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Ultrasonic GUN Cleaning - A Simple Cleaning Solution

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JonnyG

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So, I've been using my Ultrasonic Cleaner for a few months to clean my brass for reloading; but didn't really think about using it for cleaning my handguns, until yesterday.

I did some research online and found that there were very few articles on cleaning firearms with Ultrasonic without using expensive and hard to find toxic chemicals. Even the "homebrew" stuff (Ed's Red) seems a little more than required when cleaning a normal firearm in an Ultrasonic cleaner.

So I decided to write my own little article about my experience cleaning a recently acquired (used) P239 with stuff I had around the house.

I wrote it today while at work, so its not by an means a final draft, but I wanted to share with NES before linking it to Google or some other forum.
It's a work in progress, so please feel free to comment and make suggestions.

Ultrasonic GUN Cleaning - A Simple Cleaning Solution
 
Nice article! +1 for you. I've been considering the possibility of using this method for several non-firearm items I have, and thinking I should buy a unit large enough to hold a full-sized pistol or something even larger.

Couple of things to note...

When you're using ultrasonic cleaners w/ flammable fluids, KEEP THEM EXTREMELY WELL VENTILATED, and away from ALL ignition sources. Seriously. Ideally, don't even do it inside.

Several formulas I've seen online for Hoppes have included an ammonia compound as the primary copper remover. I've also seen several tests done with high strength ammonia which prove to me that ammonia can and does rust steel parts, given time and exposure. With this setup, more time is better - as you said. I would definitely use it with something w/o the ammonia component (like Ed's Red), but I would hesitate to use it with something like Hoppes w/o first tossing in a couple of pieces of crap steel and leaving them in for an extended soak.

Good stuff!
 
Good write up.

Few comments from me:
1) Brushing off the big stuff first will help speed things up and keep your fluid cleaner.
2) The US gets the dirt into solution, but it doesn't move the fluid around, so you'll want to rinse out the mechanisms with clean fluids
3) Small trapped assemblies like firing pin cavities will not get clean really if left assembled. The crud will come out into solution, and then coagulate back on those surfaces unless you rinse them out.

MetalgodZ said:
When you're using ultrasonic cleaners w/ flammable fluids, KEEP THEM EXTREMELY WELL VENTILATED, and away from ALL ignition sources. Seriously. Ideally, don't even do it inside.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! You are putting energy into the fluid and it will evaporate faster than you are used to (see those little droplets dancing over the liquid surfaces?) Also, you are exposing more surface are than normal, so there is yet again more fluid put in the air.

Most US cleaners are not rated for flammable liquids. If you have a spill the electronics can spark and start a fire. Please be careful. The ignition source can be the US cleaner itself.

Soapy water can work real well too, just don't use a detergent that will attack the metal (like Alconox glass cleaner, my personal favorite for US cleaning of SST, it will eat aluminum, especially with heat). Then rinse with clean water and lube as appropriate.

I'm probably the only one here that starts cleaning thier guns by rinsing under hot soapy water though... [laugh]
 
Arioch said:
Is that big enough to take a full size pistol?
Click to expand...

The cleaner used by the OP was 1.4 liters. The one from Harbor Freight is 2.5 liters. I haven't seen it in person, but I'd assume it would work based on the capacity.
 
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Arioch said:
ochmude said:
Very intersting. I might have to consider trying that. I found a very affordable cleaner at Harbor Freight, too.

Ultrasonic Cleaner
Click to expand...
Is that big enough to take a full size pistol?
Click to expand...
The one listed there is 2.5L, the one I have is 1.5L, it should be big enough for a full size pistol to lay flat in; but you'd have to measure the inner diameter of the basin and, of course, would depend on the size of the firearm.
 
Great article.

I'm spoiled because my office has tons of sonics in house. In a corner of the building, we have a watchmaker's area and some nice big sonics with a special super solvent. Specifically designed to clean jewelry, it works wonders on almost anything.

While I don't sonic every range trip, I do like to give my babies a bath every now and again.
 
MetalgodZ said:
When you're using ultrasonic cleaners w/ flammable fluids, KEEP THEM EXTREMELY WELL VENTILATED, and away from ALL ignition sources. Seriously. Ideally, don't even do it inside.

Several formulas I've seen online for Hoppes have included an ammonia compound as the primary copper remover. I've also seen several tests done with high strength ammonia which prove to me that ammonia can and does rust steel parts, given time and exposure.
Click to expand...
First, Excellent point about ventilation (I'll add some words about that, thx!).
Second, I did NOT know that about Hoppe's#9. Glad I didnt leave the frame in for long. I'll have to find another walmart-able cleaning solution that isnt flamable. :-\ (or go with soap&water, but I'm not really keen on the idea of possible rusting.)
 
