ultrasonic brass cleaning

[dunsho]

I ordered an ultrasonic cleaner on an impulse buy. plan is to tell the wife i found a faster way to clean her bling.
anyone use 1 here? any tip, a way to dry without using an oven?

[DucatiRon]

Yep I bought a Hornady one when they first came out. Its ok at best. Don't expect for all your ammo to come clean. Best I can get is about 60% after 2 hrs. I've tried multiple cleaning solutions and concoctions too. Nothing seems to work better just worse. Personally waste of 100 bucks in my case. If you find out that it actually works for you great and let me know how ya did it. As a side note I would rinse my ammo then pop it in a old toaster oven for 15-20 min on 180 and it comes out nice and dry. Grab one at a yard sale for 10 bucks. Plus you can make bagel bites and pizza in your reloading room while ya wait. Makes a nice addition to my mini fridge in my case.

[Scrumpyjack]

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


ULTRASONIC CLEANING — Baney's Best Recipes

My ultimate solution resulted in shiny brass that was 100% devoid of carbon, inside and out. Even the carbon deposits on the neck and the primer pockets were completely removed! My objective had been accomplished! Dirty old black brass came out like new inside and out…I was amazed. Not only did my protocol work well, but it was the least expensive option in the whole test! For "Cheap and Clean," this is the procedure I settled on:
CHEAP and CLEAN
24 minutes - 50% Vinegar + 1 Drop Dish Soap per 8 ounces water
480 seconds - Baking Soda (BS) in water (1 grain BS per ounce of water)
480 seconds - Hot Water
480 seconds - Distilled Water
Total: 48 minutes
Cost: Less than $2.00 per gallon
And for a Super Shiny and FASTER End Result, Add BC Solution
Since the BC solution had worked so well to shine up the cases earlier, I attempted to work it in with the vinegar procedure to streamline it even more and give even better looking brass. So for a couple dollars more, you can have 100% clean cases, which are even shinier than the "Cheap and Clean" procedure above. So this procedure I'll call "Clean and Shiny."

CLEAN and SHINY
24 minutes - 50% Vinegar + 1 Drop Dish Soap per 8 ounces water
380 seconds - Birchwood Casey (BC) Case Cleaner
380 seconds - Hot Water
380 seconds - Distilled Water
Total: 43 minutes
Cost: $2.00 per gallon for the Vinegar and $4.00 per gallon for BC Cleaner.
This "Clean and Shiny" procedure gave me the best combination of carbon removal, case luster, speed, and economy. The "Clean and Shiny" regimen also eliminates the neutralization step, as the BC cleaner acts as a neutralizer. Even though it contains a few acids, they must rinse off more readily than vinegar. Regular household vinegar is 5% acetic acid (2.5% when diluted) and the BC cleaner contains 3 different acids, one of which is phosphoric (the same found in pepsi). It starts at over 50% acid as a concentrate, and a little over 3% when diluted.


