clean/how-to-clean-a-bike-chain.md
... ...
@@ -1,14 +1,11 @@
1 1
<!-- TITLE: How To Clean A Bike Chain -->
2 2
<!-- SUBTITLE: Get that greasy shit sparkling -->
3 3
4
-# Get it off the bike
4
+# Get the chain off the bike
5 5
There's no way to do this properly without taking it off the bike. Do that now.
6 6
7
-# Wash it
8
-Hot water and dish soap for the win here. Use chinese/curry takeaway plastic boxes to contain the horror. Use more soap than you think is sensible.
9
-
10 7
# Degrease
11
-Grab some random degreaser from a DIY shop. White spirit is evil - don't use that. The 5 litre bulk degreaser is fine. The expensive stuff from bike shops works well, but don't bother.
8
+Grab some 'Clean Spirit' from your local DIY shop - the stuff for cleaning paint brushes - it's dirt cheap, and in theory you can put it down the sink when you're done. Don't use white spirit, though - that shit's evil. The bike-specific degreaser from bike shops doesn't work as well and it's hideously expensive, so don't bother with that action.
12 9
13 10
Soak the chain in some of that for 10 minutes or an hour or whatever in another (or the same, I don't care) takeaway box. Poke it about while it's soaking.
14 11
... ...
@@ -33,7 +30,7 @@ Soak in methelated spirits - should dissolve out both the water and any light o
33 30
# Dry
34 31
Stick the chain in the oven at 60 degrees C or so for as long as you can bear. I dunno. Half an hour? An hour? Get that shit real dry.
35 32
36
-If there's oil seeping out of the chain when you take it out of the oven, put it back in the bath, and degrease and rinse again.
33
+If there's oil seeping out of the chain when you take it out of the oven, put it back in the degreaser and rinse again.
37 34
38 35
# Reinstall
39 36
Put the chain back on the bike. You should probably have cleaned the rest of the chainset in the mean time. You can use the ultrasonic bath and degreaser for that too if you like.