Matt - good info that I neglected on the UC being a possible ignition source.
JonnyG said:
First, Excellent point about ventilation (I'll add some words about that, thx!).
Second, I did NOT know that about Hoppe's#9. Glad I didnt leave the frame in for long. I'll have to find another walmart-able cleaning solution that isnt flamable. :-\ (or go with soap&water, but I'm not really keen on the idea of possible rusting.)
Click to expand...
I don't even know for sure that the current formula uses an ammonia compound, but I found the information for the ORIGINAL Hoppes #9 when searching the Ed's Red recipe & variations. I can get ahold of a couple of steel scraps if you'd like to test. If you're interested, shoot me a PM.

If you add a bit of industrial strength ammonia to a small amount of Ed's Red, it should nicely solve the copper. A final cleaning with some clean ammonia-free ER should get any remaining ammonia.

The test I saw (will provide link if I can find it again) showed some rusting when soaking a grade of steel similar to a gun barrel, but IIRC it took ~45 min min of soaking in normal houshold ammonia, down to 15 min or so with pure industrial strength stuff. I doubt that it would cause rust in a one-time ultrasonic soak, but I suspect it could cause corrosion over time.

There's an ammonia-free copper solvent that might work well in an ultrasonic cleaner at that same link, but unfortunately my browser was set in private browse mode, so I'll need to actually find it again instead of digging through the history.

Another thing mentioned at the site is that you can use something like Dawn for cutting the grease, but be very careful about using it at high concentrations, since it can ruin finish and corrode steel.

The HF cleaner is deeper than it looks, which is where all the capacity is. It'd fit a compact, but I'm not sure it'd fit a full-sized pistol. Sorry Jim, your S&W 500 is just too big. [laugh]
 
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JonnyG said:
First, Excellent point about ventilation (I'll add some words about that, thx!).
Second, I did NOT know that about Hoppe's#9. Glad I didnt leave the frame in for long. I'll have to find another walmart-able cleaning solution that isnt flamable. :-\ (or go with soap&water, but I'm not really keen on the idea of possible rusting.)
Click to expand...

I do some shooting with black powder. Basic cleaning for black powder is soap and water. As long as you rinse and dry the firearm off properly and apply something like breakfree you should not have a rust problem.
Make sure the pistola is dry ( I used a hair dryer once but that was on a bad hair day ).
 
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The cleaning coverage of ultrasonics is unbeatable. I too have sonics at work and they are a great tool. We have some with nasty solvents for circuit board cleaning, but we also have a few with a diluted Simple Green solution that is heated. I have cleaned everything from a motorcycle carburetor to gun parts all with great success.

Getting everything dry and well lubed is a must.
 
I have a question about using ultrasonics to clean a gun.

Shouldn't you totally disassemble the gun to be sure that there is no long term damage to parts? The damage I'm talking about is the small parts vibrating against each other by the ultrasonic waves.

I don't remember where I heard this, or if it's a myth or not, but I seem to remember someone telling me not to clean ball bearings in an ultrasonic cleaner as the ultrasonic waves will cause damage to the races (and or the balls) due to a similar action.

If the parts are totally disassembled, and not touching each other in the ultrasonic, then there could be no problem, but just tossing a gun in the solution semi-assembled (or is that semi-disassembled?) could cause issue?

I could this be a possible problem for guns too or am I just too paranoid? Maybe there are no small, delicate tolerances to worry about in a gun?
 
R1ch said:
I have a question about using ultrasonics to clean a gun.

Shouldn't you totally disassemble the gun to be sure that there is no long term damage to parts? The damage I'm talking about is the small parts vibrating against each other by the ultrasonic waves.

I don't remember where I heard this, or if it's a myth or not, but I seem to remember someone telling me not to clean ball bearings in an ultrasonic cleaner as the ultrasonic waves will cause damage to the races (and or the balls) due to a similar action.

If the parts are totally disassembled, and not touching each other in the ultrasonic, then there could be no problem, but just tossing a gun in the solution semi-assembled (or is that semi-disassembled?) could cause issue?

I could this be a possible problem for guns too or am I just too paranoid? Maybe there are no small, delicate tolerances to worry about in a gun?
Click to expand...

Ultrasonic waves can cause things to rub against each other and wear them out. Anything that can be disassembled should be. Nothing should ever be touching anything else and also nothing should ever be touching the walls or floor of the cleaner.

Mind you... with brass it's not such a big deal.... but you would never want to put the sear of the gun you use to protect your life in an ultrasonic without making sure it is protected.
 
I've been using one for a little over a year, and I love it. It's a fairly large one (I think 2-qt), and it's heated. I can fit a full-size pistol comfortably. The slide and frame sit next to each other in the basket. It sits on the end of workbench, and when I'm cleaning firearms, something usually goes in. With the AR, the BCG always goes in, and the M261 .22LR conversion unit always goes straight in. I use Simple Green in it for a number of reasons: 1) it's cheap, and cleans well; 2) it doesn't stink up the house; 3) it won't burn down the house; and 4) I can dispose of it easily without creating a toxic waste dump. As far as the water displacement/rust issue, I use compressed air (canned or compressed) to blow off the part(s), and then hit it with a heat gun to drive out any residual moisture. Then lube as normal.

