I think you have to make a distinction between cleaning and lubing the chain. Kerosene / Parafin doesn't have 'particles', if you ignore molecules, and in this context is being used as a solvent for old lube and washing off grime, which left to its own devices acts as grinding paste. Once it is clean and dry(ish) it needs re lubing with an appropriate product.
I use wd40 on a cloth, that way it never reaches the x rings and can't damage them. WD40 is also excellent for getting chain lube off the rear wheel by using the same method
I use heating kerosene in my parts washer, it helps that the heating oil tank is in the garage next to said washer. I sometimes wonder if I could put the used, dirty oil back into the heating tank? - have you seen the price of it these days?...
Strain it, then put it in a bucket to settle for a couple of days, then take/ladle off all the clean stuff off the top, leaving the contaminated kero in the bucket.
I use brake cleaner applied to a cloth, and then wipe over. Never had a problem. don't clean chains much these days though. Most miles get done on the K1300 - the joy of shaft drive.
and to think in the olden days when everyone was in black and white and called Chumondley and Chipper you'd put your chain in a tin full of grease and warm it through on the stove and then wait for it to cool before wiping the excess off, making sure the smell disappeared before moother got home , out for a quick shakedown ride and back f or tea and medals. Eh what? hmm.
Ive done that to my old GS750 chains years ago after an old boy told me how. Don't tell her though. Its a bit of hassle mind but good for sorting out a tatty chain with a few miles left in it. Like the dishwasher makes a good cleaner after you've 'gunked' some cases (no salt!). Good for lights too. Or the oven is quite useful for curing after spraying an item...her hairdryer is good for that too. If you've not got a heat gun use her hair straighteners to shrink cable sleeving.
I detect some sarcasm young man... I've been there boiling chains. Life were much simpler then; two and a half TV channels, half-day closing on Wednesdays (if you didn't have owt for Sunday you'd have to starve), shared telephone lines...Halfway through The Persuaders the lights would go off, then it was a scramble to find a new-fangled 50P to go in the electric meter...I preferred the old money
Ahh, the unfathomable pounds shillings and pence. I'm soooo glad I have only ever known decimal currency.
It was much more simpler... A penny, signified by the suffix d, was worth two ha'pennies or four farthings, a thru'penny bit would get you six chews down Martin's til they changed it to new money, then it was worth two and a half new pennies, which only got you 5 chews. The wankers. Anyway, six old pence, or sixpence, was also known as a 'tanner'. You needed two of them to make a shilling - or 'bob'. Two shillings was 1 florin, or a 'two bob bit. Two bob and sixpence was half a crown. 5 bob was a crown, and you needed 20 shillings to make a pound. Are you with me so far..?
I actually like the idea of a tin of stuff that you can drop your chain into and infuse it properly and then just wipe away the excess. It's that "hassle to do, but assured sense of security and a job fit for purpose and a job well done" aspect I like.
No good for o-ring chains, sadly. You can still buy the tins of oil to boil your chain if you search hard enough, but as o-ring chains last considerably longer than non o-ring chains, it's hardly worth the effort unless you're a classic bike buff with a penchant for authenticity.
