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blake_wrinn
Jul 29, 2005, 12:10 AM
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Does anyone know how i could clean my cams good without buying the Metolius Cam Cleaning Kit. Try to say Metolius Cam Cleaning Kit 5 times fast!
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thorne
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Jul 29, 2005, 1:21 PM
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thorne moved this thread from US - South to Gear Heads.
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shakylegs
Jul 29, 2005, 1:48 PM
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Soap and hot water.
Dry properly, and use a Teflon-based lubricant, which you can find at your local bike shop.
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greenketch
Jul 29, 2005, 5:50 PM
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Shaky legs gets the prize. I have great results with soap and water. Use hot water with soap, it seems to works best when the watere is pretty hot. Just stick the cam in there and work it a bit. Then same in hot clear water. Once it is dry lube er up and go climb.
The hot water also helps them dry quicker and not trap water inside the workings.
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fredo
Jul 30, 2005, 10:03 PM
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In reply to: The hot water also helps them dry quicker and not trap water inside the workings.
Really? How much faster does the hot water make the cams dry? I really think your splitting hairs here. Although, the advice on cleaning is pretty sound
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thetroutscout
Jul 31, 2005, 6:00 AM
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In reply to: The hot water also helps them dry quicker and not trap water inside the workings.
I remember when I was a young scout, my scout master told me when I'm done cleaning my pocket knife to put it in the oven so it would dry out and not rust. My poor first pocket knife...
^^ike
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tenn_dawg
Jul 31, 2005, 6:03 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: The hot water also helps them dry quicker and not trap water inside the workings. Really? How much faster does the hot water make the cams dry? I really think your splitting hairs here. Although, the advice on cleaning is pretty sound
Eh, it's cause the metal heats up and holds that energy. Hairs are indeed being split, especially in humid climates.
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greenketch
Jul 31, 2005, 7:50 PM
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Eh, it's cause the metal heats up and holds that energy. Hairs are indeed being split, especially in humid climates.
Yes it is a splitting hairs thing but it is not about the water on the outside that is an issue. Water can take a fair amount of time to evaporate from inside the crevices and between the plates of a cam. when the energy is trapped as previously mentioned it will dry out much quicker.
This is a small issue because the next step is to lubricate. The best water displacer is WD-40 which sucks for lubrication. A very good cam lube is something like White lightning or Tri-Flow. Both of these relativley suck at water displacement.
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jimfix
Jul 31, 2005, 8:58 PM
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In reply to: Yes it is a splitting hairs thing but it is not about the water on the outside that is an issue. Water can take a fair amount of time to evaporate from inside the crevices and between the plates of a cam. when the energy is trapped as previously mentioned it will dry out much quicker. This is a small issue because the next step is to lubricate. The best water displacer is WD-40 which sucks for lubrication. A very good cam lube is something like White lightning or Tri-Flow. Both of these relativley suck at water displacement.
Firstly, WD-40 won't displace water; it will trap it, as the two aren't miscible. Use a volatile water-soluble solvent like acetone or (to a lesser extent) good old meths' to wash the majority of the water out and aziotrope the rest away. Blow-dry with a hair drier if you're really keen.
Secondly WD-40 is a brilliant lube, but it's sticky and traps grit.
A wax based lube like white lighting is less sticky, but the best in my books is graphite powder. Oh so smooth and it doesn't trap grit. Takes a while to work in and stop squeaking, but you'll need to clean less often.
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jimfix
Jul 31, 2005, 9:00 PM
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In reply to: Yes it is a splitting hairs thing but it is not about the water on the outside that is an issue. Water can take a fair amount of time to evaporate from inside the crevices and between the plates of a cam. when the energy is trapped as previously mentioned it will dry out much quicker. This is a small issue because the next step is to lubricate. The best water displacer is WD-40 which sucks for lubrication. A very good cam lube is something like White lightning or Tri-Flow. Both of these relativley suck at water displacement.
Firstly, WD-40 won't displace water; it will trap it, as the two aren't miscible. Use a volatile water-soluble solvent like acetone or (to a lesser extent) good old meths' to wash the majority of the water out and aziotrope the rest away. Blow-dry with a hair drier if you're really keen.
Secondly WD-40 is a brilliant lube, but it's sticky and traps grit.
A wax based lube like white lighting is less sticky, but the best in my books is graphite powder. Oh so smooth and it doesn't trap grit. Takes a while to work in and stop squeaking, but you'll need to clean less often.
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gunked
Jul 31, 2005, 9:16 PM
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In reply to: Use a volatile water-soluble solvent
I'll second that! My favorite method these days is to use a bit of citrus bio-solvent in the water. I like to take off what I can of the old lubricant and then re-lube. Kinda like an oil change! Hot or cold water makes no difference to me as there's way too many cams to clean and lube. The water ain't stayin' hot!
I usually do this for all my cams at the beginning of each season. It takes me less than 2 hours to do it well. I'm easily distracted :roll: .
Good luck,
Jason :D
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bruceb
Aug 1, 2005, 12:01 AM
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The best method is to wash the cams with a degreasing solution of water and dish washing liquid or any of the citrus based cleaners. Mineral spirits (no water needed) work the best but it's not enviro-friendly. Forget all the other suggestions for drying. Dry the cams with an air compressor. If your cams operate smoothly then I would not apply lube. Lube just traps more rock dust.
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shaggyj
Aug 1, 2005, 12:58 AM
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Although I've never tried it, I've had some old school crusty climbers swear by dipping cams in white gas as a cleaner and squeezing the triggers a few times to remove any loose sediment. Then lube normally with a Teflon-based lube.
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