Originally Posted by Deejay
I have not heard of the paraffin wax method before.

Dunno that straight paraffin wax would work all that well as lube, but I'd say that the technique is derived from a chain lubricant type from years ago, that was aimed at the motorcycle market.

There were a couple of brands; 'Duckhams Chainguard' was one I used, and there was also 'Filtrate Linklyfe'. What they were, was a firm-textured wax/grease base, with powdered graphite and molybdenum disulphide added, as solid lubricants. They came in a large diameter[300mm or so] shallow tin, with one or two handles on it.

To use the stuff, you took off and cleaned the chain [with petrol, usually], coiled it up, and placed it in the tin, on top of the lube. It was a very good idea to hook a bit of wire to one end, to provide a handle! Then you heated the tin on a gas ring or such to melt the grease, so it would thoroughly penetrate beneath the rollers and elsewhere. Final step was to place the tin on the floor so it couldn't spill, lift the chain out by one end so it'd uncoil, and hang it up over the tin to drain off excess lube. A bit messy, but very effective for good chain life. Not nearly so much a dirt magnet as the chain oils of those days were.

[Linked Image]
A recent pic pinched from eBay UK; my bike mechanic has my old tin of the stuff. I run shaft drive bikes these days...

These products disappeared here after o-ring type chains, and good aerosol chain lubes, came on the market. There's still one available in the UK, though - 'Putoline chain wax'.

However, there are hard-drying aerosol 'chain wax' products available now, that would work well on mower drive chains - check your local motorcycle shop.

Cheers,
Gadge

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