I remember a mechanic from the 11th ACR from Germany who transitioned to 11 Bravo and went to Airborne School as a re-enlistment option show me how to clean all kinds of weapons that will pass all inspections. The secret was Brakleen brake cleaner and Simple Green. On the M16 rifles we took everything down and took all the plastic off from the stock and pistol grip and completely took apart the firing group. Warm water and Simple Green scrubbed the parts and bore with a bore brush and hung it dry. Using a small air compressor it blew all the water and crud off. Then Brakleen was sprayed on to get all the grease from the selector switch. Using clean paper towels and Q-tips re-applied clean oil on to the parts an hour before turn in. Did the same for the M-60 that I was assigned to with the only exception. I had several brand new pistons for inspections that I kept with me hidden in my personal stash in a tool box in my car. Never turn your weapons early until it is time too. Especially during IG inspections which can go on 24/7 for a week. My M-60, M1911A1, and assigned M16A1 always passed inspection. We cleaned our weapons outside the orderly room and arms room or outside the barracks away from prying eyes of NCOs and Officers to our secret. We kept our products away from other squads and platoons and threw our cans and bottles far away into the mess hall dumpsters and at the bottom of all that shit. My fire team was so squared away when it comes to cleaning weapons. Even the SAW gunner kept his shit clean and shut his mouth too.
Something missed... you can put your solvents/degreasers/oils in plastic or glass jars. Believe smaller stainless bins work. The waves travel through the material and work inside the containers. You can just fill the ultrasonic with straight water that way, meaning you need much less degreaser/oil/solvent. Also keeps really nasty stuff from crudding up everything else.
Quick tip for anyone reading this, glass jars are far superior for this as the ultra sonic waves get weaker through plastic and you can notice it almost instantly when compared directly. Glass jars work best ! Zip lock bags are great and easy too!
Just FYI, the principle of an ultrasonic isn’t agitation, it’s cavitation. The sonic causes air bubbles to implode, collapse, thus pulling foreign particals away from hard surfaces. Very efficient when used correctly. They’re used all the time for surgical instruments.
I’ve been cleaning electronics for years using my ultrasonic. A fun tip to use, if you don’t have compressed air, is rinse with 99% ipa after using the ultrasonic, it’ll clear any water in hard to reach places. Place it in front of a fan or air purifier and it’ll dry super quick. Then just grease it up and you’re good to go.
A friend of mine took a gunsmithing course. He works on guns on the side but his knowledge of guns got him a job as dept manager of the gun department at Bass Pro. Turned out to be a good starting point for him.
Same. I want to know more about it, plus I can use that to teach people firearms training with different types of guns. I saw a 2 hour session with a Rugar go for $240. If I do gunsmithing/work at a gun store and do that on the side, I'm in good shape. Plus gun trading and other trades like carpentry.
That certainly depends on ypur skills, and if your idea of gun smithing is bolting different stuff together on a AR, or it is making things from scratch.... I bet Mark Novak from C&Rsenal makes by just fine on his gunsmith pay ;)
I’m a qualified goldsmith & silversmith and the best thing to use is a good dishwashing detergent with a little cloudy ammonia. Don’t always recommend the ammonia for metals like brass and aluminium but it’s pretty safe.
Eric, I work in the industrial ultrasonic industry and sell/service this type of equipment. First, there is no motor, the ultrasonic power is from a piezo electric disc expanding and contracting x amount of times a second. Second, as mentioned dish soap works awesome, blue dawn seems to be the best. If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.
Honestly, I've had good luck with the cheap Harbor Freight sonic cleaner. I have two, one I use simple green in, another filled with Lucas solvent. It's amazing what you can get out of a $40 cleaner. The only down side is they're small. We're handgun shooters, so it's perfect for us.
Great tips. Ultrasonics work great for cleaning cosmoline entombed surplus firearms but it is helpful to skim the wax off the top before removal. I use compressed air to blow them dry following removal.
My ultrasonic cleaner consists of a covered container full of safety kleen parts cleaner sitting on top of my grandmas 1970's heated electric foot massager. Its a two speed LOW and SHAKE like its 1999 industrial strength oscillatory
Booch Usually the stuff I put in there has already had any chunks or solids removed in a pre wash. But if it starts getting serious I just use a ladle to skim it off the top like you would drege/slag if you were melting aluminum. It works really good You can go to an Ace or True Value and buy a brand new gallon size empty paint can , Or if I need more room I've used one of those big yellow kitty litter containers. Neither will leak normally...
The funniest part of it is not only do I believe you... but I know damn well it works good too doesn't it?! lol Man that is funny, but its true! With a few bucks and a hour or so, you can just make one...
JKay11235 I totally agree but not everybody does enough of it or has the space to warrant another contraption. What I described is a makeshift way to get by on stuff you might already have in the garage. Empty cat litter container is a great place to soak parts in parts cleaner solvent and setting it on the old foot massager doesn't hurt...
MBmann You are absolutely right and know your safety kleen. It is harsh. Thats why I like it. xD I don't allow parts to sit in the safety kleen very long and the minute I take the parts out I spray them down with something that neutralizes the safety kleen like wd-40 . If you don't it will cause damage to the finish. I love the safety kleen. My guns look like they have never been fired when I'm done.
A bit late, but you'll probably want to stick to a copper solvent for the bore on great occasion. That said, you could also test it with copper solvent, seeing how much green comes out of the bore after sonic cleaning.
Not quite. No motors, only transducers bonded to the bottom of the tank. Electronic circuits generate 20-40KHz frequency, amplify it and feed it to the transducers that generate a waveform in the water, creating cavitation, which can clean most things to a molecular level. Solvents must be selected for the specific task as hand. Occasionally, you’ll run into something impervious to cavitation. There must be water contact with what you’re cleaning, no air pockets. For most jobs, most effective cleaning there is. I worked for an ultrasonic cleaner company and we made everything from cleaners for rocket engines, Diesel engine parts, injectors, etc, to watches and jewelry. Especially good for brass with proper solvent. For degreasing, I’ve always used Cascade dishwashing soap or Dawn. (But I also have HandiKleen solvent degreaser) I might have to try Simple Green.
Did you put dawn dish soap in your ultrasonic cleaner?I've used ultrasonic cleaning for years now and I've never deviated from putting special solution in there. The only time I've seen a guy do it was with fabuloso and of course, it didn't clean a thing.
