Silca StripChip

Part of a larger review. I had read and heard about waxing chains, and a former teammate sold me his used beauty salon crock pot that at least has a temperature dial, sticks of paraffin wax, some PTFE and Moly in a homemade. It worked okay and the crock pot only goes up to 80C.

Read about Silca's approach and made the plunge when BTD had a 25% off sale: the wax melt system, Secret Chain Blend and the Strip Chip for new chains. After doing 2 chains: one new and one used but relatively new, this is MUCH better. The Wax Melt System melts the wax much faster than the crock pot, and so far, the chains seem to run smoother. The strip chip made the chain shine like a mirror, and this approach is a definite upgrade.

For the new chain, this seems more efficient and less mess than dropping the chain into a jar with degreaser to clean it first before waxing

Super simple instructions.

Drop a chip in when the wax pot is ready - then drop the chain in after the chip melts.

Costs about the same as the bottle of the Silca chain stripper but I didn't want to filter and drain because I'm lazy so I went with the chip.

I added a StripChip to a Crockpot with half a bag of Silca wax pellets. I used one with a chain that had a few thousand miles on it and was getting dirty. It seemed to help extend the life of the wax on my chain. I used another chip in the same batch of wax with a brand new chain. Seems to have worked great, the wax adhered well and performed great on the first ride.

For me, this product makes waxing significantly easier. Cleaning new or used chains with solvents is a huge pain, and I don't like dealing with stinky and potentially toxic solvents. Probably a bit more expensive, but so much less hassle than 5+ rounds of solvents and rinsing.

Seems to work as described. I did wipe down the new Force chain with brake clean prior to the Hot waxing and strip chip bath. The Hot wax stuck well and the chain links were definitely stiff after cooling. 600 miles on the new chain with 3 added drip wax applications. The chain has never made noise regardless of stretching a re-drip to 220 miles once. Chain stays clean and smooth running. I will remove at 1000miles de-wax and do another hot wax application. 2 more drip waxes first.

Well, I assume it strips old lube and grease off. Why do I say that? Well, I truly forgot when I was getting ready to wax a new chain I had these chips. I degreased my chain with a citrus degreaser then rinsed under the water spigot. It was stripped then as I could feel it. But when I loaded the pot with wax I remembered these chips and placed one in the pot for great measure. The chain in the final result was very much silent and shifted like a dream. We know from the directions that these chips are for stripping a new chains lube/grease. But I bet with a dirty chain and de-greasing it with a citrus degreaser then dropping in the Silca pot of wax it is primo again! Time will tell as I took my dirty chain and performed this to have a second wax chain on stand-by. Would I buy these chips again......sure, unless something comes to light to suggest they don't truly work.

The theory behind these make sense, and if it helps to keep my wax pot free of oil/grease contaminants then it's worth a try. Do they work as advertised? It's hard to say without any visual evidence of the chemistry taking place. I'm going to continue to thoroughly clean new chains before waxing, and wipe down used chains to get rid of dirt. I used a couple of squares during my most recent waxing since I use an old crock pot and it's completely full of wax. Certainly nothing detrimental occurred and the chains came out ready for use.

Just FYI, if you ride on a wood/panel velodrome like I do, make sure to WIPE your chain down thoroughly immediately after removing it from the wax. Don't ride with a chain caked with wax as it will flake off and deposit itself on the track.

This is by far the easiest way of getting rid of factory grease on a chain. No more overnight mineral spirit baths and 90% rubbing alcohol. If you wax, just do yourself the favor and buy this product.

Definitely stripped my new chain of it's factory grease when used with the Silca system and wax! Love it!

Strip chip is the only way to wax a new chain. Cuts the process down to thirty minutes total.

That is from taking the chain out to sizing then into the wax. Hang to dry and go ride.

I had 6 Factory chains and 3 on bikes to wax. It took me ~1.5 days to do 9 chains instead of almost a week of cleaning and then waxing for several different bikes. Used all the 6 chips allowed per bag of secret wax and finished off cleaning and then waxing the three other bike chains. Saved other bikes for another day. Not having to clean a bunch of factory chains is a huge time saver for as many as I had to do.