Ultrasonic Aluminum Test - With Photo's

[billt]

I conducted this test in an effort to see actual results of what happens to unprotected Aluminum when subjected to Ultrasonic cleaning. The test sample is a piece of T-6 grade Aluminum I got from work, and applied a 500 finish to, then went over it with Happich Simichrome Polish to achieve as smooth of finish as possible. The above photo shows the finished piece before being subjected to any treatments. It's size is approx. 2 1/2" X 1 1/2" X 1/2" thick.



This was after 9-1/2 minutes in warm water with a small amount of Palmolive Dish Soap. There is not much change except for some very light, hard to see speckling.



This was after 21 minutes exposure to the Ultrasonic cleaner. More profound frosting of the metal has occurred, along with some enhanced speckling. The frosting appears to have taken on the circular pattern of the plastic tray it was resting on with multiple speckles occurring at 9, 12, and 3 O'clock positions around it.



This was after a full 30 minutes of Ultrasonic exposure. Much more profound frosting has occurred, along with deeper speckles. This would no doubt effect the finish of an Aluminium framed pistol if it had any degree of polish on it. While this test wasn't very scientific, I would conclude that it would be risky to expose any Aluminum firearm parts to Ultrasonic cleaning. I wish the photos were better, but you can see the Ultrasonic treatment did in fact effect the finish, which is what I was trying to determine. Bill T.

[Rule10b5]

While this test wasn't very scientific...

Yeah, but it's still pretty damned awesome that you did it. Thanks for doing it -- rep headed your way.

[Seventy4Blazer]

Bill from glenndale AZ huh...

ever been on CK5?

where do you work that you have a nice hunk of T6 laying around?!?

great post and thanks for performing the test.
Grant

[normanvin]

Nice post. I have often thought of getting a small sonic cleaner for cleaning guns. I would imagine the question being how long the gun would need to be in the cleaner to be effectively cleaned?

how would reopeated short baths affect the frame?

Have tried this with a piece of steel?

[billt]

This is the unit I purchased. It's not an expensive one, ($80.00), but works well and also heats the water. The unit has no ill effect on steel or brass. It cleans the inside of cartridge brass so well after polishing in ground corn cob you can't tell it from new. I bought it mostly for cleaning carbon encrusted bolt and carrier assemblies in my AR-15's. Also it works well for cleaning the gas piston on my wife's Beretta A-390 Trap gun. We have a lot of Aluminum laying around work for various fixturing projects. This was a small piece I found in the scrap box. I had read on various Internet sites that Aluminum can be damaged by microscopic cavitation of the bubbles generated by the transducer in an Ultrasound cleaning machine, much like it can over time to a Aluminum outboard motor propeller. I have seen similar damage to the inside of automotive water pumps that were made of cast Aluminum. Bill T.

[J8300]

Aluminum rusts. It forms a very thin layer impenetrable to oxygen. This protects the metal. I would guess all you did was keep removing this layer and forced it to keep producing new ones. You should probably just wipe aluminum down to clean it. That frost color is the color of aluminum oxide.

[fultonCoShooter]

Am i missing something OR is this NO WAY RELATED TO PISTOLS?

[Seventy4Blazer]

Am i missing something OR is this NO WAY RELATED TO PISTOLS?

um... i guess it could go in the general forum...

[billt]

That frost color is the color of aluminum oxide

The frosting is actually caused by microscopic cavitation by the Ultrasonic cleaning action itself. This type of cavitation can, and does pit the Aluminum because it is a very soft material, and not very dense. This type of erosion also takes place on Aluminum propellers on outboard motors. I've also seen it inside water pump housings on automotive water pumps. This type of action does not occur with heavier, more dense metals like brass, steel, and the like. I put this thread here because this type of cleaning is gaining in popularity among handgun shooters. Feel free to move it if you feel it would be better served elsewhere. Bill T.

[mauser]

Am i missing something OR is this NO WAY RELATED TO PISTOLS?

I noticed this in the original post:

This was after a full 30 minutes of Ultrasonic exposure. Much more profound frosting has occurred, along with deeper speckles. This would no doubt effect the finish of an Aluminium framed pistol if it had any degree of polish on it. While this test wasn't very scientific, I would conclude that it would be risky to expose any Aluminum firearm parts to Ultrasonic cleaning. I wish the photos were better, but you can see the Ultrasonic treatment did in fact effect the finish, which is what I was trying to determine. Bill T.

Although it may appear to be better suited in a different category/forum, the OP was inspired by a method of cleaning firearms, with pistols being mentioned specifically .