Proper use of Sonic Cleaner

I have. It didn't actually work very well. The pulses/waves/whatever apparently need direct access in order to clean and don't turn corners very well. It's a waste of time, as far as I can tell.

.38 Special said:

I have. It didn't actually work very well. The pulses/waves/whatever apparently need direct access in order to clean and don't turn corners very well. It's a waste of time, as far as I can tell.

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That is interesting as I routinely clean carburetors with one and it seems to work great.

You clean carbs with a water based solvent? What Chemical do you add to the water for cleaning?

I use mine to clean my black powder revolvers. I take off the grips and put the entire gun in the tank. When i take the gun out, I dry it using high pressure air from my compressor, and then a shot or two of "one shot" to protect & lube the innards.

Engineer1911 said:

You clean carbs with a water based solvent? What Chemical do you add to the water for cleaning?

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The carburetor dip solution or water and simple green.

I cleaned carbs for years with extremely hot water and spray Gumout. Doesn't hurt them one bit. Just have to make sure they are dry before using.
I take my revolvers apart as much as I can before putting them in my ultrasonic, semi-autos I just field strip them.
I do not use water on mine, I use my US outside when cleaning guns because I fill it a foil pan with Hoppes and set that in the basket, in the water.
This arrangement takes away a little of the effectiveness of the ultrasonic but the hoppes cleans them up good and don't have to worry about water left in them.
Just have to watch things like the decals of the whitelines around the back pistol sights, Hoppe's will take them off. Let them drip dry and blow them out with compressed air (outside), wipe them dry.
I have a larger and a lot more powerful ultrasonic cleaners than my old original Lyman from about 12 years ago but the principle is the same.

earlthegoat2 said:

That is interesting as I routinely clean carburetors with one and it seems to work great.

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Same. I'm just guessing at the issue, but I'm thinking that the deeper the recess, and the more metal around it, the worse the results.

I have never understood why people feel the need to dump and entire gun in a sonic cleaner or any other bucket of water for general cleaning??

Lets no get into surplus guns or other a gun found in the mud or lost at sea.

Yup, seen some top end folks who handle or advise large agencies say that ultrasonic for whole guns can make things worse. Knocks the stuff off, and into a hard to reach place. Degreases it all, but now you can't re-oil down in the hard to reach areas.

I do only things I can take apart mostly or entirely. Suppressor cores, bolts and bolt carriers. If I do something like a pistol slide (minus optics!), without taking apart the extractor (often pretty hard, I am lazy) I make a point of inspecting for junk, try to orient the last few cleanings to have stuff fall out of the slide, and then scrupulously oil it up as well.

Lower receivers on carbines, frames on pistols, fire control groups on shotguns? Naw. Wouldn't do that and haven't so far at least.

Rule3 said:

I have never understood why people feel the need to dump and entire gun in a sonic cleaner or any other bucket of water for general cleaning??

Lets no get into surplus guns or other a gun found in the mud or lost at sea.

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I routinely soak entire percussion revolvers (and a stainless Vaquero reserved for BP cartridge use) in hot moose milk (50/50 Ballistol and water). I'm not sure there is any method which more thoroughly removes BP fouling.

.38 Special said:

I routinely soak entire percussion revolvers (and a stainless Vaquero reserved for BP cartridge use) in hot moose milk (50/50 Ballistol and water). I'm not sure there is any method which more thoroughly removes BP fouling.

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BP is a different animal. not a CZ 75, so sure in that application.
Guess I should have disclaimed those as well
I sense another gun cleaning thread, and will get the popcorn

I regularly us mi US to clean pistols after a day out, I use Eds Red and run everything through for a couple of cycles while I run a brush through the barrel, then run everything a couple of more cycles and wipe everything off good with a cloth and relube. I've not had any problems doing this but nothing is water based.