And, yes, it does get the front of the cylinder nice and clean.

My biggest "hassle" is remembering to change the liquid frequently, as it looks clean, but then when you dump it out, you're saying, "Oh, crap, look at all that gunk in there.
 
Snapshot said:
Ultrasonic waves can cause things to rub against each other and wear them out. Anything that can be disassembled should be. Nothing should ever be touching anything else and also nothing should ever be touching the walls or floor of the cleaner.

Mind you... with brass it's not such a big deal.... but you would never want to put the sear of the gun you use to protect your life in an ultrasonic without making sure it is protected.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking... plus any part which rotates on a pin or other bearing surface.
 
Just wanted to let every know that I've received some Excellent feedback and will be updating the article this week with more information, disclaimers, warnings and some more pics with setup and cleanup.

Thanks to everyone who's given such excellent feedback and information.
 
STRIKER-MA said:
The cleaning coverage of ultrasonics is unbeatable. I too have sonics at work and they are a great tool. We have some with nasty solvents for circuit board cleaning, but we also have a few with a diluted Simple Green solution that is heated. I have cleaned everything from a motorcycle carburetor to gun parts all with great success.

Getting everything dry and well lubed is a must.
Click to expand...

Snapshot said:
Ultrasonic waves can cause things to rub against each other and wear them out. Anything that can be disassembled should be. Nothing should ever be touching anything else and also nothing should ever be touching the walls or floor of the cleaner.

Mind you... with brass it's not such a big deal.... but you would never want to put the sear of the gun you use to protect your life in an ultrasonic without making sure it is protected.
Click to expand...

just figured i would bump this thread instead of creating another...i was wondering about this method of cleaning...i have the harbor freight 2.5L ultrasonic that i have been using to clean old tools and carburetors for a few years now...i also use simple green and water with the heat on since it doesn't harm the rubber gaskets in the carbs...usually just pull the carb bowls, drop everything in, run through a few cycles and then rinse the parts in clean water and then dry with a hair dryer...if i ever need to do a really good clean on my handguns i think i'm going to use this method and just relube
 
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Bumping this thread again. Unfortunately the link in the original post is not available any more.
I'm interested very much in what cleaning solution people use in their ultrasonic cleaners.

The research on the web brings some controversial info. A lot of people use Simple Green. Although some complain that it might add to parts corrosion. Then a lot of people swear by Simple Green Pro HD that is purple in color and per say not corrosive.

I recognize that after the cleaning, the parts/firearms are completely degreased and require immediate drying and good lubrication. Some gunsmith shops use specially formulated ultrasonic lubricating solutions like, for example, this:
https://www.brownells.com/gun-clean...trasonic-cleaning-solution-oil-prod26398.aspx

Please share your experience and recipes.
 
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Simple Green Pro HD

Followed by WD(water displacement)40
Followed by proper clean up wipe down and lubrication
 
MizzleDiscipline, do you just spray parts with WD40 to displace the water? I intent to UC large receivers like MP5 and larger. For that purpose I got a reasonably large UC (30 liters tank). I'd love to put the whole receiver in water displacement / lubrication solution, but it might be impractical with large parts.
 
Lately, I've been using a mixture recommended by a guy I follow on YouTube: 3 parts mineral spirits to 1 part WD40. I find it cleans surprisingly well, and then I just blow off the excess with compressed air and lube normally.
 
JackO said:
MizzleDiscipline, do you just spray parts with WD40 to displace the water? I intent to UC large receivers like MP5 and larger. For that purpose I got a reasonably large UC (30 liters tank). I'd love to put the whole receiver in water displacement / lubrication solution, but it might be impractical with large parts.
Click to expand...


I spray it down liberally dowsing every nook and cranny and let it drip off for a while. Then wipe it down with cloth and qtips and then apply lubrication of choice. I have been using CherryBalmz grease.

The UC I use is heated and it helps to drive off the water quickly.
 
Point37 said:
Guide says to remove grips...does ultrasonic cleaning harm plastic?...I’ve been cleaning carburetors for years with my Harbor freight ultrasonic...rubber gaskets and all...using regular simple green...haven’t cleaned a gun with it yet though but I am considering it to save a little time
Click to expand...


I have cleaned grips without problems. Plastic not wood. Simple Green presents a problem as I believe it is associated with hydrogen embrittlement. The Professional isn't. Google is your friend.

Just did an old Lee Enfield receiver cleaned up very nicely to the rust. Then I boiled it to turn the rust to bluing. A little lubricant and the finish looks original and more than 90%.
 

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