performance of ultrasonic cleaners

[jbmartin]

I've been contemplating getting an ultrasonic cleaner of some sort for final cleaning of the things I've made.
Since the majority of the items would be steel with sterling overlay, I thought the ultrasonic might be the way to go. At the time being, I have to venture back to the house where the running water is and have just been soaking things in hot water with Dawn to clean the grease. Then after drying, I gun oil the steel and polish the sterling with a Sun cloth. I'm going to try to stay away from the nickel, but some of the items might be nickel, and then some will be the stainless knives with overlay.

Has anyone used an ultrasonic cleaner after browing steel with overlay? What will it do to the brown, which is just a rust coating?

How often would you have to change solution if you are putting some final polished items with some grease left on them?

Thanks

JB

 

[Powderhorn]

Jbmartin;
I have used an ultrasonic for quite a few years. They work great for cleaning up jewelry, and small parts. The ones that can take a large belt buckle, 3x5" laying down are starting to get very pricey. As to your rust blue, it should not hurt it, but you would still need water for final cleanup. Depending on what I do, cleaning the unit, it depends on how much you use it, Ive had to clean mine any where from once a week, to once a month, just depends o0n usage.

 

[Tim Wells]

I'd advise against one of the cheap plastic ones on ebay, you get what you pay for there. I have a few L&R units and one other that I can't recall the name of. You can get a good one with a stainless tank on ebay for less than you'd have to pay for an L&R at a jewelry supply house.

I use water with a cap full or two of Mr. Clean in it and it'll cut all that buffing compound and crud off your projects. If you don't put too much soap in the mix and leave it mostly water, you won't really need to rinse the item; it'll evaporate.

Here is an ebay item number. I don't know what it'll end up selling for but is a good one and it has a heater with what looks like about a quart tank on it. I don't think you'll beat the price and it has a basket which is about 40 bucks at the supply house...

300207129837

 

[Brian Marshall]

I would advise against the Harbor Freight versions too... at least the ones I've seen/tried to date.

You also want to be careful if you intend to put highly polished silver products in some of the more powerful models. You can frost the finish with them, if you leave them running too long. Can be a real PITA when you thought the job was finished...

Brian Marshall
Stockton Jewelry Arts School
Stockton, CA, USA
instructor@jewelryartschool.com
jewelryartschool.com
209-477-0550

 

[Tim Wells]

I would advise against the Harbor Freight versions too... at least the ones I've seen/tried to date.

You also want to be careful if you intend to put highly polished silver products in some of the more powerful models. You can frost the finish with them, if you leave them running too long. Can be a real PITA when you thought the job was finished...

I'm glad you mentioned that Brian, I did a pocket watch case that way once and wondered what happened. Looked like I took it out of a bead blaster rather than an ultrasonic tank. It was a cheap one and polished back up but I learned my lesson...

 

[Mike Cirelli]

You also have to be careful of what cleaning solutions you use in the machine to harsh and you will discolor silver, if the tank has dirty solution with a lot of grit in it you can get an abraded finish on an item, and you can't let pieces hit the tank or each other or you'll get abrasion where they touch. I think an ultrasonic is a necessity. Just my opinion.

 

[jbmartin]

Thanks a lot for the information, I've never been around one and had no clue as what to look for.

JB

 

[Brian Marshall]

The presence of ammonia in commercial ultrasonic cleaning solutions will very definitely discolor copper and most of the brasses and bronzes. Even more so when heated or left in the solution for more than a very short time.

Brian

 

[jbmartin]

Tim, if you make your own solution do you have to use distilled water?
Reason I ask is I'm on a well that has fairly hard water, filtered, but still harder than most city water.

Anyone else have a favorite solution that they make themselves?

JB

 

[Tim Wells]

You can use bottled water. You may even be able to get distilled at the grocery too. The cleaning agent doesn't need to be caustic or harsh; the capillary action of the bubbles "exploding" all over the part is what knocks the crud off and is the basic action behind ultrasonic methods of cleaning.

I had an engraved hunter case pocket watch case, 18 size that looked like it had been drug through a mud puddle and covered in wagon axle grease a hundred years ago and left to dry in the hot Mojave sun.

I put that thing in an ultrasonic for 6 minutes and never touched it with anything else and it cleaned every trace of that stuff out of every nook and cranny. Amazing! Came out slick as a bell pepper.

If you are cleaning buffing compound off items I've heard jewelry stores say they used simple green diluted way down or that Mr. Clean I mentioned before. I think the Mr. Clean has a bit of ammonia in it but don't quote me. Ultrasonic cleaners nead a liquid in them that is "thicker" than water for proper action so a soapy solution is the thing to use, just something light that doesn't suds up.

 

[jbmartin]

Thanks for all the replies.

Tim, looks like the one you pointed out went around 107 + shipping, also the basket was extra, but I checked and only 15 for that, so that's not so far out of reach.

Sounds like the distilled water + simple green diluted might be the ticket.

I appreciate all of the information.

JB

 

[Dave London]

Be carefull with the simple green it will discolor some metals ands finishes I would do a test run first

 

[jbmartin]

Dave, a test run on each type or combination of metals would definately be in order.
I was just trying to shorten the experimental curve by asking here.

Thanks

JB

 

[jimzim75]

Hi JB,
I don't think you would hurt the browning you're putting on steel.
If your worried do a test piece and see what happens.

Don't leave it in the tank for couple of hours.
Five to ten minutes in a heated tank, should do anything.

If it's slightly sensitive item to the cleaning. Hold the item in tweezers or
on a hook and slowly move it back and forth in the tank.
Movement lessons the cleaning action of the sound waves.

Never put your fingers in the tank while it's turn on. It's sad to say, a lot
of jewellers have found out the hard way, this is not a good idea.

There is a test to see how powerful the sonic is.
You take piece of aluminum foil and put it into the tank.
Take it out after five minutes and have a look.
On a high powered unit, the foil will be wrecked and pitted.
On a low powered unit, almost nothing will happen.
This will show you what is more likely to happen to a delicate item.
I don't think you could consider a gun part delicate, just the finish.

Talk to ya later,
Jim

 

[pappy]

We had a Branson ultra sonic at work. We would use caustic solutions like Oakite to clean greasy stainless parts. I think Branson has a smaller, less expensive unit now. I don't know if it would hurt the browning or bluing, but I wouldn't use anything like vinegar in it for browning/bluing. With Oakite it would somes drive holes into aluminum and brass name tags.

 

[jimzim75]

Oakite makes a product call 'beaker cleaning reagent' or just "BCR". This works very well and can
be bought from most jewellery supply houses.

In my opinion the original product Oakite is to aggressive. It really isn't skin friendly.
It more a car industry thing.

 

[tincanart]

BCR(buffing compound remover) is a great cleaner for ultrasonics, but like the others said, it can be hard on yur hands. Stuller makes a great cleaner solution for jewelry without the harmful effects to your skin. I have also used plain ammonia in a pinch. I would be afraid that something as strong as Simple Green would take of browning and blued finishes. As far as ultrasonics, I have had two L&R models for years and they work great. Get one that allows you to turn the heat on and off.

 

[jbmartin]

tincanart,

If I get a unit sometime soon, how would one go about getting some of the Stuller solution? It looks like it is called Ultra-CR, but when you get on their site, they are wholesale only and you have to have a tax id to get an account with them.

jimzim,
Google turned up an earlier post from you about getting the Oakite BCR from CR Hill Company. Are they wholesale also?

Thanks

JB