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Posted: 1/4/2016 4:16:14 AM EDT
Got my new sonic cleaner, and wanted to give my AR the once over, whats the best cleaning solution, whether bought or "home brew" and what are the steps that I need to take after it comes out of the hot tub. I feel like I would need to oil it up pretty good after the bath, to keep rust away. 
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Quoted:
Got my new sonic cleaner, and wanted to give my AR the once over, whats the best cleaning solution, whether bought or "home brew" and what are the steps that I need to take after it comes out of the hot tub. I feel like I would need to oil it up pretty good after the bath, to keep rust away. Cleaning solutions |
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My personal experience with ultrasonic:
1. Don't use dish soap and water. Use Simple Green Pro HD (so it's Alu safe). Don't go nuts adding US solution to water, you only need 1 part solution for 4 parts water or so. 2. Remember to degas the solution! 3. After you've run it long enough that it's clean for you, I usually clean everything off with water first to make sure the solution is cleaned out. Then I spray some WD40 liberally to displace the water. Use a rag and/or paper towels to then wipe all the components so they aren't wet with WD40. 4. Lubricate as normal. It's also worth mentioning that you need to use the plastic/metal holder to make sure the cleaner is effective. Avoid letting parts touch. My US cleaner has uneven cleaning power, yours might as well so be sure to shift things around a bit so the dirty parts are in the center of the tank if they aren't getting clean. |
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I tell people to do a "road test" of a cleaner solution by running some scrap pieces of anodized and bare aluminum to see if it will do damage.
Better to find out on some junk then too late. Depending on whether you use a water based or solvent based cleaner you can rinse with hot water under a faucet and sink sprayer, or flush off with cheap paint thinner. In either case, if you have compressed air available blow it out, then you can dry it with a hair dryer (Note: Hair dryer, NOT blow torch, heat gun, or oven) or spray in a water displacer like WD-40. When dry, lubricate with a lubricant that will creep into all spaces, crevices, and holes. Most liquid lubes will creep, a good one is CLP Breakfree. Ultrasonics remove ALL lubricant from ALL areas no matter how small. Other notes: Keep your fingers out of the cleaner when it's running. Ultrasonics and bone marrow don't play well together. This is not instant, it's cumulative. When choosing a solution remember that ultrasonics will remove painted markings eventually with any solution and will do so almost instantly with many solvents. Use a basket or hanging wires to keep parts off the bottom. They clean better. You can pull parts out and brush with solvent proof toothbrushes to speed it up. Warm solutions clean better and faster so let the unit run a bit to warm up and drive out air bubbles. For small parts or to use very flammable solvents like lacquer thinner and still hold the fire hazard down fill the tank with about an inch of water then sit small containers of the solvent in the water. The ultrasonic waves will pass through metal, plastic, or glass containers into the solvent. Ultrasonics itself will not do a good job of cleaning lead or copper from a barrel and don't do great on hard carbon deposits, often even with solutions that will attack them. |
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