No motor but uses an electric/ electronic transducer ( running an ultrasonic cleaner without some sort of liquid in the chamber will destroy the transducer all most instantly ) NEVER RUN AN ULTRASONIC CLEANER WITHOUT SOLUTION! Also NEVER place anything on the bottom of the tank!
Useful for if you're cleaning a LOT of guns for a business, but for the price and upkeep I'll stick with brushes, gun scrubber, and oil. Especially since the wrong mixture can strip finishes/mess with polymers.
any thoughts about filling your cleaner basin with water and then putting whatever you want to clean into a bottle filled with the cleaning detergent and then putting that into the water? i guess the point is to make the cleanup easier cuz you have only water in your cleaning basin
Watching many "Ultrasonic Gun Cleaning" on UA-cam, haven't seen many mention about after the Ultrasonic Gun Cleaning bath(simple green method), should I rinse with water or just blow dry with air gun ?
Yeah, probably. But with so much water, the chemicals would be diluted enough they shouldn't cause damage even if you didn't clean it out immediately thereafter.
If you shoot corrosive ammo, just rinse the gun out first. Whatever salts are left, which shouldn't be much, will be diluted. Also tanks are stainless, so much harder to corrode.
I was looking at the hornady 2l ultra sonic cleaner for cleaning lubricant off of cases plus i can clean my pistols better. For rifle ill just keep cleaning them by hand because im not spending $700 for an ultra sonic cleaner, but the smaller version is about $160 amd can still fit a pistol or a few hundred cases, so its much more affordable. My primary concern is if the chemical would ruin plastic parts, and ive been reading that green simple green ruins aluminum but blue simple green is fine
@Iraqveteran8888 can you positively tell me how to avoid stripping blueing from a gun A handgun was ditched into whater by sb and the finder wants me to get it functional, it has a bit of corosion , it was patched with petrolium jelly paper but that didint help that much considering it was in the whater for abaut 60years some parts still have stamps and blueing while others have a 1/16inch rust crust the slide is stuck, mud and stones and rust, i thought ultrasonic can do it, but can it do it without striping blueing and paint on the safety and grips we are talking pre 2nd war Beretta pistol
On the Ultrasonic website they show this tank model priced at 449 and 2550. It’s not clear though, whether the one priced at 449 is just a separate insert tank. Do you know?
Been using an ultrasonic cleaner on every kind of pistol and rifle parts you can think of (including all types of plastics) for YEEEEAAAARRRSS. The ONE issue I've ever encountered was the red paint on the loaded chamber indicator of a Ruger SR9C came off. Of the dozens of guns, there has never been another issue. Even with tritium painted sights. I either use purple power, simple green, or Barbicide as a solution. Often a mixture of these. Barbicide has the benefit of removing mild corrosion and some protection against future corrosion after application. I use the cleaner on my own guns after every trip to the range or hunting. Just drop the parts in, let it run a few cycles, and everything comes out glistening clean. Wouldn't want to own guns without one!
Have a Hornady cleaner and used regular simple green. Set my glock 19 lower in it for 10 minutes and did not remove dirt. Run another 5 minutes and nothing. Finally did it the old fashion way and it will pass any inspection. Not convinced this is a good effective and efficient way to clean guns MP5SD an awesome gun. Used in the Marine Corps on Security Forces.
In my own experience, when using an ultrasonic full of Hoppes #9, do not put old thin leaf springs into the ultrasonic tank no matter how grimy they are. It will weaken the old V and leaf springs so they break under use.
Yea I wonder about the wisdom of using solvents in the ultrasonic in general. I use simple green a couple of cycles and it cleans great. Spray w/ clp afterwards and I’m gtg.
I work in aerospace. Units that come from the field we clean in our units ultrasonic cleaners. We have a 4 step process not including rising. But then we bake our units/parts at 250 degrees for 20-30mins to make sure they are dry. Im sure gun parts would work also.
I use a couple different ultrasonic cleaning machines depending on what I'm cleaning. The only constant in them is the solvent. I have tried around 20 different products, the BEST I have used is in ALL my units....SLIP2000 Ultra-Clean. Ultra-Clean can be purchased ready to use or in concentrate. It is water based, so oils float to top of tank when turned off. Easy to skim off oils from cleaner. I get 10 to 12 cycles before noticing any difference in cleaning power. When more is needed usually a few capsules are enough. Works better and faster on brass than any tumbler I have seen. I also use SLIP 2000 Ultre-Lube for most internal parts. I have a tank that always has Ultre-Lube in it. When something other than brass to reload comes out of cleaning, I blow it off good with compressed air and into the Lube tank for a few minutes. Both products work GREAT at a variety of temperature settings. When ALL done in the tanks, I let the LUBED stuff dry in the air, then LUBE it however it needs with SLIP 2000 products. The REALLY FILTHY STUFF, like black powder barrels and breaches get a 5 minute soak in SLIP 2000 CARBON CUTTER before the ultrasonic cleaner just to city time and temp in the tank. I don't run over 115° on my tanks, but that is personal preference. For brass to reload, when it comes out of cleaning I put it in the oven for 10 minutes or so at 225° to dry.
