Ultrasonic Cleaner

Hey guys, saw the video of Guns of the West where Justin uses an US cleaner to make a quick and thorough cleaning job of his 1860. I have a small one and used it on just the 1851 cylinder and was surprised how well the gunk came off using water and Simple Green. Harbor Freight has a larger more powerful one that they have on sale less a 25% discount coupon I have that will cost me $67.50.
Have any of you gents used one to clean your cap and ball pistola?

I had the small HF unit and it wasn't big enough for my uses so I got the large one. I have cleaned gun parts and brass and it worked well. I don't remember if I ever put a C&B revolver (disassembled) in it or not, it's been years. I don't remember any advantages over my normal cleaning routine and haven't used it for years.

I have one and sometimes it is handy for parts but found it took longer to clean a revolver with then the normal water and brush method.

I have all the stuff after seeing the same video a month or two ago, but am still in the waiting to try it stage

I bought the one he recommended only to find out that a lot of my guns won't fit

Thanks guys for your experiences. Thinking of cleaning the barrel, nipples off the cylinder and cylinder while I work wiping and brushing the exterior of the receiver since I have a couple of pistols with injected grease and hammer shield that keeps all fouling and junk from entering.

ernbar said:

Thanks guys for your experiences. Thinking of cleaning the barrel, nipples off the cylinder and cylinder while I work wiping and brushing the exterior of the receiver since I have a couple of pistols with injected grease and hammer shield that keeps all fouling and junk from entering.

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I hope you aren't considering removing the barrel. There is no need to remove the nipples. I clean the cylinder immersed in my cleaning solution (Dawn & hot water) using an ultra short cleaning rod and patch pumping the solution through the nipples and then clean around them with a still bristle brush. I haven't had any trouble with this procedure and I've been doing it for 30 years. BTW, I've never had a stuck nipple either.

hawkeye2 said:

I hope you aren't considering removing the barrel. There is no need to remove the nipples. I clean the cylinder immersed in my cleaning solution (Dawn & hot water) using an ultra short cleaning rod and patch pumping the solution through the nipples and then clean around them with a still bristle brush. I haven't had any trouble with this procedure and I've been doing it for 30 years. BTW, I've never had a stuck nipple either.

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I have always read to remove the nipples, cleaned them specially the threading and apply anti seize to make sure they don’t rust in place.

hawkeye2 said:

I hope you aren't considering removing the barrel. There is no need to remove the nipples. I clean the cylinder immersed in my cleaning solution (Dawn & hot water) using an ultra short cleaning rod and patch pumping the solution through the nipples and then clean around them with a still bristle brush. I haven't had any trouble with this procedure and I've been doing it for 30 years. BTW, I've never had a stuck nipple either.

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Instead of fighting patches, a cotton mop of proper caliber gets things clean fast. And with rifles, if I may say, removes the chance of the dreaded
"lost patch syndrome".
Respectfully
Bunk

Guys I know with Stainless revolvers disassemble and run thru the dishwasher. To each his own I guess

I have a large one from Amazon that an entire 1858 will fit in. I also use it to clean the breech area of muskets. While the entire barrel won't fit, I have a little rig to suspend the barrel so that the breech end is in the solution. I had my doubts initially, but no more.

flconch53 said:

Guys I know with Stainless revolvers disassemble and run thru the dishwasher. To each his own I guess

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I would avoid that unless you use a dedicated washer for just that purpose otherwise the washer may get lead contamination. Just a thought.

To me buying an Ultrasonic cleaner is a waste of $67.50.

That would buy almost 3 pounds of powder or a bunch of caps.

I have a larger unit that I use primarily for cleaning brass when reloading for unmentionables, but have definitely used it to clean locks and other muzzleloader parts that will fit to great effect

ernbar said:

I would avoid that unless you use a dedicated washer for just that purpose otherwise the washer may get lead contamination. Just a thought.

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This was somewhat tongue in cheek. Back to a running statement of mine to don't overthink things

I had the $67.00 Harbor Freight one a couple of years ago and it worked well, but it just took too long for me. I went back to cleaning by hand.

