right the ultrasonic cleaner will get the gunk and grease off but then there is the rust!!
good and wonderful news, chelate!! one part molasses to nine parts water will remove 100% off the rust. it takes time but no work and if one lets the solution evaporate the water soluble crystals make an rust colored ink or stain for making art.
i have cleaned rusty steel by soaking items in the above mixture and painted with the residue. but grease will act as a resist and the chelate solution will not penetrate to the rust. it may take a couple of weeks for the reaction to complete the rust removal. the solution also has a strong odder that is pungent i keep my active chelates out of doors.
jim
--- On Wed, 1/4/12, Matt Brittenham mattface@gmail.com wrote:
From: Matt Brittenham mattface@gmail.com Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] REALLY Cleaning Chains To: "The Think Tank" thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 10:43 AM
If you toss the chain in a bottle of mineral spirits, let it soak for a while and agitate it a few times, it should come out completely devoid of grease residue. If you want to get really super clean for jewelry purposes invest in an ultrasonic cleaner. you can get cheap home models for ~$30 a small professional duty one can be had for as little as $100.
On Jan 4, 2012, at 11:31 AM, Christine Hill wrote: Hi everybody,
We've been getting really into upcycling bike parts here at Bike Recycle Vermont -- we sell jewelry and fun products at local artists' markets to raise money for the shop. We love making jewelry with the ever-iconic bike chain, but getting it clean is so time and labor intensive. Has anyone found an effective way to clean multiple chains at once, and I mean really clean them out, get them grease-free and bone dry to the point that you'd wear the thing around your neck?
We tried a parts cleaner, we tried bringing them to a car wash... each time we still ended up going at each chain with a tooth brush and some degreaser and spending 15 minutes scrubbing it.
Tricks?
Christine.