JKay11235 I use ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning guns and brass. Also for knives and a ton of other stuff. I mentioned the brass because a lot of people have no idea you can use them for brass. They clean it like it is NEW. I drop guns in all the time and it works great. I tried a lot of cleaning products before the SLIP 2000 and never actually was satisfied with the results. You said you used Simple Green, guessing the GREEN stuff. The mix sounds pretty STRONG. I am almost POSITIVE I know what happened and where the BROWN STAIN came from. When the steel used to make your top cover was used, I will bet money, it had a layer of surface rust on it. The manufacturer probably chemical WASHED the steel, but DID NOT KILL THE RUST!!!! RUST is a living thing. When the surface was cleaned, they made the part, then degreased it , then did whatever type finish to the part. The RUST was still there just below the surface. When you put it in the ultrasonic cleaner with that much SIMPLE GREEN, you removed the rust inhibitor.... the oil, from the metal and probably removed some of the finish as well. NO OIL, REDUCED FINISH THICKNESS, WATER, and AIR DRYING EQUALS RUST BEING SLIGHTLY EXPOSED and THERE IS THE STAIN. You can fix the problem several ways yourself. The first thing you MUST do though is KILL THAT EVIL RUST!!!! If you want to know how I can explain it to you, or you can try to look it up online. I don't know if there are any UA-cam videos on how to do it or not, but the process is basically simple. Just takes a bit of time to explain. If you are going to keep using SIMPLE GREEN, REDUCE the amount of solvent you use. That stuff will eat paint off anything!!!!! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SLIP 2000 Ultra-Clean and Ultre-Lube as well as their CARBON CUTTER. The Carbon Cutter is AMAZING stuff. I put 5,000 rounds through my M-60 without cleaning anything. All we did was keep pouring oil to it. When I tore it down for cleaning I sprayed it with Carbon Cutter, just a light mist, and went out for a cigarette. When I came back and picked up the bolt the carbon and brass build up came off in my hand. It was almost completely clean. For AR and AK bolts I don't even disassemble them, just drop them into a plastic bowl with Carbon Cutter, shake it up for about 30 seconds, pull out the bolt and drop it in the ultrasonic. 5 minutes later, pull it out, and wipe off with a paper towel. 95% or more of the crud is gone. The disassemble the bolt and put back in the tank for 5-10 minutes. CLEAN!!!! ALSO on your tank use lower temperature if you use heat at all. Most of the time you don't really need the heat on. It just makes stuff work faster and harder. GOOD LUCK!!!! Hope this helps.
Hornady LNL Tub Was inexpensive and gets my guns factory new with no effort! Cost me less then 350. Cleans any rifle for the most part. Worth every penny in time saved!
Had been using ultrasonic tanks to clean Aviation Instrument parts for the past 30 years. The most efficient and safe of all solvent is L & R Ultrasonics Extra Fine Watch Cleaning Solution. Also we use a tank cover plate which has holes that holds the 1000 ml beaker lips while keeping them 80% submerged in the water, giving us the flexibility of immersing the parts inside the beakers in different type of cleaning solutions.
Hey great video as all your videos are... about this ultrasonic...can you put a carbon fire barrel in the sonic and very important will my cerakote paint get ruin in there please let me know thank you
I own RCBS ultrsonic cleaner which I bought specifically to clean brass for reloading. What I learned was it that doesn't clean brass as well as a dry media tumbler however, it cleans gun parts better than anything else I've tried thus far. Also, I've had really good results cleaning gun parts in the ultrasonic with liquid dish soap when I didn't have Simple Green on hand.
I wasn't pleased with how it cleaned brass either. Tried all the tricks, lemi-shine, etc. Finally just bought a steel-pin tumbler. Hands down the best way to clean brass. Dealing with the pins is a hassle, but brass comes out perfectly clean
Ok so 2 things not mentioned in vid was it can be used to clean reloading brass and equipment like dies and I read on internet but have not experienced this but simple green not sure what type can react negatively with aluminum if I remember correctly. I recently used my points at BPS and got the Hornady Sonic cleaner free but have not used it yet. It will be my first Sonic and I only plan on cleaning brass after universal decappi g with it
Great video! Just bought a Ultra sonic. What solution would you recommend for cleaning range brass? I have heard that Simple Green will break down the zinc in the brass??
HI Eric!!! talk about smaller ones for handguns and handgun parts/BCGs! i clean the larger bits by hand while the smaller ones get hit by the cleaner. totaly recommend a smaller one to someone for handguns especially. the smaller ones are cheap!!! like 30$ and it saves you time. you can clean most all of a handgun in one of these cleaners. good subject to cover i feel like most people don't know about this!
I would not recommend for aluminum baffles, but works fine for steel and Ti. Bought a cheap Chinese one for cleaning .22lr can baffles and realized one day I could also use it to clean AR BCGs. Remove the o-ring and toss the rest of the BCG in cleaner, let it do its job, rinse off in the sink, stick in the oven on lowest heat setting for 10 or so minutes, drop into Ed's Red and finally wipe off any excess.
Excellent video. My only comment is that some of the smaller ultrasonics--I have the Lyman that flashed by in one of the photos shown--are actually quite affordable, so price may not necessarily be prohibitive, especially if you just want to do handguns and parts of your rifles, fellas.
hello there your video was really helpful . A question, can I use ultrasonic to lean chokes from my shotguns and parts from my shotgun as well?? thanks
The only thing I would use one for is suppressor cleaning so something small is all that I need. Harbor freight has an ultra sonic for only $80. Are these any good?
I just bought a small, 10L one to clean my suppressors and small parts such as bolt carriers. Have a few old rifles that need all their small parts deeply cleaned
I've had trouble with my gun parts and reloading dies rusting almost instantly when taken out of my cleaner. Using just dish soap and water turned up to about 140 degrees. What am I doing wrong? Is it too hot?
this looks like the answer to a maidens prayer. I am a black powder (real Black Gun Powder) shooter and this looks like a perfect way to get all the nooks and crannies de-cruded. Especially the bottom sof the chambersr and all the spots in the frames. Thanks.
I have a ruger MKIV that is getting absolutely filthy because I've been shooting it suppressed. I imagine tossing the whole upper assembly in an ultrasonic is a bad idea because of the anodizing on it, but what about the plastic lower? Can it be damaged in an ultrasonic cleaner?
Depends on what kind of Mk IV you have. I have a Mk IV Target stainless. There's no anodizing on that pistol at all. It's 100% stainless steel both top and bottom.
its also great for cleaning brass so you dont get grime in your tumbler and to degrease it and welded supressors that can not be opened or if one is lazy and doesnt disassamble the supressor every time but lets say ~ every 200 rounds with a bolt gun if you make around 70 every time you hit the range - you just put it in the ultrasonic so it doesnt smell like powder and metall ions - some gfs dont like it if you put them in the dishwasher or whatercooker if you use 4 gallons of brake cleaner /acetone with minimum heat you get the gun as degreased as you possibly can if you want to reblue or maybe anodize aluminium and its great for motor parts like cleaning chainsaw and moped motors and carborators
Just FYI, you can put lubricant in an ultrasonic as well after you’re done cleaning them just lightly wipe your firearms down and they’re perfect. Also, the plastic bag method works really well. Then you don’t get any dirt in your ultrasonic cleaner at all. Works really well especially if you’re going to do jewelry and car parts as well as firearms. Just remember to wear gloves if you’re cleaning firearms, you don’t want all that liquid lead soaking into your skin.
