Author Topic: Hornady Sonic Cleaner (Read 8585 times)

bjtraz · « **on:** February 27, 2011, 06:56:09 PM »

Well, the price came down to a "reasonable" amount. I was picking up an assortment of .22 LR ammo, and found this for $79.99 @ Cabelas. The thing was, I thought the box said it came with the cleaning solution, I was wrong

. Now it's a 30 mile trip back to Cabelas to pick some up, or (?). What is the "solution", does anyone know? I know Harbor Freight sells a sonic cleaner, and will probably have their brand of solution, will that work? Or is the Hornady stuff worth the trip? How well does this thing work? Did I waste my money? Any tips or tricks? Thanx.

Brian

Solus · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2011, 07:22:32 PM »

Quote from: bjtraz on February 27, 2011, 06:56:09 PM

Well, the price came down to a "reasonable" amount. I was picking up an assortment of .22 LR ammo, and found this for $79.99 @ Cabelas. The thing was, I thought the box said it came with the cleaning solution, I was wrong . Now it's a 30 mile trip back to Cabelas to pick some up, or (?). What is the "solution", does anyone know? I know Harbor Freight sells a sonic cleaner, and will probably have their brand of solution, will that work? Or is the Hornady stuff worth the trip? How well does this thing work? Did I waste my money? Any tips or tricks? Thanx.

Brian

I've not tried it in a Sonic cleaner, but I use Simple Green to clean my weapons.

It's been recommended by several respected professional gunsmiths.

billt · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2011, 04:19:36 AM »

I just use "Dawn" dish washing detergent with hot water in my Ultrasonic Cleaner. I've found it works better than most of these overpriced "solutions" they sell. Be careful with Simple Green on brass. If you leave it for too long it will turn brass black. Bill T.

alfsauve · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2011, 05:22:37 AM »

Most any liquid that you would have used manually can be used in a sonic cleaner. We got ours from Northern Tools. I use it with a little liquid soap to clean the wife's jewelry and my glasses. A dab of silver polish in water for silver. Haven't used it to degrease any gun parts yet or to polish brass.

billt · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2011, 05:54:17 AM »

It is worth it to know that the Ultrasonic Cleaner Lyman sells is the exact same make, model, and capacity Harbor Freight sells for half as much. Lyman, much like Hornady is simply having their name and colors put on it and charging more. It's a bit deceptive, not to mention expensive. It's a free market, and companies can do as they wish to turn a dollar. With that said this does represent a bit of bait and switch, if one knows to look. Bill T.

Harbor Freight $69.95

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html

Lyman $139.95

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/case-prep/turbosonic-casecleaner.php

Sponsor · « **Reply #5 on:** **Today** at 12:12:02 PM »

Solus · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2011, 09:09:26 AM »

Nice find at Harbor Freight, Bill.

Assuming you own and use one, can you fit a disassembled full size 1911 in one for cleaning?

Also, I've heard some folks will purchase two units, one for what ever cleaning tasks come up and the other just for lubrication of those jobs that need it. And the lube is left in long term.

I have heard that after a sonic cleaning you will want to do sonic lube because there are many very tiny crevices that will have all lube removes (which would not be removed in standard cleaning) and it takes sonic lube to refill them with lube and corrosion protection.

Anyone have experience with this?

P.S. hmmm...maybe black brass would look cool?

billt · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2011, 12:42:56 PM »

Quote from: Solus on February 28, 2011, 09:09:26 AM

Assuming you own and use one, can you fit a disassembled full size 1911 in one for cleaning?

Yes. I have the Harbor Freight / Lyman Model. You can fit a 1911 slide and frame in the tray. When you clean Ultrasonically you want to be absolutely sure you do not clean anything Aluminum. This would include ANY Aluminum framed Commander Models, or Sig Sauer Aluminum framed guns.

The reason for this is a phenomenon called cavitation. Cavitation is the production of microscopic air bubbles that can erode soft metals that are not very dense like Aluminum. This is much the same as what occurs with Aluminum outboard motor propellers when the cavitation bubbles erode away the propeller blades right near the hub of the prop. This can also occur inside Aluminum water pumps where the impeller is right up against the housing of the pump itself. This erosion can be severe. I have some pictures of how this cavitation effects polished Aluminum. I'll try to post them. Bill T.

billt · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2011, 01:11:13 PM »

This is a Ultrasonic test I did on a piece of polished Aluminum a while back. It was a piece of T-6 Aircraft Grade Aluminum I put a 500 finish on before the test. You can see how the Ultrasonic cleaner effected the finish after the amount of time shown in the picture. Naturally you wouldn't clean for 30 minutes, but it is a cumulative thing. Over time an Ultrasonic cleaner could easily screw up the finish of a polished Aluminum handgun frame. Bill T.