I use a large size (10 gallon) ultrasonic cleaner daily on a large volume of modern firearms and have learned a few things-
Pre clean your weapon. An ultrasonic is great but it is not a cure all. You have to remove as much loose crud beforehand. I use a water based cleaner similar to Simple Green- field strip and spray the item down and let it soak for a few. I will usually use a cheap paint brush to give a bit of a scrub and soak again.
Rinse with water and into the US.
The hotter your cleaning solution the better, I run mine at 150-170F (This is dependent on the finish of the firearm however- see below)
It typically will not remove hard baked carbon, copper or lead deposits.
They can and will mar certain finishes, faux casehardening, applied finishes i.e. CeraKote, DuraCoat and such, lower class anodizing and some blue finishes.
If you are going to clean such finishes use a cold solution, lighter soap ratio and shorter time in the machine
I will not put finely fitted assemblies into an ultrasonic, it can cause fretting of the finished surfaces (don't believe me? Throw a precision bearing in there, it cost me a set of expensive skateboard bearings for my kid)
It will strip every bit of oil from your item. Be sure to reoil immediately & thoroughly.

I have used a 3 Qrt. US cleaner for several years, mostly for unmentionable O/U and SxS shotgun actions and ML locks and would agree with everything that bptactical said above. My US unit came with an additional dunk tank that sits on top of the main unit and hangs down into the cleaning tank full of solution about a half an inch. I start with room temperature water and a squirt of Dawn. after an hour, or two, the soap solution has gotten pretty warm on its own. When the cleaning is done, I lightly brush the parts off and blow dry them using a small air compressor. I then transfer the parts to the empty secondary tank and fill it to cover the parts with either with straight WD-40 (never had a problem with any parts sticking later BTW) or Ballistol diluted about 1:9 with water, to lube the parts well. They come out clean as a whistle!
CAUTION: Don't put wood, bakelite, plastic or ivory grips in the US cleaner! Also, detention any leaf springs! (In other words, don't leave the revolver's hammer spring cocked!)

hawkeye2 said:

I hope you aren't considering removing the barrel. There is no need to remove the nipples. I clean the cylinder immersed in my cleaning solution (Dawn & hot water) using an ultra short cleaning rod and patch pumping the solution through the nipples and then clean around them with a still bristle brush. I haven't had any trouble with this procedure and I've been doing it for 30 years. BTW, I've never had a stuck nipple either.

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It was drilled into my head when I was a kid that you always took the cones out when cleaning a cb pistol. Recently Ive experimented with only removing the cones for cleaning every third time out shooting. So far I havnt seen any corrosion in the cone threads. How often do you remove them for cleaning? Doesnt sound like its very often.

Flintlock Whiskey said:

It was drilled into my head when I was a kid that you always took the cones out when cleaning a cb pistol. Recently Ive experimented with only removing the cones for cleaning every third time out shooting. So far I havnt seen any corrosion in the cone threads. How often do you remove them for cleaning? Doesnt sound like its very often.

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On revolvers I pretty much do what Hawkeye2 does with the exceptions that I use a swab instead of patches in the cylinder and as soon as I’ve swished solution through the nipples a bit, I remove them and clean them further with a nipple pick, pipe cleaner, and brush. Then I blast out the inside of the nipple with non-residue brake cleaner. I also clean the threads in the cylinder with a tiny bottle brush. So my answer would be I always remove the nipples when cleaning. That said, do I really need to? I don’t really know. That’s a question above this old guy’s wisdom level. It’s just an old habit I have from when schillings weren’t so plentiful for me and most of my revolvers were purchased used with existing corrosion in the cylinder threads. If I didn’t remove, clean, and grease them every time I would get a stuck nipple. Anyway, that’s what I do but I think everyone should do whatever works for them. Don’t know about over there in Cave Creek but in poured last night here by Box Bar.

R

Flintlock Whiskey said:

It was drilled into my head when I was a kid that you always took the cones out when cleaning a cb pistol. Recently Ive experimented with only removing the cones for cleaning every third time out shooting. So far I havnt seen any corrosion in the cone threads. How often do you remove them for cleaning? Doesnt sound like its very often.

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Once or twice a year. I've yet to have one seize.