Ned Mantei wrote:

I seem to remember Jobst Brandt many years
ago writing that there was no need to clean
the cogs and chainrings, because the chain
would always clear out the area it needed
to contact.

This was my intuition as well.
Anyway interesting post - yeah, better stay
clear of hexane

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573