Anyone use UltraSonic cleaning?

A

Andrew LB

New member
I found this article earlier today and wanted to share it with all if it has not been posted yet. I had the guys at the LAX Shooting Range clean my Model 66 S&W .357 Magnum in an UltraSonic machine and it did an amazing job in a very short period of time. Afterward I looked into doing this myself since they charge $10.00 per weapon to clean them.

Here is the article... http://wmporter.com/ugc/

I'm really tempted to buy the gear listed here so i can thoroughly clean my pistols and some rifle parts like bolts and recievers that are normally tough to take apart and clean correctly.

What do you guys think?
 
Funny you would bring that up. I was just at my local shop and we were talking about just that thing. His father is the East Coast sales manager for S&W and once told him not to over due it with the ultra sonics. According to him, over doing it takes the oil out of the metal.

I have never heard of this nor do I believe or disbelieve it. In fact I was going to do a post on it myself.
 
Try a search here, there's been some discussion of ultrasonics for guns.

Bottom line is, it works very well, IF you can stand the cost of the cleaner.

Ultrasonics will NOT remove leading or jacketed bullet fouling from the bore.

Any solvent that will damage plastics, paint, aluminum or other gun parts will damage the parts FASTER in the cleaner.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THE CLEANER.
Ultrasonics and bone marrow don't "mix". This doesn't happen instantly, it's cumulative over time.

Try to keep parts off the bottom of the tank by using a basket or hanging the parts from the sides with hooks. Ultrasonics work better with parts off the bottom.

You can clean small parts or use flammable solvents by putting the solvent and parts in small metal, plastic, or glass jars and putting them in the tank with an inch or two of water.
The water will transmit the sound waves through the jars to the solvent.

NEVER, EVER run the tank even of a second or two without fluid in the tank.
It'll burn out very quickly.

Be careful with soap-type cleaners like Simply Green. These will damage aluminum, and as above, will do it QUICKER in the cleaner.

Warm solution cleans better. Either use warm water or allow the tank to run until it warms up the solution.

You don't have to submerge the entire part to clean it. You can submerge the part partially, then turn it over to clean the other section.
Even a small cleaner can clean a pistol slide by standing it in the tank 1/2 at a time.

You can speed cleaning up by running parts for a few minutes, giving them a scrub with brushes, then returning them to the tank to finish.

By using a solvent like clockmaker's cleaning solution or (If you're VERY careful) lacquer thinner, light rust can be removed from steel.

When using water as a cleaner, put a few drops of liquid soap in to act as a wetting agent.

Let the tank run for a minute or so, to force air bubbles out before putting parts in. Usually the tank's sound will change when all air is out.

After cleaning you can dry with an old hair dryer.

After drying LUBE IMMEDIATELY.
Ultrasonics will remove ALL lube, including that which normal cleaning, even with solvents doesn't get to.
Areas like cracks between parts, holes, and crevices will have all lube removed, and the part will be surgically clean with NO lube to prevent rust.
Be SURE to get lube in ALL areas.
 
Have done it

I have used that method on gun parts, but never a whole gun! I don't know what they mean by takes the oil out of the metal, but if you do a whole gun you are gonna pull out a squeaky clean gun that has no lubrication on it at all. Then you would have to disassemble it and relube it. There are special cleaners that you use in the tanks, or maybe a detergent, but you are not supposed to use any kind of flammables in the tanks, so that lets out alcohol and kerosene for example. Evidently it creates a vapor cloud that goes bang if there is any ignition source. I have used what is called "watch cleaning solution" as well as industrial detergents for parts cleaning. For instance, it is great to clean a 10-22 bolt assy, as it gets down in the inaccessable areas of the bolt and gets out the residue and crud. But then you must still dry it and relube it afterwards. Blow out all the watch cleaner residue with a air blast or rinse out detergent with hot water and oven dry it. Great for parts, not for guns, in my opinion. I suppose it would work on a field stripped gun with lots of little parts and mechanisms that you don't want to disassemble, but still needs a complete internal relube afterwards.
 
According to him, over doing it takes the oil out of the metal.
Click to expand...

It's SUPPOSED to take the oil out of the metal...I clean most of my guns once every couple years with an ultrasonic system. The first part is the cleaner for about 15 minutes, you take the gun out and rinse it in water....yes, water.....Then you put it in the lubricant for 15 minutes....Works great. Gets every little tiny bit of brass out too.....I put the whole gun in, minus the grips. If you have painted sights, you'll have to repaint them. Not sure how this would affect nightsights....
 
When using water as a cleaner, put a few drops of liquid soap in to act as a wetting agent.
Click to expand...

Can you just use wet water????

I've never had any problem with rust after using the 2 stage ultrasonic cleaner. After I take the gun out of the lube tank, I wipe it off and just add a drop of oil in the usual places. Didn't hurt the blue finish either. It did, however, take the paint out of my white dot sights.
 
Be damned careful with ultrasonic cleaning tanks.

I have an industrial model, with a high-wattage piezo transducer, that will pulverize a small sheet of aluminum foil into the tank's solution within a matter of a minute or two. For a while, I used it to clean my cold-blooded Harley's spark plugs, and noticed how good a job it did cleaning down to the metal.

Gun parts and rifle brass were next. With just dishwashing detergent and water in the tank, they came out sparkling clean. Then a buddy with a compensated 1911 IPSC race gun wanted to clean the powder and lead fouling out of the barrel and compensator's expansion chambers. So I put it in the tank for about 30 minutes. The powder and lead fouling came out nicely. So did the parkerizing on the compensator and barrel assembly. :eek:

I had to pay for a new parkerizing job, but it was a lesson well-learned. ;)
 
I use ultrasonics all the time! They work very well on my smaller parts. I have to say however, that I do believe that Ultrasonic Cleaning has a long way to go, especially with the cheaper models. Some of the models under $100 bucks do clean, but not as well as the industrial models.

And NEVER listen to what the manufacturers list in regards to cleaning "this many casings." Most of the time the Ultrasonic cleaners are more efficient if you put half that many casings in. I like what Lyman and Kendal are putting out, but i try to stay away from Hornady.
 
I've used Crest Ultrasonic cleaners for quite some time. I've also only used the Crest Ultrasonic Solution (Chem-Crest 235) which is designed for firearms cleaning. You merely mix a small amount with water (ratio on the bottle).

It does a good job, but it does strip every bit of oil/grease from the parts. And, if you don't break it down and completely clean it, you could end up with congealed grease in places you can't normally reach.

Also, if you leave it in for longer than recommended, it can strip the finish off, too.

It's not a shortcut and not something you should probably do more often than every few thousand rounds.
 
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