L&R made a cleaning concentrate and lubrication solution for use in ultrasonic cleaners on firearms. I believe they still do. I work in the jewelry industry and use one daily. Yes I clean car parts, tools, firearms and even jewelry in mine.
Also a good point to bring up is proper disposal of fluids. If you have a container full of carbon and lead, especially a 22lr firearm or suppressor, don’t just pour it down the drain.
Why mention the carbon? Should have said solvents, oils/lubricants, hydrocarbons, heavy metals. All of those are more of a concern than carbon, which isn't an issue.
So far just pistol parts and brass in mine. I use the Hornady unit, and Hornady solution in it. Seems to work ok, but I do use Simple Green when I want to soak parts outside the sonic.
That looks really interesting, but it seems like you really have to know what you're doing to avoid wrecking your gun. I like Hoppes #9 to clean and regular gun oil to lubricate. Can't go wrong with that method. This looks like it would get in all the nooks and crannies better though.
I was thinking of getting a smaller sonic cleaner to clean my P-10c with a PMM JTTC comp. I figured since I can't get the barrel out of the slide with the comp mounted, this would help keep it super clean. Any reasons I shouldn't do that?
Eric, you offered that you could just blow dry your parts right out of the cleaner. Doesn't that leave a soap residue behind unless you rinse it off first? Just curious!
I would rinse with water afterward. Then I would give it an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) dip and blow dry. I work with ultrasonic cleaners a lot and clean water-sensitive parts and I have found this technique works very well.
@Heinz Linge, I work in a chem lab and use a lot of chemicals that react with water. In this circumstance I was thinking more in terms of high carbon steel parts that may be susceptible to oxidation.
Would you mind going a little more in-depth on a secondary. One of my main issues is I have several 22 that are pain in the ass to disassemble fully due to their age and may think about investing one at least for cleaning the receivers
We have two of those Lyman Power Pro's in my shop. One is for cleaning, the other is filled with Kroil for an oil bath. Kroil is a very thin oil that can slip between anything so that's why we use it. Makes it so we don't have to strip guns down to every small piece. Just the basics and we don't have to worry about any rust appearing later on. I've been told no aluminum in the tank but I did a test of leaving an aluminum cleaning rod in the tank for a week and there was nothing visually unusual. Is there any truth to that? The cleaning solution we use is the Lyman stuff for steel and stainless steel. Has no warnings on the jug for aluminum. We will do bolt action rifles too. Makes them look like a new gun once they're done.
Puts M4 in an ultrasonic cleaner for five hours........still fails the NCO's inspection.
Then it's definitely not 1630 yet. Lol
*inserts $20 in the chamber*
-if only i had a dollar for every time the Co. Armorer said 'not clean enough' SHEESH
I remember a mechanic from the 11th ACR from Germany who transitioned to 11 Bravo and went to Airborne School as a re-enlistment option show me how to clean all kinds of weapons that will pass all inspections. The secret was Brakleen brake cleaner and Simple Green. On the M16 rifles we took everything down and took all the plastic off from the stock and pistol grip and completely took apart the firing group. Warm water and Simple Green scrubbed the parts and bore with a bore brush and hung it dry. Using a small air compressor it blew all the water and crud off. Then Brakleen was sprayed on to get all the grease from the selector switch. Using clean paper towels and Q-tips re-applied clean oil on to the parts an hour before turn in. Did the same for the M-60 that I was assigned to with the only exception. I had several brand new pistons for inspections that I kept with me hidden in my personal stash in a tool box in my car. Never turn your weapons early until it is time too. Especially during IG inspections which can go on 24/7 for a week. My M-60, M1911A1, and assigned M16A1 always passed inspection. We cleaned our weapons outside the orderly room and arms room or outside the barracks away from prying eyes of NCOs and Officers to our secret. We kept our products away from other squads and platoons and threw our cans and bottles far away into the mess hall dumpsters and at the bottom of all that shit. My fire team was so squared away when it comes to cleaning weapons. Even the SAW gunner kept his shit clean and shut his mouth too.
Can't spell incompetent with out nco
Something missed... you can put your solvents/degreasers/oils in plastic or glass jars. Believe smaller stainless bins work. The waves travel through the material and work inside the containers. You can just fill the ultrasonic with straight water that way, meaning you need much less degreaser/oil/solvent. Also keeps really nasty stuff from crudding up everything else.
wonder if that would work for hoppes #9 in a small jar for baffles
@@loneczgunner6562 Yes it will. Been doing this for many years.
@@porksboy even plastic bags are nice, although a strong bag like mylar would be prefered. i do it all the time!
Quick tip for anyone reading this, glass jars are far superior for this as the ultra sonic waves get weaker through plastic and you can notice it almost instantly when compared directly.
Glass jars work best ! Zip lock bags are great and easy too!
I just learned this a day ago. Someone was using a powder solvent in a jar in the water.
Just FYI, the principle of an ultrasonic isn’t agitation, it’s cavitation. The sonic causes air bubbles to implode, collapse, thus pulling foreign particals away from hard surfaces. Very efficient when used correctly. They’re used all the time for surgical instruments.
Also, the "motors" he mentioned aren't motors, they're a piezoelectric transducer. They work similarly to a speaker.
What do think of the ziplock bag method and keeping your water clean ?
I’ve been cleaning electronics for years using my ultrasonic. A fun tip to use, if you don’t have compressed air, is rinse with 99% ipa after using the ultrasonic, it’ll clear any water in hard to reach places. Place it in front of a fan or air purifier and it’ll dry super quick. Then just grease it up and you’re good to go.
Id love to gunsmith. But it doesnt pay enough
A friend of mine took a gunsmithing course. He works on guns on the side but his knowledge of guns got him a job as dept manager of the gun department at Bass Pro. Turned out to be a good starting point for him.
Same. I want to know more about it, plus I can use that to teach people firearms training with different types of guns. I saw a 2 hour session with a Rugar go for $240.
If I do gunsmithing/work at a gun store and do that on the side, I'm in good shape. Plus gun trading and other trades like carpentry.
Bullshit
That certainly depends on ypur skills, and if your idea of gun smithing is bolting different stuff together on a AR, or it is making things from scratch.... I bet Mark Novak from C&Rsenal makes by just fine on his gunsmith pay ;)
T
I’m a qualified goldsmith & silversmith and the best thing to use is a good dishwashing detergent with a little cloudy ammonia. Don’t always recommend the ammonia for metals like brass and aluminium but it’s pretty safe.
