Old chainsets - is it normal oil has solidified hard?

[mezzanine]

I picked up a few old chainsets but the previous owner seems to have lathered them in a glossy oil which has gone rock hard and feels slightly tacky to touch but not greasy at all. I don't know if it's a protective oil of some sorts. It comes off but a lot of work needed and I'm literally chiseling the hard black stuff off before I'll use some degreaser as without removing the excess the degreaser will make a huge mess.

So is it normal for the chainset oil to set hard? I've never had this before on my bikes over 20 years old. I wonder if it's not oil and some chainring life prolonger but never heard of a product like that and surely normal oil is the best preventive measure.

Thanks in advance,
Mezz

 

[ishaw]

Re:

Old oil will gunk up over time as mud and crud mixes in with it, and it isn't cleaned/removed before new oil apied to add to the mix.

It's not serving any purpose so clean up and see what's underneath.

 

[hamster]

It's common on bikes that have been oiled with stuff like 3 in 1. The volatile bit evaporates leaving a varnish-like coating. Easiest is to soak in white spirit overnight.

 

[TOMAS]

I believe Linseed oil does something similar over time, its why its used by a lot of wheelbuilders as it prevent corrosion on the nipples and acts as threadlocker at the same time? As others have said, try soaking it in spirits overnight and let the chemicals do their thing instead of harsh abrasives?

 

[WandsworthRouleur]

My Eldridge Grade chainset was like that (see photos in sig). A gentle brush with some degreaser called Gunk (yes, really) did the trick. It really cuts through the grease, but isn’t abrasive, so works really well on old bike parts. I just use one of my daughter’s old poster paint brushes.

A reasonable size bottle of the stuff cost £5-10 from Halfords. Oh, and you can use it to degrease your drive later (which is what it’s meant for, I think!).

 

[scant]

just be thankful its not white lithium grease, when that stuff dries out its not dissimilar to concrete!

I second Gunk as a degreaser, it'll shift dried up oil thats been in place 20years, if you let it soak in.

 

[TOMAS]

My Eldridge Grade chainset was like that (see photos in sig). A gentle brush with some degreaser called Gunk (yes, really) did the trick. It really cuts through the grease, but isn’t abrasive, so works really well on old bike parts. I just use one of my daughter’s old poster paint brushes.

A reasonable size bottle of the stuff cost £5-10 from Halfords. Oh, and you can use it to degrease your drive later (which is what it’s meant for, I think!).

Just a word of advice, NEVER use Gunk on tarmac drives... it quite literally melts them!! I made the mistake when I goofed an oil change and spilt oil everywhere, I used the orange tin Gunk to try and fetch it off and its made it 10x worse! I could litterally push a screwdriver straight into the drive. Thankfully 3 years on, weathering and sun-bleaching and I think it's finally re-stabilized.

Gunk - GREAT for shifting oil but melts drives, also wrecks rubber and some plastics.