UltraSonic cleaning solution alternative?

[codefour]

I have been using the Lyman UstraSonic case cleaning and gun cleaning solution in my US cleaner. The stuff is not that expensive, but I know there has to be a cheaper and more accesible alternative. I do not want to wait for it to come via UPS etc from MidwayUSA.

Have any of THR inmates found a viable, cheap alternative? I heard Lemi-Shine works but how much? Do you guys use distilled water? No. California tap water is not bad on the ph scale either.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Blue68f100]

I use HOT (>150F) Citric Acid, 1tbs/qt. then add a touch of dish soap. It's harder to find than LemiShine. From what I have been able to find out is that LemiShine is ~25% citric acid with other ingredients.

 

[Hurey03]

How do you guys like those ultra sonic cleaners as compared to using corn or walnut media?

 

[Toml]

I use a dollop of any car wash and wax liquid I have on hand.

 

[CMV]

I use plain tap water. Enough to fill the US cleaner to the right level - maybe 50-60 oz. A small squirt of regular Dawn dish soap - about 6-8 drops. Just a pinch of Lemishine - if some is good, more is better does not apply in this case. Too acidic & the brass will turn pinkish but adding none & the cases won't get as clean. You'll have to experiment to see how much a "pinch" is for you. I noticed that Speer and annealed military brass don't tolerate the higher concentrations of acid as well. Some others will take 2x as much Lemishine and not change color.

I run 3 8-min cycles and stir everything around between cycles (if stirring does anything beneficial I don't know).

Then I just rinse in plain tap water.

Others use distilled water and do another cycle with a baking soda solution to neutralize the acid. I don't and the brass will dull/darken a little pretty quickly afterward, but I tumble in walnut/car polish too so that takes care of it. If all you're doing is US cleaning, you will want to include the neutralizing step and maybe do the final rinse in something other than tap water depending on the mineral content & pH of yours.

So why bother when you can just tumble and get better looking cases? The US cleaner does a great job on the primer pockets. Other than to remove a crimp, I don't touch them. The US cleaner also cleans the inside of the case just about as well as it does the outside. Again, if there is any benefit to that, I don't know, but may as well.

What you DON'T want to use in your US cleaner is a lot of the jewelry cleaner made for US cleaners. At least not before checking to see if it has ammonia (many do & a lot don't say what's in them).

You can experiment around to find other things that work, but why reinvent the wheel? Water, some type of soap, and some type of acid is what you need. The Dawn & Lemishine is proven & lots of people use it with good results.

Also - don't put your wife's pearls or soft gemstones (like onyx) in the US cleaner even with jewelry cleaner - it will destroy them.

 

[blarby]

2 parts water
1 part white vinegar
1 splash of dishsoap

3 cycles, heated

Make sure and do your neutralizing step on any acidic solution exposed brass.

2 tbl of baking soda in 64 ounces of water is more than sufficient to neutralize residual acids after a rinse. Run it for one cycle, cold.

Important note : : Neutralizing is not simply a cosmetic step. Prolonged exposure to even mild acids will erode metals. Given that residual fluids rest in the worst possible places to induce stress in a cartridge, its highly recommended that you prevent this from occurring.

 

[ranger335v]

"How do you guys like those ultra sonic cleaners as compared to using corn or walnut media?"

You mean with a vib tumbler? I have a ultrasonic and two tumblers. I tested the US for cases but quickly realized it is much to messy, slow and labor intensive for many cases so I use the tumblers for that.

Vinegar is such a weak acid we eat the stuff in salad dressings, pickles, etc. What won't hurt us sure won't hurt metal cases, not unless we soak them for a few weeks anyway.

 

[blarby]

Coca-cola is a really weak acid too..... doesn't take it long to make short work of certain materials. Even when its flat....

That funny discoloration on the brass from acids isn't fluff....its a byproduct of corrosion.

Sure, its probably not going to cause a case failure.... but why press your luck when the "solution" is so simple.

 

[CMV]

How does all this harmful acid remain after a couple rinses in water?

I have a bunch of .223 sitting here that were done a few months ago. They look pretty much like IMI or LC M193 brass when you take it out of the box. Not bright & shiny like commercial brass, but not horrible either. Just a little duller & darker than if they were done in a tumbler with some polish and left for the same amount of time.

They're not green, black, pitted, corroded, or wasting away from only rinsing in tap water vs water + baking soda.

 

[tnek13]

Ultra Sonic cleaners work, it didn't replace my tumbler because I still like shiny brass, but it works, especially for the inside of the case. Citric Acid is used in canning, I find it at bulk food stores. You can also find it at health food stores but it is very pricy when they put it in little jars. Blue68f100 covered a good formula and CMV covered the process. Watch out though, they are addictive - clean cases that is.

 

[edwin41]

hello
i use plain tapwater , and add some vinager and some windowcleaner in my ultrasonic cleaner.
works great for me ! the cases are shining in and outside , even the primerpocket is very clean.
i rinse them off with some hot water after the ultrasonic.