I have cleaned trigger groups. Then soak in some alcohol (the good non drinkable stuff) to displace water. Then blow them out with some air. Then fresh lube. Never a whole pistol. Lots of parts. Guns, car, and other things. Even my wedding band.

This is not reloading, more of Hints from Heloise

I use the sonic cleaner to also clean brass when in a hurry. Doesn’t work as well as tumbling, since it doesn’t shine too much. But it does get them clean. So I guess I use mine for lots of double duty.

I like to put all the small parts in a glass mayonnaise jar fill it up with 2 parts solution and one part distilled water. I than fill up the tank with tap water and clean for a couple of hours. With my method I use less solvent solution and afterwards spray heavily with wd-40. The frames gets a hand rub...get your heads out of the gutter.

ms6852 said:

I like to put all the small parts in a glass mayonnaise jar fill it up with 2 parts solution and one part distilled water. I than fill up the tank with tap water and clean for a couple of hours.

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I've done that to. I would put my entire slide in a jar, fill it with Hoppe's and put it in the ultra sonic with the lid loose, so when it heats up the jar doesn't make any pressure inside when the Hoppe's expanded.
The cavitation would transfer right through the jar and make bubbles inside it. I'd pour the Hoppe's back in the original container when done and just keep using it over.
Definitely an outside venture.
I have also used Aerosol brake cleaner, and Hoppe's Aerosol gun cleaner, and hosed the out really well inside, down through the hammer opening.
Then a shot of Rem oil and work the action a few times and I'm set unless it a Ruger and the cylinder tightened up on the pin it spins on.
All three of my Ruger DA revolvers have to be torn down and manually cleaned if this happens, and it happens about every couple hundred rounds.
Irritating.

.38 Special said:

The pulses/waves/whatever apparently need direct access in order to clean and don't turn corners very well.

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Single oscillator or no "sweep" function?

The better Ultrasonic Cleaners modulate their oscillators to address this issue.

Keep in mind whether your cleaning solution will remove all rust inhibiting oils and how long it will be between when you clean vs oil the gun. You might consider using a solution that has a lubricant in it to stay against rust forming in those hard to reach and hard to oil places if putting in a whole assembly.

Ever since I bought my Sharps rifle and found out about ballistol, it is the solution I use with distilled water. Ballistol lubricates as well.

Whole uppers, slides, bolts, FCG’s, etc. I use the purge/sweep feature to ensure penetration, use whichever cleaning solution I favor as appropriate at the time, then I submerge and purge again with alcohol, and finally lube.

It certainly hasn’t been my experience that the parts don’t get cleaned, OR that gunk gets deposited in hard to reach areas (corners/restrictions see the highest wave velocities). However, I have rarely felt that tear down for most models is prohibitively time consuming, leaving assembly submersion as the most effective method - it makes more sense to relatively well disassemble most firearms. Certainly, SOME models are problematic - like a great number of the older Rimfire guns I have cross my bench, I end up submerging the bolts complete, rather than drilling out the staking of some assembly or retaining pins in the striker assembly.

ETA: A person has to be mindful of chemical compatibility as well as contamination. I use foil pans or better still, Pyrex bowls/beakers to avoid contact with my reservoir. I don’t keep a dedicated “parts washer” any more, so my ultrasonic baths are “contaminated” with brass. Very simple to chemically deposit brass/copper onto steel/aluminum gun parts. It’s very easy also to ruin certain finishes with certain cleaning chemicals - solutions or solvents - so a person has to understand a bit of chemistry before taking the plunge.

gifbohane said:

Do any of you just field strip and dump the entire pistol in the cleaner?

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Haven’t quite tried that yet but have immersed slides, etc. I use Lucas Bore Solvent and Ultrasonic cleaner, it’s a CLP and blow off excess when done. You don’t have the left over water/rust issue. It’s expensive so I use a zip-loc bag, with the cleaner and parts, and water in the rest of the bath. I do reuse the cleaner and change when I feel like it.