of overheating or contamination? The chains were THOROUGHLY cleaned.

Can we reuse the cooled wax from the instapot? Put it back in the bag?

how long do you hang it to dry before you can put it back on the bike?

Is the chain supposed to be quite stiff when first put back on the bike? It’s the first time I’ve tried the waxing and it doesn’t exactly flow over the derailleur shall we say. Albeit I’ve not ridden it as yet

If you put your face on it and deeply inhale wax fumes, will it lubricate and improve longevity of your airways?

You stress maximizing the viscosity of the wax before removing the chain from the hot pot, but do you have data to show that such a strategy improves coverage between the parts of the chain that would rub together? One would think that close clearances would hold on to wax even when the viscosity was low.

Just wondering where I can get an 11 speed Dura Ace chain

What do you do with used wax? How often can you use such a bag?

I know this video is over year old but what to do when you wash the bike? Do you remove the chain?