Ultrasonic baths

[mik]

They aren't very expensive now - or maybe I never realised that they weren't very expensive then?

reasonably sized example only

Anyone got one? What do you use it for?

[DaveE]

My best mate's a tattooist and they all seem to use these to clean and sanitiser equipment

[V8Granite]

I have 2, a small one I use to clean injector parts, anything that has carbon on etc and is 3 litres.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0744H ... asin_title

I also have a big one I repaired and that’s about 30 litres and I chuck anything in there Aslong as it is grease free, I’m giving that one to a friend as it’s just not needed.



To be honest, apart from specific carbon cleaning, they aren’t really worth having.

I’ve used it to clean jewellery but there are better ones for that.

Dave!

[KiwiDave]

Passing interest in this, while simultaneously knowing very little about them. I'd hoped I'd be able to pick one up to clean rust and grease from drum parts, but you're saying that you can't use them to remove oils and greases?

[Mito Man]

I have a tiny one but it's pretty useless. Chuck gummed up carburettors in it in the hope it saves me having to totally disassemble them but it never cleans them out properly. Even putting my glasses in it doesn't really seem to do anything. Assumed you need maybe a 500w one to do something useful

[nuttinnew]

[V8Granite]

Passing interest in this, while simultaneously knowing very little about them. I'd hoped I'd be able to pick one up to clean rust and grease from drum parts, but you're saying that you can't use them to remove oils and greases?

You can but it ruins the cleaning solution and 30 seconds with a toothbrush and degreaser, washing up liquid is better.

Dave!

[Zonda_]

I have a tiny one but it's pretty useless. Chuck gummed up carburettors in it in the hope it saves me having to totally disassemble them but it never cleans them out properly. Even putting my glasses in it doesn't really seem to do anything. Assumed you need maybe a 500w one to do something useful

Same here. I bought it to try and get some stains off my glasses that were inside the nose pads. It worked a bit but not much. The biggest thing it did was loosen the screws so a lense fell out! Tried it with some old coins for a bit of fun and they came up really well!

[Marv]

As Dave! says, you have to degrease things properly first of all. Brake cleaner is my favourite, but engine cleaner, carb cleaner and Bilt Hamber Sufex HD are also good.

When doing small resto jobs, I've found using an ultrasonic cleaner really effective at quicky de-rusting parts which will fit in the tub, when paired with citric acid. I used Bilt Hamber Detox C, but when that ran out, I switched to just citric acid crystals, which is much cheaper (Deox C is basically citric acid, with some active ingredient which makes it de-rust erm actively... Using an ultrasonic cleaner activates the citric acid, so that parts not needed anymore)

If you put your rusty components into the ultrasonic cleaner, then sprinkle a few tea spoons of citric acid on it, then pour nearly boiling hot water on it and switch on the ultrasonic cleaner, it'll de-rust things quite thoroughly. You have to experiment with ratios of citric acid and hot water.

The acid will strip off any plating though, and leave a layer of dark carbon which I normally lightly sand or wire /PU wheel off.

It leaves you with bare metal, basically... So not suitable for your glasses!

The water in the bath ends up being horrible dirty a dark too.

After the parts have gone through that, I normally coat everything with a proper zinc spray, paint it with a rattle can and then lacquer coat on top of that.

[duncs500]

The person who buys a car off you is very fortunate @Marv.

ETA: Not that you sell any!

[Marv]

The person who buys a car off you is very fortunate @Marv.

ETA: Not that you sell any!

The better option is to of course replace the rusted components with new, or get them powder coated... Which I also do where possible.

But for multiple small components - which can add up money wise, when considering some silly Porsche/BMW prices - I found it quite a satisfying thing to do over the winter, back when I was doing small projects on the cars

[Sundayjumper]

Have you used acetic acid in there, white vinegar ? 5-litre bottles of 40% solution from eBay are pretty cheap.

I have a big tub I put things like brake discs in to de-rust. The black coating resulting from that is water-soluble, just wash it off, and I’m convinced the bare metal that’s left is somehow slightly more rust-resistant than the original surface.

[mik]

What power is yours Marv ? The one I linked above is only 50w, but I was also musing around a slightly bigger 3l version with 100w?

[Marv]

I'm not sure Mik. I'll have to have a look when I'm back in a next week. I know it's 3L, but my emails from years ago when I purchased it don't mention how many watts it is.

I think I did try acetic acid (I experimented with slot of substances ) but didn't find it as effective as citric acid. I should have done a Gavster style spreadsheet with my findings with different kinds of chemicals for de-rusting, haha!

As for the de-rusted parts being more rust resistant, I agree... Maybe the acid etches the metal, a bit like when aluminium is anodised? Though I normally remove this layer when I sand or wire/pu wheel the component in preparation for spraying it...

I think also there is some weird very, very light galvanic plating going on when you put certain different metals in the bath, but haven't got my head round what's going on there chemically. Again, when this has happened, I still remove that layer in preparation for spraying it!

[mik]

(I experimented with slot of substances )

And that was the point we were able to get Marv into therapy

[KiwiDave]

This has just saved me money. Almost every part I'd use it for is chrome plated and has grease or oils.

Ergo - do it another way.