What about aluminum then? I got a ruger 22/45.
@@timothyavendt677 simple green.
@@reroan2670
Thanks 🙏
All I heard was dishwasher approved
gold & silver are practically non reactive noble metals & such. Iron & Aluminum can do stuff like galvanic reactions
Eric, I work in the industrial ultrasonic industry and sell/service this type of equipment. First, there is no motor, the ultrasonic power is from a piezo electric disc expanding and contracting x amount of times a second. Second, as mentioned dish soap works awesome, blue dawn seems to be the best. If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them.
Can you put CLP in an ultrasonic cleaner?
I absolutely love tearing apart my firearms and cleaning them. It's a zen like state for me.
Eric you make the most boring topics informative and exciting, you're such a brilliant advocate for gun ownership 👍🏻
I buy the Simple Green HD (safe for all metals) it works great in the ultrasonic for handguns, AR bolt carrier groups and reloading dies.
I’ll take simple green over soylent green any day.
Bernie Sanders food wafers!
Geoffrey Epstein didn't kill himself.
Soylent green tastes better
SOYLENT GREEN IS COVID!!!
This is true ;)
Honestly, I've had good luck with the cheap Harbor Freight sonic cleaner. I have two, one I use simple green in, another filled with Lucas solvent. It's amazing what you can get out of a $40 cleaner. The only down side is they're small. We're handgun shooters, so it's perfect for us.
I've got one of theirs too. My only complaint is the 8 minute max timer. I know there's a mod to bypass it.
The Harbor Freight model and the Lyman are made by the same people.
Put the BCG in there. That's pretty much all you need
I have the little Lyman cleaner. Does a great job on brass and small parts!
eta: when I turn the thing on at work, the "shop dog" goes nuts.
Great tips. Ultrasonics work great for cleaning cosmoline entombed surplus firearms but it is helpful to skim the wax off the top before removal. I use compressed air to blow them dry following removal.
Good to know!
My ultrasonic cleaner consists of a covered container full of safety kleen parts cleaner sitting on top of my grandmas 1970's heated electric foot massager. Its a two speed LOW and SHAKE like its 1999 industrial strength oscillatory
Booch Usually the stuff I put in there has already had any chunks or solids removed in a pre wash. But if it starts getting serious I just use a ladle to skim it off the top like you would drege/slag if you were melting aluminum. It works really good You can go to an Ace or True Value and buy a brand new gallon size empty paint can , Or if I need more room I've used one of those big yellow kitty litter containers. Neither will leak normally...
The funniest part of it is not only do I believe you... but I know damn well it works good too doesn't it?! lol Man that is funny, but its true! With a few bucks and a hour or so, you can just make one...
JKay11235 I totally agree but not everybody does enough of it or has the space to warrant another contraption. What I described is a makeshift way to get by on stuff you might already have in the garage. Empty cat litter container is a great place to soak parts in parts cleaner solvent and setting it on the old foot massager doesn't hurt...
Not sure safty kleen seems to harsh for a gun
MBmann You are absolutely right and know your safety kleen. It is harsh. Thats why I like it. xD I don't allow parts to sit in the safety kleen very long and the minute I take the parts out I spray them down with something that neutralizes the safety kleen like wd-40 . If you don't it will cause damage to the finish. I love the safety kleen. My guns look like they have never been fired when I'm done.
Your opinion on how an ultra sonic cleaner breaks down copper and or lead build up in a barrel bore?
A bit late, but you'll probably want to stick to a copper solvent for the bore on great occasion. That said, you could also test it with copper solvent, seeing how much green comes out of the bore after sonic cleaning.
@@Willam_J
It does help. Thank you.
Not quite. No motors, only transducers bonded to the bottom of the tank.
Electronic circuits generate 20-40KHz frequency, amplify it and feed it to the transducers that generate a waveform in the water, creating cavitation, which can clean most things to a molecular level.
Solvents must be selected for the specific task as hand.
Occasionally, you’ll run into something impervious to cavitation.
There must be water contact with what you’re cleaning, no air pockets.
For most jobs, most effective cleaning there is.
I worked for an ultrasonic cleaner company and we made everything from cleaners for rocket engines, Diesel engine parts, injectors, etc, to watches and jewelry.
Especially good for brass with proper solvent.
For degreasing, I’ve always used Cascade dishwashing soap or Dawn. (But I also have HandiKleen solvent degreaser)
I might have to try Simple Green.
How did you like the Simple Green?
Did you put dawn dish soap in your ultrasonic cleaner?I've used ultrasonic cleaning for years now and I've never deviated from putting special solution in there. The only time I've seen a guy do it was with fabuloso and of course, it didn't clean a thing.
I thought about getting just to use for my bolt assemblys i can clean the rest of my guns easy
I have a Hornady that fits a stripped XDs without issue. I wished now I bought the larger one that can fit an entirely stripped 1911 or FN Hi Power.
Jerry Miculek is as he says, “I am spoiled with my ultrasonic cleaner.”
He is absolutely the G.O.A.T
No motor but uses an electric/ electronic transducer ( running an ultrasonic cleaner without some sort of liquid in the chamber will destroy the transducer all most instantly ) NEVER RUN AN ULTRASONIC CLEANER WITHOUT SOLUTION! Also NEVER place anything on the bottom of the tank!
Useful for if you're cleaning a LOT of guns for a business, but for the price and upkeep I'll stick with brushes, gun scrubber, and oil. Especially since the wrong mixture can strip finishes/mess with polymers.
I got a little one from Harbor freight for under $50 and it works great for BCG and parts that get really dirty. 5 minutes does wonders.
i want to see a twist rate comparison video by iraqveteran8888
-Strange gun cleaning methods
-AK owners :
XDDDDD
Was the Strike Hold working well in the UltraSonic? Looking for a good oil bath after I use the cleaning solution
any thoughts about filling your cleaner basin with water and then putting whatever you want to clean into a bottle filled with the cleaning detergent and then putting that into the water? i guess the point is to make the cleanup easier cuz you have only water in your cleaning basin
Yes, that works well. Be aware that the parts will vibrate on the bottom of the glass and scratch both/ wear bluing off steel.
