Ultrasonic cleaner

[jpease]

Thinking of buying an ultrasonic cleaner for my brass. Currently using a media tumbler. Is this the way to go? What is everyone using?

[Steve RA]

I don't know what everyone is using, but the stainless pins are very popular.  Some people do it without the pins, probably most with.

[jpease]

Thanks I'll look into that

[quiller]

I build a wet tumbler and use stainless steel pins. Brass comes out nice and shiny. I have a ultrasonic cleaner but it would take 20 times longer to clear the same amount of brass. I can get 7lb or brass with (a little) under 2lb or pins in the wet tumbler. Set the timer for 1.5 hr, rince, separate, lay out to dry and straight into the press.

[jpease]

Cool thanks that was helpful. 

[36873687]

Wet tumble is were it’s at. 

[mayassa]

I started with a ultrasonic cleaner it didn't work well.  I wet tumble now.

[ninjaboot]

I started with a Ultrasonic. While it worked ok, It was a lot more work  to get the brass clean.  Ive switched to tumbling with dry crushed corn cob media. It gets them plenty clean enough for me and is a lot less work.

[egd5]

What about sonic cleaners forguns and gun parts? I just bought a Hornady 9L cleaner. Any tips, do's and don'ts, etc??

[Bkreutz]

44 minutes ago, egd5 said:

What about sonic cleaners forguns and gun parts? I just bought a Hornady 9L cleaner. Any tips, do's and don'ts, etc??

 

That's what I use mine for. The biggest "do"'s are

1. Use a metal formula solution concentrate, works much better than any homemade recipe (IMO)

2. Make sure you dry it as soon as it comes out of the tank and oil the surface, especially if it's blued.

3. I don't put assemblies into the tank for cleaning, too hard to get it dry and oiled (see item 2)

4. I don't put plastic items in it, even though there is a temp control on most of them, the sonic activity will heat up the solution very hot.

5. You still need to physically clean carbon and dirt from the parts, the ultrasound doesn't do it all. (I actually scrub the parts before putting them in, then the ultrasound washes it away)

Good luck.

Edited December 8, 2018 by Bkreutz

[chevrofreak]

I only use my ultrasonic cleaner for my suppressor baffles. A wet tumbler with pins is the way to go.

[egd5]

2 hours ago, Bkreutz said:

 

That's what I use mine for. The biggest "do"'s are

1. Use a metal formula solution concentrate, works much better than any homemade recipe (IMO)

2. Make sure you dry it as soon as it comes out of the tank and oil the surface, especially if it's blued.

3. I don't put assemblies into the tank for cleaning, too hard to get it dry and oiled (see item 2)

4. I don't put plastic items in it, even though there is a temp control on most of them, the sonic activity will heat up the solution very hot.

5. You still need to physically clean carbon and dirt from the parts, the ultrasound doesn't do it all. (I actually scrub the parts before putting them in, then the ultrasound washes it away)

Good luck.

about assemblies, I have toyed with the idea of having some sort of tank or something I could just fill with oil (I like ballistol) and dip the assemblies down into for a few seconds, then let them drain.

[lgh]

4 hours ago, egd5 said:

What about sonic cleaners forguns and gun parts?

Got my frames and slides real clean but you have to be sure to oil things right after so you don't get rust. A metal cleaning solution might reduce rust issue.  I don''t use it now because my guns don't have to be spotless, just functionally clean.

[Ming the Merciless]

On 12/8/2018 at 11:46 AM, egd5 said:

about assemblies, I have toyed with the idea of having some sort of tank or something I could just fill with oil (I like ballistol) and dip the assemblies down into for a few seconds, then let them drain.

 

Cylinder & Slide sells "Dunk-It".  It's expensive, but it works pretty good.  A local gunsmith had a parts washer set up using it with a filter.  He said it lasted a couple of years before he had to replace it.  I used his set-up a couple of times and it worked pretty good.  It smelled like a cross between old school carburetor cleaner and kerosene.

 

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=catshow&ref=Dunk

[egd5]

Thanks for the tips.

[rustychev]

All the ultrasonics I have seen seam to small for brass cleaning.  I wet tumble with out pins and just plain water to get the crud off I dont care if it looks good just want the crud off.

[vwpieces]

For Brass I have used ultrasonic cleaners and media tumblers. Now have the Frankfurt Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (wet pin tumbler) and love it. Costs less overall with just some Lemishine and a squirt of Dawn Oxy dish detergent. No more buying walnut shells,  lizard bedding or treated corn cob media. The pins last forever if you do not loose any in your process.  You will want a strong magnet or the special tool FA sells to pick up or pick out pins that somehow passed through your rinse and shake. 

 

Just beware that some dies don't like the clean-ness of the wet tumbled brass. Even some carbide dies may stick a case and gall. I personally do not have this issue with pistol brass on inside (case belling) or out (external sizing) on my equipment.  Definitely an issue on rifle brass and do not go with out lubing rifle brass. 

 

But wow, best results I get out of the 3 methods I have used is the wet pin tumbling. Also the largest batches are with the FART... 

[Yoakam]

Get a cement mixer like Miculek!

[Pc70]

Have to agree, bought an ultrasonic and wound up tumbling. The ultrasonic is now in the garage for cleaning automotive parts.

[jmtyndall]

I bought an ultrasonic at one point before stainless pins were popular. It wasn't great. To get really clean brass took a long time, batches were small, and drying took a while too. I went back to dry tumbling before switching to stainless pins.

I've now started to just wet tumble pistol brass with no pins, rifle brass I still deprime and use the pins for.

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