 

[ChefJeff1]

I love my lyman sonic cleaner. I use lemishine, hot water, and some dawn. A squirt of soap, a sprinkle of lemishine. You can find citric acid on ebay for not much $$$.
When I'm done cleaning the brass, I rinse a few times and then add some baking soda to the water and swish that a few times and rinse again.

The brass comes out clean but not totally shiny and polished. If I wanted to shine and polish it, I would invest in the stainless media program. I like the ultrasonic because it's fast and doesn't make dust, and I can do small amounts of brass if i want.

 

[codefour]

Thanks for all the replies.. I am going to try the Lemishine first and citric acid once I locate some.

If lemishine is acidic and dish soap is a base, wouldn't using both together cause them to neutralize eachother?

 

[snuffy]

I tend to do the KISS method. I like to be able to grab something off a shelf that's been tested and mixed before hand by people smarter than I am. I DON'T want to look like a mad scientist mixing chemicals that MAY work.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/711474/hornady-one-shot-sonic-clean-ultrasonic-case-cleaning-solution-32-oz-liquid

The one-shot works real well in my US cleaner, it's simple to mix, very concentrated, and can be re-used for a long time.

Modern detergent is not alkaline based like real soap is. So it will co-exist with the citric acid. While I'm NOT a chemist, that's my understanding.

For gun parts, I've used this stuff;

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/311703/shooters-choice-aqua-clean-firearm-action-cleaner-degreaser-gallon-liquid

It's quite expensive, and not as concentrated, BUT it flat out works! It's basically a very strong soap. If you get some on your hands, it washes off with water, but you'll never have such clean hands again. It too will clean a lot of guns. Plop a 1911 slide and frame in some, you'll end up with a bunch of crud on the bottom of the US cleaner and a very clean dry gun. So clean that if not oiled real well immediately, it will rust.

 

[stxhunter]

I was experimenting with lemi-shine this past weekend (found it at walmart in the dish soap area). I added about 2tbsp and ran the cleaner with the heater on for 24 minutes. I then ran regular water for 16 minutes then another cycle with RO water for 16 minutes. I was pretty happy with the results and will be using this in the future.

I've also read where someone checked the pH of a vinegar solution and used pool chemicals to match the pH. I haven't tried this yet, but I am curious. From what I read only a small amount of the "pH down" chemical was needed to get a pH of around 4 and it's relatively inexpensive when compared to other chemicals.

The hornady stuff has me intrigued as well, so I may try that next. Do you reuse the solution or dilute it with water?

 

[popper]

Been using the US for a year now on everything. Lemishine and laundry liquid, hot water. Same cases (rifle and pistol) for more than 6 reloads, no problem. Gets the rifle PP clean. My water is so alkaline I don't bother to neutralize. sun dried or toaster oven dried. I think I've used 1/2 of the lemishine bottle, I add some every couple of runs when the sediment starts to collect on the bottom of the pan. Cool-Aid is supposedly citric acid and less $$.

 

[Blue68f100]

Codefore, The best price for Citric acid is online, $2/lb. If your luck enough to find some local you may spend $6-$8 for 4 oz from a vitamin/organic food store. If you have a Feed Store near by they may have it under a different name, used in canning. Citric Acid solution has been used for years to keep bugs off freshly skinned animals/meat.....

 

[Dnaltrop]

I've been using this fellow's cheap method, cleans it well, and I get enough shine afterward giving everything a few twists in a paper towel for any final residues.

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

50/50 vinegar/hot water , baking soda solution, hot water, distilled..(or more hot in my case.. soft water here)

Biggest draw for me is the lack of any lead-bearing media dust in the air.

 

[MrBorland]

Ultra Sonic cleaners work, it didn't replace my tumbler because I still like shiny brass,

Tumbled brass is shiny, but not necessarily clean, as the original crud is replaced with media residue that ends up in my gun. Cup "B" below contains US cleaning solution taken from brass that had been previously tumbled, while cup "A" contains solution from previously US-cleaned brass.



I prefer US myself, but if loading a whole lot of ammo, I'd just throw the cases in the tumbler.

AS to the OP, I use citric acid, and a few drops of Dawn in warm water. Works ok, but the Hornady solution works better, IMO.

 

[CMV]

@stxhunter - you didn't say how much of a batch you made, but if you added 2 tbsp to enough water to fill the US cleaner, that's a lot. Even for a gallon or two of water that's a lot.

 

[quartermaster]

I use a product called Citronox which I purchased from Amazon. I think a gallon cost me around $40.00. It's mixed with 50 parts water, 1 part Citronox, so it goes a long way. What I like about it is there is nothing else to mix and it rinses off very easily in warm tap water. I've tried a bunch of home made concoctions and the Hornady cleaner. My results with these were too much work or not adequate cleaning

I use the ultrasonic because I use a bunch of different lubes that would definately contaminate primers and powder during my case prep. The unit removes all and cleans cases nice. I will admit that I still do tumble with corncob after just to shine them up a bit.

Hey, if they don't shoot good, at least they will look good!!!!!