Watching many "Ultrasonic Gun Cleaning" on UA-cam, haven't seen many mention about after the Ultrasonic Gun Cleaning bath(simple green method), should I rinse with water or just blow dry with air gun ?
Thats good info to know!! Really good to know it will clean Cosmoline!
If I shot some corrosive ammo through my gun and put it in there, would I have to worry about cleaning the ultrasonic itself?
Yeah, probably. But with so much water, the chemicals would be diluted enough they shouldn't cause damage even if you didn't clean it out immediately thereafter.
If you shoot corrosive ammo, just rinse the gun out first. Whatever salts are left, which shouldn't be much, will be diluted. Also tanks are stainless, so much harder to corrode.
I was looking at the hornady 2l ultra sonic cleaner for cleaning lubricant off of cases plus i can clean my pistols better. For rifle ill just keep cleaning them by hand because im not spending $700 for an ultra sonic cleaner, but the smaller version is about $160 amd can still fit a pistol or a few hundred cases, so its much more affordable. My primary concern is if the chemical would ruin plastic parts, and ive been reading that green simple green ruins aluminum but blue simple green is fine
@Iraqveteran8888 can you positively tell me how to avoid stripping blueing from a gun
A handgun was ditched into whater by sb and the finder wants me to get it functional, it has a bit of corosion , it was patched with petrolium jelly paper but that didint help that much considering it was in the whater for abaut 60years some parts still have stamps and blueing while others have a 1/16inch rust crust
the slide is stuck, mud and stones and rust, i thought ultrasonic can do it, but can it do it without striping blueing and paint on the safety and grips
we are talking pre 2nd war Beretta pistol
@Iraqveteran8888 what about cleaning brass before reloading.
What about useing an "industrial" or "jewlers" sonic cleaner for brass instead of the ones that say hornady has?
On the Ultrasonic website they show this tank model priced at 449 and 2550. It’s not clear though, whether the one priced at 449 is just a separate insert tank. Do you know?
Couldn't tell did Eric recommend diluting the extreme cleaner 50% with water or using at full strength for Glock style pistols & AR rifle parts?
Been using an ultrasonic cleaner on every kind of pistol and rifle parts you can think of (including all types of plastics) for YEEEEAAAARRRSS. The ONE issue I've ever encountered was the red paint on the loaded chamber indicator of a Ruger SR9C came off. Of the dozens of guns, there has never been another issue. Even with tritium painted sights. I either use purple power, simple green, or Barbicide as a solution. Often a mixture of these. Barbicide has the benefit of removing mild corrosion and some protection against future corrosion after application.
I use the cleaner on my own guns after every trip to the range or hunting. Just drop the parts in, let it run a few cycles, and everything comes out glistening clean. Wouldn't want to own guns without one!
I've got a small one to clean my brass. Half a dishwasher tablet thrown in works a treat.
@jon gibson I forgot to pull down the bathroom blind just once and I'm still paying for it.
varney2010 can you clean the inside of a casing with your “small one?”
@@couerleroi1 No, the cleaning solution makes the end sting.
varney2010 Good sport. LOL!
Have a Hornady cleaner and used regular simple green. Set my glock 19 lower in it for 10 minutes and did not remove dirt. Run another 5 minutes and nothing. Finally did it the old fashion way and it will pass any inspection. Not convinced this is a good effective and efficient way to clean guns MP5SD an awesome gun. Used in the Marine Corps on Security Forces.
You could use a cleaning or lube solution in a freezer zip lock from what I seen on other channels.
Is an ultrasonic cleaner a no go if you are looking to preserve antique firearms, or can it work without removing the original finishes?
Conserve it by boiling and carding instead. Mark Novak (Anvil Gunsmithing) has UA-cam videos on it. Look up his video "Conservation 101."
In my own experience, when using an ultrasonic full of Hoppes #9, do not put old thin leaf springs into the ultrasonic tank no matter how grimy they are. It will weaken the old V and leaf springs so they break under use.
Yea I wonder about the wisdom of using solvents in the ultrasonic in general. I use simple green a couple of cycles and it cleans great. Spray w/ clp afterwards and I’m gtg.
@@jojodesal I agree. I find Simple Green and warm or hot water works well on most things.
I work in aerospace. Units that come from the field we clean in our units ultrasonic cleaners. We have a 4 step process not including rising. But then we bake our units/parts at 250 degrees for 20-30mins to make sure they are dry. Im sure gun parts would work also.
Will an ultrasonic cleaner remove surface rust, and not mess up the blueing or the finish on the parts?? Thanks a lot!!
Thank you for teaching us how to clean with an ultrasonic cleaner iraq, i love you
LMAO
I use a couple different ultrasonic cleaning machines depending on what I'm cleaning. The only constant in them is the solvent. I have tried around 20 different products, the BEST I have used is in ALL my units....SLIP2000 Ultra-Clean. Ultra-Clean can be purchased ready to use or in concentrate. It is water based, so oils float to top of tank when turned off. Easy to skim off oils from cleaner. I get 10 to 12 cycles before noticing any difference in cleaning power. When more is needed usually a few capsules are enough. Works better and faster on brass than any tumbler I have seen.
I also use SLIP 2000 Ultre-Lube for most internal parts. I have a tank that always has Ultre-Lube in it. When something other than brass to reload comes out of cleaning, I blow it off good with compressed air and into the Lube tank for a few minutes.
Both products work GREAT at a variety of temperature settings.
When ALL done in the tanks, I let the LUBED stuff dry in the air, then LUBE it however it needs with SLIP 2000 products.
The REALLY FILTHY STUFF, like black powder barrels and breaches get a 5 minute soak in SLIP 2000 CARBON CUTTER before the ultrasonic cleaner just to city time and temp in the tank. I don't run over 115° on my tanks, but that is personal preference.
For brass to reload, when it comes out of cleaning I put it in the oven for 10 minutes or so at 225° to dry.
JKay11235
I use ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning guns and brass. Also for knives and a ton of other stuff. I mentioned the brass because a lot of people have no idea you can use them for brass. They clean it like it is NEW. I drop guns in all the time and it works great. I tried a lot of cleaning products before the SLIP 2000 and never actually was satisfied with the results.
You said you used Simple Green, guessing the GREEN stuff. The mix sounds pretty STRONG. I am almost POSITIVE I know what happened and where the BROWN STAIN came from.
