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Firearms Accessories: Holsters, Safes, Lights & more If it locks up, carries, fits on to or cleans up your firearms, discuss it here.

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  #1  
Old 11-11-2018, 11:16 AM
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Arrow Ultrasonic gun cleaners

This is directed to those with the experience with them. Do they work well. I've read threads over the years from members who have stated they enjoy cleaning their firearms. I'm not one of those and don't understand how anyone could enjoy messing with that mess. The chemical odor (s) and the time involved are things I'd rather not have to deal with.

I went to the Zombie shoot last weekend and because I went with my son and 5 of my grandsons, I brought a large amount (large to me, I know some of you have collections that fill 4 or more safes) of long guns and handguns. It isn't practical to have my son help me as he lives about an hour away and is very busy. Having my grandsons help would involve me probably having to go over their work to suit my standards in cleaning. I could probably do it faster myself. Due to my chronic back pain, I can only clean about 2-3 at one time and I'm done for a few days. So, if the Ultrasonic cleaners actually work, without costing an arm and a leg, I would go that route. As a matter of fact, my eldest daughter said it could be a Christmas gift, so I need info. Thanks.
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Old 11-11-2018, 1:56 PM
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Tagged! Interested in hearing responses as I know NOTHING about sonic cleaners.

Also, is there any risk to any parts? Like what about a slide with a set of night sights on it? Can that be cleaned safely?
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Old 11-11-2018, 7:51 PM
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I used one a local gunsmith has in his shop. He told me I could use it anytime free of charge. After about three uses I bought my own. The gunsmith had one made by Hornady that can clean a log gun thats taken apart. I bought a used Hornady from these forums that only fits a field stripped handgun (remove the grips too). Mine isn't sold any more by Hornady.

They work like a champ! Takes about 45 minutes to heat the solution up. Start the cleaner and about 30 minutes your done. It strips ALL lubricants off. I mean EVERYTHING. I then use a heat gun to finish drying it off (my air compressor died). You will have to lubricate the entire gun. Mine has a stainless steel basket and I'm careful not to scratch up the parts getting cleaned. Not sure about the night sights.

I'm cheap so I use the Simple Green that comes in a purple bottle. Its supposed to be safe for aircraft skins (thats what I was told). I got it at Home Depot.

My only regret is the unit I got is a too small for my handgun cleaning needs. I thought it would be enough, but it's a little too small.

Last edited by oddjob; 11-11-2018 at 7:53 PM..
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Old 11-11-2018, 8:02 PM
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Tagged for more info.
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Old 11-12-2018, 6:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oddjob View Post
I used one a local gunsmith has in his shop. He told me I could use it anytime free of charge. After about three uses I bought my own. The gunsmith had one made by Hornady that can clean a log gun thats taken apart. I bought a used Hornady from these forums that only fits a field stripped handgun (remove the grips too). Mine isn't sold any more by Hornady.

They work like a champ! Takes about 45 minutes to heat the solution up. Start the cleaner and about 30 minutes your done. It strips ALL lubricants off. I mean EVERYTHING. I then use a heat gun to finish drying it off (my air compressor died). You will have to lubricate the entire gun. Mine has a stainless steel basket and I'm careful not to scratch up the parts getting cleaned. Not sure about the night sights.

I'm cheap so I use the Simple Green that comes in a purple bottle. Its supposed to be safe for aircraft skins (thats what I was told). I got it at Home Depot.

My only regret is the unit I got is a too small for my handgun cleaning needs. I thought it would be enough, but it's a little too small.
Is it safe for aluminum parts? How about Cerakote?

Looking for one too. Maybe during one of the Black Friday sales if the planets align...
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Old 11-12-2018, 12:01 PM
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Not sure about Cerakote. The gunsmith said its ok for aluminum (aircraft skins), but I have only used it on steel.

I think the key is the solution you use.
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Old 11-12-2018, 12:40 PM
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I bought a small one at Harbor Freight. Works well with pistols and AR bolts, etc.

A long gun sized one costs a lot of money.
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Old 11-12-2018, 12:50 PM
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It's interesting. I saw a youtube video showing it to be safe with cerakote (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivdHO2WTs8s)

I saw this statement regarding it's use with aluminum: :"of cleaning fluids for a particular application. Aluminum and brass require the use of cleaning fluids which are specifically formulated for these metals to prevent darkening or oxidation of the part surface." ( reference http://www.zenith-ultrasonics.com/cl...tive_items.htm)

hope that helps
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Old 11-12-2018, 12:52 PM
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I also have the harbor frieight one and it is great. I use the purple simple green that is aluminum safe and toss in barrels, bcg, ak bolts and it cuts down cleaning time immensely. Highly recommend
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Old 11-12-2018, 1:24 PM
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Ultrasonic cleaning is safe for virtually every material. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on just about anything.

