Component Cleaning / Lubrication Tips and Tricks

[Lucidone]

A place to share your good ideas, techniques, materials and equipment - what have you got that works well for you? Thinking anything on a bike from tiny shifter / brake components to chains and sprockets, suspension forks and frames.

I have half a mind to invest in an electric pump type parts washer but not really sure they suit bycicle scale duties? Currently have a few stainless bowls / old cooking pans / tubs with lids and assortment of brushes but eager to make the job more efficient and better contained.

Did have a quick search but couldn't find much (in general) on the subject - if there's a thread already could someone please point the way?

My starter. If I have to completely degrease a chain then in order to get lubricant back into the inner pins and rollers I thin a chain oil with a suitable solvent, submerge / agitate in the thinned oil, drip the excess back into oil bath, wipe the chain and any then leave for a day for all the solvent to evaporate. Seems to work.

 

[Lucidone]

Sometimes use magnets for fishing steel balls and fixings out of cleaner....

 

[JRGSXR]

I’m lucky enough to have a parts cleaner at my work which takes care of the larger items. After that 10-15 mins in the ultrasonic cleaner finishes them off. I just need to be careful not to put anything with a decal on it in the ultrasonic. It doesn’t just take dirt off! . For the really small items, it’s a tub with a small brush and depending on what I’m cleaning? Petrol or detergent. Once clean I drop the smaller parts in a bag and then the ultrasonic cleaner. After all that it’s just a polish and lube, good to go

 

[Bike Hoarder]

Anyone used paraffin for cleaning parts?

 

[fettler]

Anyone used paraffin for cleaning parts?

I used to use paraffin when I could buy locally from a pump but that ended about 20 years ago. I use petrol now for most greasy things, I had a few green plastic petty cans with broken lids so I cut most of the top part off one and left the pouring spout as a handle. Big enough for mechs, chains, sprockets. etc. A can of Brake Cleaner makes an excellent poor mans grease dirt blaster for small areas but probably expensive in the long run and smelly.
Beware of some cheap parts washers they are are not rated for use with full solvent cleaners and will knacker the pump if you use it with anything strong enough to get really greasy stuff off. Machine Mart do a 5L of parts washer fluid for about £15, it wont touch greasy oil at all but is a good cheap alternative to Muc Off for general cleaning.

 

[Lucidone]

Thanks for the heads up on the cheaper parts washers

 

[Lucidone]

Anyone used paraffin for cleaning parts?

As above, yes but not for a while and tend to keep it for my Optimus stove nowadays.

Quite like white spirit - cheap, effective and not quite as volatile as petrol.

 

[JCS]

At xmas I treated myself to a couple of items from Park Tool, which are really useful.

Magnetic parts bowl - no longer do those small parts drop on the workshop floor, never to be seen again:



This thing - really useful for cleaning and lubing chains:



I also bought a large rectangular oven tray to use on the work bench. It's great for cleaning/working on parts and the raised edges mean that things stay in one place.

 

[Bike Hoarder]

Oven tray - great idea!

 

[d00m]

Old protein shaker bottle, quarter filled with degreaser, chuck your wheel/headset/bb bearings in there and give it a good old shake for a minute or two. Come out looking brand new chuck em on some kitchen towel to dry.