When the steel used to make your top cover was used, I will bet money, it had a layer of surface rust on it. The manufacturer probably chemical WASHED the steel, but DID NOT KILL THE RUST!!!! RUST is a living thing. When the surface was cleaned, they made the part, then degreased it , then did whatever type finish to the part. The RUST was still there just below the surface.
When you put it in the ultrasonic cleaner with that much SIMPLE GREEN, you removed the rust inhibitor.... the oil, from the metal and probably removed some of the finish as well. NO OIL, REDUCED FINISH THICKNESS, WATER, and AIR DRYING EQUALS RUST BEING SLIGHTLY EXPOSED and THERE IS THE STAIN.
You can fix the problem several ways yourself. The first thing you MUST do though is KILL THAT EVIL RUST!!!!
If you want to know how I can explain it to you, or you can try to look it up online. I don't know if there are any UA-cam videos on how to do it or not, but the process is basically simple. Just takes a bit of time to explain.
If you are going to keep using SIMPLE GREEN, REDUCE the amount of solvent you use. That stuff will eat paint off anything!!!!!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SLIP 2000 Ultra-Clean and Ultre-Lube as well as their CARBON CUTTER.
The Carbon Cutter is AMAZING stuff. I put 5,000 rounds through my M-60 without cleaning anything. All we did was keep pouring oil to it. When I tore it down for cleaning I sprayed it with
Carbon Cutter, just a light mist, and went out for a cigarette. When I came back and picked up the bolt the carbon and brass build up came off in my hand. It was almost completely clean.
For AR and AK bolts I don't even disassemble them, just drop them into a plastic bowl with Carbon Cutter, shake it up for about 30 seconds, pull out the bolt and drop it in the ultrasonic. 5 minutes later, pull it out, and wipe off with a paper towel. 95% or more of the crud is gone. The disassemble the bolt and put back in the tank for 5-10 minutes. CLEAN!!!!
ALSO on your tank use lower temperature if you use heat at all. Most of the time you don't really need the heat on. It just makes stuff work faster and harder.
GOOD LUCK!!!! Hope this helps.
little tip, use a big magnet to hold small parts that would otherwise slip through the basket
Hornady LNL Tub Was inexpensive and gets my guns factory new with no effort! Cost me less then 350. Cleans any rifle for the most part.
Worth every penny in time saved!
Had been using ultrasonic tanks to clean Aviation Instrument parts for the past 30 years. The most efficient and safe of all solvent is L & R Ultrasonics Extra Fine Watch Cleaning Solution. Also we use a tank cover plate which has holes that holds the 1000 ml beaker lips while keeping them 80% submerged in the water, giving us the flexibility of immersing the parts inside the beakers in different type of cleaning solutions.
what about polymer grips? Anodized parts, like receiver sets?
Does that machine clean mags or you have to just buy new ones mine have built up some rust
Simple Green 👍
Hey great video as all your videos are... about this ultrasonic...can you put a carbon fire barrel in the sonic and very important will my cerakote paint get ruin in there please let me know thank you
I own RCBS ultrsonic cleaner which I bought specifically to clean brass for reloading. What I learned was it that doesn't clean brass as well as a dry media tumbler however, it cleans gun parts better than anything else I've tried thus far. Also, I've had really good results cleaning gun parts in the ultrasonic with liquid dish soap when I didn't have Simple Green on hand.
The RCBS gun cleaning solution works well too.
I wasn't pleased with how it cleaned brass either. Tried all the tricks, lemi-shine, etc. Finally just bought a steel-pin tumbler. Hands down the best way to clean brass. Dealing with the pins is a hassle, but brass comes out perfectly clean
Good info. Bought one mainly for my suppressor. I was told you should not put aluminum parts or anodized funnies in the unit, you thoughts!
Thank you and best review of ultrasonic cleaning.
I have the harbor freight one, its been great for me.
Same here. 3 minutes, some heat = clean as a whistle.
Yep, me too. Small one for handguns. Not sure if they make one that could take a rifle barrel or any other larger parts. May have to look into that.
Ok so 2 things not mentioned in vid was it can be used to clean reloading brass and equipment like dies and I read on internet but have not experienced this but simple green not sure what type can react negatively with aluminum if I remember correctly. I recently used my points at BPS and got the Hornady Sonic cleaner free but have not used it yet. It will be my first Sonic and I only plan on cleaning brass after universal decappi g with it
Great video! Just bought a Ultra sonic. What solution would you recommend for cleaning range brass? I have heard that Simple Green will break down the zinc in the brass??
EasyEight Hornady had a brass cleaning solution. But a wet tumbler with stainless pins and lemon shine or Frankfort Arsenal's brass soap works best.
HI Eric!!!
talk about smaller ones for handguns and handgun parts/BCGs! i clean the larger bits by hand while the smaller ones get hit by the cleaner. totaly recommend a smaller one to someone for handguns especially. the smaller ones are cheap!!! like 30$ and it saves you time. you can clean most all of a handgun in one of these cleaners.
good subject to cover i feel like most people don't know about this!
I would not recommend for aluminum baffles, but works fine for steel and Ti. Bought a cheap Chinese one for cleaning .22lr can baffles and realized one day I could also use it to clean AR BCGs. Remove the o-ring and toss the rest of the BCG in cleaner, let it do its job, rinse off in the sink, stick in the oven on lowest heat setting for 10 or so minutes, drop into Ed's Red and finally wipe off any excess.
Does ultra sonic cleaners effect night sights like the Sig X-Ray or Trijicon sights?
Why would you put that in a cleaner? 😂
What about pistols with fiber optic sights fitted ?
Excellent video. My only comment is that some of the smaller ultrasonics--I have the Lyman that flashed by in one of the photos shown--are actually quite affordable, so price may not necessarily be prohibitive, especially if you just want to do handguns and parts of your rifles, fellas.
What substant did u use to clean , water ?
Hello, Appreciate the info. So cleaning a supressor with 1-1 with simple green and water will be o.k. and not harm the cerakote ?
When diluting the Simple Green Extreme, do you use tap water or distilled water? Does it matter?
It shouldn't matter.
distilled is better. Tap water is full of particulates and minerals
Simple Green HD Pro (purple) is the same as Simple Green Extreme except it's 1/3 the cost. This is straight from the manufacturer help line.
