Thread: share your ultrasonic cleaner brews

was sitting there thinking about what I could use to ultrasonic clean some old PMC 270 brass I was given, I knew the stuff made by hornady was citric acid based so I took a look at the lemons on the bench so squeezed the juice out of one small lemon along with a drop of dishwash liquid then filled up the cleaner with hot water 24 minutes later the water was green with the tarnishing that was on the brass and it came out looking almost like new

Cirtic acid exclusively with hot water. I do 2x 6 min runs then change the water then another 2 then dry

Have been using the Hornady stuff which does an OK job. Recently tried a "guaranteed" brew off the net - 1/2 cup white vinegar, tablespoon of dish liquid, plus some salt, 3 litres of water. Then neutralised with a reasonably strong brew of baking soda in the tank with US on. All brilliantly clean after the vinegar cycle. Still OK after the baking soda. Purply-black next morning - so much for someone's well trialled brew off the net. The brew I now use very successfully is 1 teaspoon of Hansells Citric Acid, a couple of squirts of dish liquid in the tank with 3 litres of hot water. I run the tank with heater on and it gets to 75 degrees C when the timer runs out. I then put the cases in a plastic bucket with 3 litres of hot water and a teaspoon of baking soda. Swirl around for a while then rinse with clean water. Blow off with compressed air then into the hot water cupboard. No black or purple cases any more and still bright a week later but then they slowly naturally oxidise.

How would napisan go in one? We use the active ingredient Sodium Percarbonate it in wineries to clean everything

lactic acid works well with brass.
I find it in a kiwifruit washing chemical.(its used to wash stains off the fruit) there are a few with lactic acid as the active ingredient. eg. kiwi lustre and c p clean, find it at farmlands etc.
mix about 50/50 or a bit less.

Originally Posted by Mauser308

Oz-Clean Shower Power Citrus Fresh shower cleaner.

A natural plant acid combined with a rich surfactant plus a natural fragrance extract. And it comes in a spiffy squirt pack.

Yes, I'm lazy and I can't be arsed fart-arsing around squeezing bloody citrus fruit...

Where do you get your Oz Clean? I looked around (M10 etc) and couldn't see it or was it right in front of my on the shelf...

I use the citric acid from the baking section in the supermarket, half to full teaspoon into hot water and a squirt of dishwashing liquid.
Rinse with clean water after 15 min or so and bingo.

@dogmatix I have also gone the citric acid route with the dishwash liquid added into it with hot water first time with that brew I left the ultrasonic cleaner going for 24 minutes but came out with a small amount of pink residue on the headstamping but came off when wiping them over after drying in hot water cupboard they came out nice and clean though. Another thing I was reading was to soak the brass in meths after ultrasonic cleaning to help disperse the water after rinsing.

Pink residue is from the brass after carbon oxidising is removed, don't be too worried.
I shake the water out and normally anneal the brass after and that dries the brass damn quick.

I don't anneal my cases in fear that I will bugger them up so if I want a quick dry it is an hour in the oven at 100 degrees but lately I have just been putting the wet brass into factory ammo holders so the water can drain out through the case mouth and stick em in the hot water cupboard for 24 to 48 hours to dry

Originally Posted by hunter308

I don't anneal my cases in fear that I will bugger them up so if I want a quick dry it is an hour in the oven at 100 degrees but lately I have just been putting the wet brass into factory ammo holders so the water can drain out through the case mouth and stick em in the hot water cupboard for 24 to 48 hours to dry

Don't use the bloody oven!!
But the hot water cupboard overnight works a treat

Aaargh, don't put the brass in the oven!
That will stuff it up.

Righto point taken about the oven

Originally Posted by dogmatix

Pink residue is from the brass after carbon oxidising is removed, don't be too worried.
I shake the water out and normally anneal the brass after and that dries the brass damn quick.

How do you anneal?

burner, drill and pan of water?

Camping gas cooker, hold rim in fingers, neck in flame rotating the case, when it gets too hot (usually the same time the blue tint appears on brass, you shouldn't heat any further than that, otherwise it stuff the brass) I simply drop, no need to douse.
Obviously you can do more at a time/faster with a mechanical setup and some people get the stuff to paint (templaque?) on to indicate temperature more exactly, but you can't overheat it my way anyway unless you like burning your fingers.
My way is what Bryn from Targex projectiles recommended.