• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades
  • Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

Ultrasonic cleaner for revolvers?

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
666
Reaction score
783

How Much is the Cap and Ball Revolver Hobby in 2024? You Might be Surprised. (Video)​

Now at 5:08 he says you will probably want an ultrasonic cleaner. So here I was unaware of using one of these all my life.
Can anybody post about or point to online sources of using one of these?
:dunno:
Thank you.


Limiting this to revolvers.
Old west: 1873-1899
Precartridge era: 1830-1873
I have always done more of the top "unmentionalble" choice although I like doing the bottom choice a lot more (the boring task of cleaning).

 
I know this is not a direct answer, but I have discovered some great cleaner called Carbon Killer 2000 (non haz low odor and outstanding in keeping my guns clean). Intended for cleaning out modern cartridge guns, I figured it was worth a try on the BP revolver.

Works gang busters. A guy tested all the cleaners some years back and using a Hawkeye Borescope found CK2K (my shorthand for it) worked by far the best. I don't generate copper so I don't need that kind of removal though I have cleaned it out of other guns using Boretech Copper and the CK2K to remove carbon layers (it will remove some copper just not its main intent)

Ok, the method I came up with is not in any instruction exactly. I have an eyedropper bottle with CK2K in it, I drizzle it on a nylon brush and run it through the bore. In the case of the revolver front to back of course and then I put some more on when the brush comes out in the frame and pull it back through.

Then a Wet 44/45 Cal patch which come out filthy of course. I just repeat until the bore is clean. About 5 cycles of that. I use wet patches to clean the powder blasting off the gun surfaces.

I use the same process on the Pistols. For the rifles I usually clean them at the range, a warm barrel works a bit better and I hate cleaning rifles at home for some reason (pistols ok). Carbon Killer recommends 5-10 time running through for a rifle. I put on CK2K before, run it through and out the muzzle, drizzle more on, give it 5 cycles of the nylon brush, then out the end again and follow up by a wet patch. If I have shot 50 rounds its about 5 cycles for that though of course they are not nearly as messy as the first BP Revolver patches.
 
I use an ultra sonic cleaner for my modern revolvers and pistols. I remove the grips and dunk them. It works very well for cleaning internal stuff. When done I dry them thoroughly with compressed air. Then they get completely submerged in Eds Red. Clean and slick as snot. I don’t use the ultra sonic for my BP pistols because they are very simple to clean. My 1860 is packed with synthetic grease now, I don’t even disassemble that one now.
 
I have tried using an ultrasonic cleaner for BP, but I don't really like it. As mentioned above, they work well for smokeless powder fouling, but there seems to be something about BP that makes an ultrasonic not so effective.

Just plain old hot soapy water and a little elbow grease works the best.
 
I have the larger of the Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaners and have used for my revolvers. I found it worked quite well but offered no advantage to conventional cleaning methods so I don't use it for that anymore. It is very handy for other cleaning chores and I would have it for those alone and not just cleaning revolvers.
 
I was in the carburetor business for years. I use a sonic cleaner all the time.
Never thought of using it for the 1860.
Next fall I might try it before I put it away for the winter.
 

...

Now at 5:08 he says you will probably want an ultrasonic cleaner.
IMO totally unnecessary. The cap 'n ball revolvers are so easily disassembled, and their parts so "large" and "simple" as compared to something, say, like a Smith & Wesson (and yes, done both), that you can easily clean one, and properly, without any modern equipment. As they did "back in the day". Save your money.
 
I have one from Harbor Freight and only use it when I shoot 2-3 BP guns . The cylinders and barrels get cleaned up pretty good while I clean the frames. Cuts down on time when cleaning multiple cylinders and barrels. I do not use it for just one gun only.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top