Good info Eric, how often do you change out the solution?
hello there your video was really helpful . A question, can I use ultrasonic to lean chokes from my shotguns and parts from my shotgun as well?? thanks
I wonder can I use a Dillion brass sonic tumbler for my AR bcg and parts if I put simple green in it instead of corn cob
The only thing I would use one for is suppressor cleaning so something small is all that I need. Harbor freight has an ultra sonic for only $80. Are these any good?
I just bought a small, 10L one to clean my suppressors and small parts such as bolt carriers. Have a few old rifles that need all their small parts deeply cleaned
I've had trouble with my gun parts and reloading dies rusting almost instantly when taken out of my cleaner. Using just dish soap and water turned up to about 140 degrees. What am I doing wrong? Is it too hot?
this looks like the answer to a maidens prayer. I am a black powder (real Black Gun Powder) shooter and this looks like a perfect way to get all the nooks and crannies de-cruded. Especially the bottom sof the chambersr and all the spots in the frames. Thanks.
I have a ruger MKIV that is getting absolutely filthy because I've been shooting it suppressed. I imagine tossing the whole upper assembly in an ultrasonic is a bad idea because of the anodizing on it, but what about the plastic lower? Can it be damaged in an ultrasonic cleaner?
Depends on what kind of Mk IV you have. I have a Mk IV Target stainless. There's no anodizing on that pistol at all. It's 100% stainless steel both top and bottom.
U need a bigger ultrasonic cleaner to clean that dirty ultrasonic cleaner
its also great for cleaning brass so you dont get grime in your tumbler and to degrease it
and welded supressors that can not be opened or if one is lazy and doesnt disassamble the supressor every time but lets say ~ every 200 rounds with a bolt gun if you make around 70 every time you hit the range - you just put it in the ultrasonic so it doesnt smell like powder and metall ions - some gfs dont like it if you put them in the dishwasher or whatercooker
if you use 4 gallons of brake cleaner /acetone with minimum heat you get the gun as degreased as you possibly can if you want to reblue or maybe anodize aluminium
and its great for motor parts like cleaning chainsaw and moped motors and carborators
I sure as fuck wouldn't be heating acetone or brake cleaner. BOTH are extremely caustic and flammable. You might as well smoke while pumping gas......
Does it have to be heated? Can I use a cheap jewelry ultrasonic for cleaning surpressor baffles?
Just FYI, you can put lubricant in an ultrasonic as well after you’re done cleaning them just lightly wipe your firearms down and they’re perfect. Also, the plastic bag method works really well. Then you don’t get any dirt in your ultrasonic cleaner at all. Works really well especially if you’re going to do jewelry and car parts as well as firearms. Just remember to wear gloves if you’re cleaning firearms, you don’t want all that liquid lead soaking into your skin.
L&R made a cleaning concentrate and lubrication solution for use in ultrasonic cleaners on firearms. I believe they still do. I work in the jewelry industry and use one daily. Yes I clean car parts, tools, firearms and even jewelry in mine.
I heard that you need to use the simple green that is aluminum safe... which is NOT the green kind. I believe its the purple liquid they make.
We used simple green to clean everything when I was in the Army. Honestly I used to wish for a better cleaner back then but now, there isn’t one.
"About that much." Good info there. So just 7 to 12 plugs from the bottle lol.
yeah..that much...lol
Also a good point to bring up is proper disposal of fluids. If you have a container full of carbon and lead, especially a 22lr firearm or suppressor, don’t just pour it down the drain.
Why mention the carbon? Should have said solvents, oils/lubricants, hydrocarbons, heavy metals. All of those are more of a concern than carbon, which isn't an issue.
Andrew Delashaw I personally use simple green which is no toxic. Didn’t occur to me the other things other people use but you got the idea.
Have you tried Hornady One Shot solution?
Is there a rule on using an ultra sonic on aluminum 22lr suppressor baffles as to not destroy them?
I use mine to remove paint off of gun parts when my buddy decides he doesnt like his rattle can job anymore
So far just pistol parts and brass in mine. I use the Hornady unit, and Hornady solution in it. Seems to work ok, but I do use Simple Green when I want to soak parts outside the sonic.
What about if I wanted something small that I can use for just dumping pistol slides / BCGs in?
Only crazy killers own assault rifles.
can you clean a barrel in an ultrasonic (steel barrel) and if so, how long would you have to leave it in but without damaging the blueing?
That looks really interesting, but it seems like you really have to know what you're doing to avoid wrecking your gun. I like Hoppes #9 to clean and regular gun oil to lubricate. Can't go wrong with that method. This looks like it would get in all the nooks and crannies better though.
I was thinking of getting a smaller sonic cleaner to clean my P-10c with a PMM JTTC comp. I figured since I can't get the barrel out of the slide with the comp mounted, this would help keep it super clean. Any reasons I shouldn't do that?
Is the simple green safe for the Glock polymer frame?
Eric, you offered that you could just blow dry your parts right out of the cleaner. Doesn't that leave a soap residue behind unless you rinse it off first? Just curious!
It depends on your detergent. In my experience, Simple green is pretty clean when it comes to residue.
I would rinse with water afterward. Then I would give it an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) dip and blow dry. I work with ultrasonic cleaners a lot and clean water-sensitive parts and I have found this technique works very well.
@@davidpierce3081 what kind of water sensitive parts?
@Heinz Linge, I work in a chem lab and use a lot of chemicals that react with water. In this circumstance I was thinking more in terms of high carbon steel parts that may be susceptible to oxidation.
Would you mind going a little more in-depth on a secondary. One of my main issues is I have several 22 that are pain in the ass to disassemble fully due to their age and may think about investing one at least for cleaning the receivers
Are these safe for fiber optic or tritium sights?
Can I use this on my suppressor internal titanium parts?
We have two of those Lyman Power Pro's in my shop. One is for cleaning, the other is filled with Kroil for an oil bath. Kroil is a very thin oil that can slip between anything so that's why we use it. Makes it so we don't have to strip guns down to every small piece. Just the basics and we don't have to worry about any rust appearing later on. I've been told no aluminum in the tank but I did a test of leaving an aluminum cleaning rod in the tank for a week and there was nothing visually unusual. Is there any truth to that? The cleaning solution we use is the Lyman stuff for steel and stainless steel. Has no warnings on the jug for aluminum. We will do bolt action rifles too. Makes them look like a new gun once they're done.