HOWEVER....keep in mind it's not the ultrasonic vibrations that cause problems, it's the liquid you put in the cleaner. You can put just about anything in the cleaner. Water, alcohol, acetone, soap, solvents of just about any type, etc. Those are the things you have to be careful of. Many solvents will eat plastics and adhesives.

Re the night sight question: I wouldn't clean them in an ultrasonic cleaner because I believe that adhesives are used to hold the light producing vial or whatever you call it in the sight and there's no telling what adhesive was used and how it might be affected by a cleaner, solvent or even water.

If it's a single part with nothing bonded on and it's metal, just about any solvent will work. (Be sure the solvent won't damage any finishes.) If it's plastic of some sort, you've got to be much more careful on the solvent you use.

But, a good ultrasonic cleaner is great to have and use.
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Old 11-12-2018, 4:07 PM
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Be careful with blued finishes. I have seen sonic cleaners strip those right off.
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Old 11-12-2018, 11:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sonofeugene View Post
Ultrasonic cleaning is safe for virtually every material. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on just about anything.

HOWEVER....keep in mind it's not the ultrasonic vibrations that cause problems, it's the liquid you put in the cleaner. You can put just about anything in the cleaner. Water, alcohol, acetone, soap, solvents of just about any type, etc. Those are the things you have to be careful of. Many solvents will eat plastics and adhesives.

Re the night sight question: I wouldn't clean them in an ultrasonic cleaner because I believe that adhesives are used to hold the light producing vial or whatever you call it in the sight and there's no telling what adhesive was used and how it might be affected by a cleaner, solvent or even water.

If it's a single part with nothing bonded on and it's metal, just about any solvent will work. (Be sure the solvent won't damage any finishes.) If it's plastic of some sort, you've got to be much more careful on the solvent you use.

But, a good ultrasonic cleaner is great to have and use.
Thanks for this!
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Old 11-13-2018, 8:37 AM
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They work well but the cleaning process is fairly involved. You have to remove things like grip panels and such and also the cleaning is most beneficial if you do a detailed strip.

I generally only use it maybe twice a year when I get all my guns stripped down and do batches at a time and be done with it for a while and just do the typical field strip and clean through the rest of the year.
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Old 11-13-2018, 8:47 AM
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I used one for years in a biochemistry lab, and I have one at work for cleaning small metallic instruments. I use one at home for cleaning brass. For the unit I use at home, the basin of the sonic cleaner contains water, which transmits the sonic pulses, and the parts go into a glass jar with whatever cleaning agents are needed so that the water in the sonic cleaner is never in contact with any solvents or contaminants. The glass transmits the pulses just fine and everything stays clean. Usually 10-20 minutes of cycling does the trick. You can keep jars of solvents for repeated use until they are saturated and replace the fluids as needed. If you are using a solution mixed with water to clean something, distilled water might be a good idea to avoid exposure to corrosive salts.
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Old 11-13-2018, 10:16 AM
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Thanks everyone for your input, I appreciate it. I don't intend to disassemble my guns anymore than a field strip. Removing grip panels isn't a big deal and tho I'd like to clean all of the slides, after reading the posts, I have a concern the white 3 dot system would become a black 3 dot system and with my eyes that wouldn't work well. I wouldn't put the XD slide with the TRU GLO TFO sights in due to probable damage, but from reading reviews for the RCBS cleaner, some of my other slides would be fine.

My main goal is to get the guns clean without the drudgery of hand cleaning them with the different products, patches and all that entails. It'll be easier on my back, take less time and hopefully clean the firearms as well, if not better than I do it by hand.

It sure would be nice to have one of those large cleaners so I can do multiple guns at a time, but at $2500-$3500, I'll have to pass. Perhaps a Go Fund Me page. Perhaps if I state it will be used for cleaning tools to clean the environment, I can get some left wing progressives to buy me one of those really nice large cleaners.
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Old 11-13-2018, 10:25 AM
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Don't submerge the sights into the sonic bath. Put the slide on a small mesh rack in the tub and fill with cleaning agent so that the sights are above the fluid level.
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Old 11-13-2018, 1:01 PM
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I have used these frequently in the past, but did not like them. I only used them because at the time I was shooting USPSA with my wife, and would need to cut down cleaning times. I used to disassemble pistols completely, use ultrasonic cleaner, and then rinse with hot water. Then, use a heat gun to dry, and then spray with a water displacing oil (WD40), then lube and assemble the guns. While it worked, I found myself spending less time inspecting parts for wear or damage, and went back to normal cleaning. I had access to the larger Hornaday model, so cleaning AR BCGs and shotgun parts was great. The one piece of advice I would share more than anything else is to make sure you do not overcrowd the tray or basket.

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