AR Sponsor
Posted: 2/17/2010 9:49:35 AM EDT
| I'm thinking of going this route. Any experiences or suggestions the members would care to relate? |
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Some pointers:
Any solvent or cleaner that will attack something will attack it faster in the tank. This means that plastics, painted markings, and some gun coatings will be damaged or removed. Some cleaners like Simply Green attack and damage aluminum and do so faster in the tank. Excessive use can damage aluminum simply from the ultrasonic wave generation. Don't over do it and don't run longer than needed The cleaner will remove ALL lubricant, even from tiny crevices and holes no other method will touch. You need to be careful to get a good lube in to replace the removed lube or steel will rust in hidden areas. Unless you use a chemical that removes carbon or copper fouling it will have little to no effect on them. Cleaners have limited effect on leading. You'll still have to do some form of carbon removal on the bolt and carrier and use a copper solvent in the bore. Use a basket or hangers to suspend parts in the tank. The cleaner works better if the parts are off the bottom of the tank. Allow the cleaner to run long enough to warm the solvent, warm solvent cleans better. KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THE TANK. Bone marrow and ultrasonics don't play well with each other. This is a cumulative effect and you won't notice right away. Help things along by letting it run awhile, then pull parts out and brush, then run longer. You can use flammable solvents like Acetone or lacquer thinner for small parts by putting an inch or so of water in the tank and sitting small beakers or jars full of solvent in th tank. The water passes the waves into the jars. BE CAREFUL, the tank is electronic and can ignite flammables and does heat them up. If you're careful you can use cheap paint thinner as a tank solvent since its not extremely flammable. It cleans well, but again watch painted or coated parts. You can use water-based cleaners, but you have to rinse well and apply a lube to prevent rust. Thick liquids like oils won't work since the liquid is too thick to pass the waves. NEVER run the tank without liquid in it even for a second. The unit will burn out quickly. Many people have good luck with one of the "Dunk-It" type of gun cleaners. This is sold in gallons and is both a cleaner and a lube combined. |
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Cleaner's link
I have one of these cleaners, just a small one. I use their weapon cleaning solution and lubricant. Highly recommend going this route. Go ahead and clean your bolt, then put it in the tank and watch is ooze black into the solution. Never scrape it again! Used on on my AR parts and S&W 40 cal and Springfield 9mm. Haven't found out yet whether or not it will chew up my tritium sights on my 9mm so it gets cleaned by hand. Barrel goes in though! (pistol barrel, don't have a long gun tank - $$$) Solution can be found at Streicher's. About $60/gal, makes 11 gallons once you reduce it, lasts a long time. I'll clean it in the solution (after de-gassing new solution), rinse in water to get solution off, then a quick run in the lubricant tank, then oil like normal and re-assemble. Get all your small parts done (whole BCG) while you clean the upper, lower and barrel. Dropped some coin on mine about 7-8 years ago....worth every penny. |
| I just got a Harbor Freight Ultrasonic cleaner....2.6 Qt capacity. I am looking for a cleaning solution that I can get locally. I will be cleaning bolt & carrier. In a previous job, I think we used mineral spirits to clean machined aluminum castings. Would this work ok? |
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Fortunately, I get to use the ultrasonic at work whenever I want to. They are a real time saver when cleaning mulitple weapons. This is our latest purchase.Crest Ultrasonic
I just got done cleaning all our AR15's and it did a fantastic job. I can't wait to throw our shotgun barrels in that thing. As much as I love it for work I would not use one at home. They are a little harsh on weapons and can ruin appearance. On dept guns, I don't give a crap about appearance but on personally owned guns I do. YMMV. |
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I've been dealing with the same issue. Picked up a 2.5l ultrasonic from Harbor Freight, and not sure what to use to clean the parts (which will be primarily small items, like bolts, etc).
What I decided on was to pick up a quart of Hoppes #9 ($14.00) and a large glass beaker. I figured I'd fill the ultrasonic with water, and the beaker with Hoppes. Any parts to be cleaned can easily fit into the beaker, so I don't waste solvent or put it in contact with the cleaner itself. While I haven't tried it to clean yet, I filled the cleaner and beaker with water, and put a few strips of aluminum foil into the beaker. They had holes all over them during the first 3-minute cycle, so I'm guessing I won't lose any of the ultrasonic power to the glass of the beaker. I'll let everyone know how it works, and will try to post pix. |
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