Case Care Following Ultrasonic Cleaning
After removing the cases from the final distilled water rinse, I simply blow them out with compressed air and lay them on a paper towel to dry overnight. A hair dryer works well too, especially if you get the air in the case mouth. In the morning you have clean, shiny dry brass ready to size. If you have no air compressor, simply whip them around by hand a few times to force any water drops out of the case mouth. Then lay them on a paper towel to dry overnight.
________________________________________
CONCLUSION--It Was Well Worth the Effort
Though I wasted some money on solutions that performed poorly, I am happy with the results so it was worth it. I never thought I would be able to make dirty, fired brass look like new again!
I've now processed many 308s and some 8X 6.5-284 cases using the "Cheap and Clean" process, and I’m very satisfied with the fact that I can almost see my reflection inside the case! Believe it or not, there was no physical work involved in cleaning the cases, just the right solutions and a bit of time in the Ultrasonic. So, quit wasting your time with vibratory tumblers or manual labor and try my protocol with an ultrasonic unit of your choice.
WARNING: The unit makes a noise that is not real friendly to your ears, so make sure to run it in a place that wont annoy the others in your household. It isn’t loud, just annoying--but no more annoying that a running tumbler!
Ultrasonic Cleaning--How to Get the Best Results
Reader "Gunamonth" has a great deal of experience with ultrasonic cleaning methods, perfecting his skills on small 17-caliber cases that are very difficult to clean with conventional brushing or tumbling. Here are his tips for getting better, faster results from your ultrasonic cleaning sessions.
Gunamonth's Ultrasonic Cleaning Tips
I thought it might be helpful to understand some of the principles involved and maybe how to stay out of trouble. I've noted that some members have observed that their brass comes out "too clean" or has a rough surface when finished. Here are some ways to avoid those potential problems
The Chemistry
Both metals used in brass cases (copper and zinc) are soluble in acetic acid (vinegar). The salts, copper acetate and zinc acetate, are also soluble. Zinc is more soluble than copper so it dissolves faster. In addition a galvanic action occurs that cause copper to be dissolved and then redeposited on the surface at the expense of the zinc.
When you clean brass cases in a vinegar solution you change both the chemical and physical properties of the surface of the case. There have been comments about cases being too clean, primers hard to seat, deposits on mandrels, etc. When you change the surface by dissolving some of it and etching it these things will happen. Whether they happen to the point of being a problem becomes the issue.
This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use acetic acid or that there is anything wrong with Jason's approach. Anything used to clean brass chemically is going to have some effect on the surface and it sure beats trying to get residue out of the flash hole of a 17 Remington with a brush.
Beaker Selection
I suggest you use one beaker and make it the largest you can fit in your ultrasonic unit. This gives more surface area for the tank water to work on and reduces the attenuation the beaker causes. Also, if you're in the market for beakers look for Kimax brand rather than Pyrex. Kimax is about 30% thinner and attenuates the ultrasound less.
How to Achieve Better Results
To minimize the effect on the brass there are some things you can do, most of which attempt to reduce the amount of time the cases spend in the acetic acid:
1. Keep the cleaning solution cool. In other words don't use hot water to mix up the vinegar solution. My ultrasonic tank is in the garage which isn't air conditioned so when I use it in the summer I empty the tank and fill it with cold water.
2. Clean a rather small number of cases at a time. I do about fifteen 17 Remingtons at a time. They're as clean as they're gonna' get in less than four minutes. I've tried as many as 100 at a time and it takes a very long time. Brass is pretty good at absorbing ultrasonic energy and too many cases translates to too little energy per case to clean quickly.
3. Keep the cleaning system "tuned". The unit I have has a tank that is about 5X10X5 inches. I cut a piece of Plexiglas to cover it and cut a hole the size of a 600ml beaker with a fly cutter. I made a collar for the beaker out of plastic foam that fits very snugly so the beaker can be raised or lowered. By adjusting the level of water in the tank, liquid in the beaker and depth of the beaker in the water it can be "tuned" so that the liquid in the beaker appears to boil while the water in the tank is calm. It only takes a few minutes and has a major effect on how long it takes to get them clean.
4. Don't let the beaker touch the any part of the tank, especially the bottom where the transducer is. The idea is to cause the brass to oscillate, not the container.

[ROBOWOP]

DUDE!!!!!!!! Be careful with "the wife's bling"!!!!!!.... I have 2 ultrasonic cleaners.One big one in my bike shop for cleaning carburetors,[I can fit 3 full sets of 4 Jap bike carbs in it..] and a smaller one at my house for stripping paint off model trains and cleaning old gun parts.My buddy used to own a dry cleaners,they use really fine copper screen for filters.Years ago,he gave me a big folded up piece of screen,I wanted to use it for a project,but it was green and nasty.I threw it in Mr. big ultrasound at my shop.It came out beautiful,nice,clean copper.Immagine the look on my face the next day when I put a rack of KZ 1000 carbs in it..AND THEY CAME OUT COPPER PLATED!!!!Don't think wifey would be too happy to have her gold brass plated...Thank god I have a blast cabinet!!!

[DucatiRon]

Well I tried Scrumpyjack's cleaning solution in my ultrasound. I was cheaper than what I currently use but alas did not perform any better. I am beginning to think it my cleaner and not the solution that is in it. Anyone out there that is having sucess with there machines can hand out some specs ?

[Rundownfid]

I bought a cheep ne form Harbor Freight, and it has worked reasonably well. I use the 50% Vinegar solution and baking soda, and rinse, much as outlined above. About all I really like it for is that it cleans the primer pockets and also the inside of the brass. My tumbler does fine on the outside.

I didn't pay much, which is good as that is what I feel I got.

[ROBOWOP]

I'm not so sure that any of the cheap ones like the Harbor Freight machine are actually real ultrasonic cleaners.Mine are medical grade,they're more like microwave ovens full of cleaner than anything.If you really want to try liquid,use the liquid cleaners in a regular vibratory case cleaner..

[dunsho]

i tired it with 50% vinegar then Baking soda, then distill water. 380sec each time. it came out nice but the outside of the case wasn't as clean as with just reg ole walnut.

I didn't decapped my 45acp, so the drying process sucks. i used a blowdryer. I thought it would be fast and easier to go ultrasonic, but i was wrong.

the time really depends on how many cases are in bin. Im gonna try it a few more times, but looks like the tumbler will not be thrown away.

what solution should i use to clean my gun?

[Grumpa72]

I guess I will keep my vibratory cleaner with its 50%/50% mixture of corn cob and walnut! Sounds like you guys are cleaning TOO much and it sure doesn't sound easy.

My work?

step 1 - pour the corn cob/walnut media in the vibratory cleaner
step 2 - pour a bunch of shells in
step 3 - turn it on (steps 1, 2, and 3 take all of 2 minutes)
step 4 - turn it off when clean (around .5 to 1.5 hours)

[dunsho]

.5hr - 1hr doesn't clean my 9 or 45 even unless it's a new media with 1/2 bottle of friltz.