Ultra sound cleaning

[BMG50]

Has any one used ultra sound cleaning for brass and aluminium or mazak. I Have seen what it does to brass fuzes, a friend of mine goes diving and when he finds any brass fuzes he uses ultra sound to clean them with fantastic results. He also cleans carburetors on motor bikes that come up like new, so i am wondering if anyone has used this method of cleaning.

 

[John77]

I Use it sometimes. But you need the right combo/mixture of cleaning solvent to make it work perfectly. Also the cheap cleaners (200 or less) don't work very good is my experience.

 

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Any chance of seeing some before and after images. What does the equipment look like, expensive?
John

 

[V40]

When I worked in the SO (Sheriff's Office), the armorers would use it for our sidearms, shotguns, and are other hand guns that we owned. It was for free and it was well worth the time to have it done by this method. According to our Chief Armorer he would use a detergeant and water to clean them up. A very low concentration of soap or some other chemical I didn't know. There was only one time that I had to go over my duty weapon to get to some parts that were only slightly greasey. So I know what it does to Stainless steel, Blued, and Parkerized. I do not really know what it does to Brass however. Hope this helps a little.

 

[Slick]

I recently purchased a small ultrasonic cleaner. Had used an "industrial" one, once, for gun cleaning. No clue what was in the water. Some type of soap. The cleaner that came with the new kit is labeled as gem & jewelry cleaner.
The dilution ratio is dependent on what level of cleaning is desired. I tried it out on coins and brass hulls. Results were mixed, but OK. There are other cleaning agents for different materials. My little cleaner holds about a dozen .30 cal sized hulls. Kinda small, but works for my needs. It did not do all that much polishing, that I could tell. A case tumbler has proven to provide the desired luster on many pieces. I use the rouge media, for the brightest shine, although it does not remove any stains in the metal.

 

[Gspragge]

Untrosonic

I use them where I work to clean medical instruments that are difficult to clean in the washers, also clock repair people use them to clean parts. They will remove microscopic dirt etc but not stains. I expect they would be a great way to clean disassembled fuzes and other intricate items. Not I think a method for painted items or anything that can't take some heat as they run hot ours do at any rate, but some items are plastic so most ordnance items should be alright to be cleaned in them. Pre washing would give a better result on something with visible dirt or grease.

In an ultrasonic cleaner, the object to be cleaned is placed in a chamber containing a suitable solution (in an aqueous or organic solution, depending on the application). In aqueous cleaners, the chemical added is a surfactantwhich breaks down the surface tension of the water base. An ultrasound generating transducer built into the chamber, or lowered into the fluid, produces ultrasonic waves in the fluid by changing size in concert with an electrical signal oscillating at ultrasonic frequency. This creates compression waves in the liquid of the tank which ‘tear’ the liquid apart, leaving behind many millions of microscopic ‘voids’ or ‘partial vacuum bubbles’ (cavitation). These bubbles collapse with enormous energy; temperatures and pressures on the order of 5,000 K and 20,000 lbs per square inch are achieved however, they are so small that they do no more than clean and remove surface dirt and contaminants. The higher the frequency, the smaller the nodes between the cavitation points, which allows for cleaning of more intricate detail.

​

 

[BMG50]

Got the title wrong, i should have meant ultrasonic. The results i have seen on these WW1 shell fuzes were quite outstanding and very impressive, i don't think anyone could have restored these fuzes any better seeing that they were underwater for 90 years. There was one exception in that the the salt water did stain the brass by leaching out the zinc content in some areas of the brass by the sea water, as you would expect on sea water brass artifacts. I believe that all the brass springs etc and finer detail was left intact on the fuze, something other cleaning methods could have not done. I did see some fuze heads done the same way at the War and Peace show, they looked mint as if they came out of the factory but obviously done with ultrasonic cleaning. i wonder if anyone bought these who are a member of this forum.
I think that a combination of the right fluid and a more industrial machine would make this possible but i am not sure. I will try and find more details of the fluid and machine that was used. I did also try to buy one of the fuze heads from my friend but may push him a bit more, failing that i will try and get some pictures butt if anyone has pictures of the results from such equipment, show them.

 

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Hi,
The reason I asked my question is that I was wondering if the ultra sonic cleaning could be used in conjunction with Oil of Wintergreen to clean the threads of Civil War fuzes and thus make them easier to unscrew. Oil of Wintergreen can get into tight places where regular penetrating oil cannot.
Best Regards,
John

 

[Gspragge]

I would think that if you cleaned with the ultrasonic first the oil would have a much better chance at getting in

 

[BMG50]

I take it that these Civil war fuzes are made of brass, if so this would most probaly work as the shell fuze i examined had all the parts you would not normaly find on a fuze that one would find at a collectors fair etc, this example could be stripped down as well. which normaly would be a bugger to take apart.

 

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

The projectiles are made of cast irom and brass percussion fuzes for the most part. The fuze body is normally closed with a threaded anvil cap.
Regards,
John

 

[glevum]

I've used an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning carburettors and other items.

I put the bits to be cleaned in a plastic milk bottle full of white spirit. I hang the plastic bottle in the tank so it does not touch the sides of the tank.

I then fill the tank with water up to the fill line.

I have had excellent results using the heater in addition to the ultrasonic.

I find I need to top up the water in the tank when the heated cycle is running.

You do not want to run the unit with parts touching the sides of the tank.

 

[Gspragge]

Get a stainless steel wire basket to put things in , a mesh size that won't let your bits fall through, that is what we use.

 

[BMG50]

I've used an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning carburettors and other items.

I put the bits to be cleaned in a plastic milk bottle full of white spirit. I hang the plastic bottle in the tank so it does not touch the sides of the tank.

I then fill the tank with water up to the fill line.

I have had excellent results using the heater in addition to the ultrasonic.

I find I need to top up the water in the tank when the heated cycle is running.

You do not want to run the unit with parts touching the sides of the tank.

Do you have any pictures of your cleaned carburettors before and after using ultrasonic. You don't happen to have the make and model number of your machine, do you?