Put it in an ultrasonic cleaner for 8 minutes, dried it off, blasted it with a can of compressed air. Done. Super clean. It was so gunky it hardly functioned. I have taken it down using the 500 step procedure many times, for various mods & for cleaning. And that is exactly why I didn't want to do it again. This might tick off some traditionalists but for anyone wanting a simpler option here it is. Used the $79.95 Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner, 2.5 liter & Simple Green HD Pro which is actually purple not green. I had considered just getting the Mk 4 & doing the same Volquartsen mods again but this was cheaper.
No but it's used with water. I used half & half but probably didn't need to. 1/2 liter is all I really needed. Some posts online claim it will remove bluing, some claim it won't. Didn't on mine, at least so far. Thinking I may remove the bluing anyway with white vinegar & steel wool, there's some scratches I want to buff out.
I have heard some use 50/50 Ballistol/water also. When it dries it leaves the lubricant behind. I wondered if it would remove the burnt crud on a forcing cone and cylinder face?
I saw one video where there was still a little crud on the front of the cylinder of a .357. He had to scrape it off. Seems to work 100% on pistols though. I've seen some use Ballistol also. One guy used just water & I've heard Dawn dishwashing liquid works. There's some other cleaning solutions out there also made for ultrasonic cleaners.
I have heard Simple Green HD Pro works great in an ultrasonic cleaner. It seems to work great for cleaning gun parts. The idea of placing a fully assembled handgun in a container of soapy water just doesn't sound right. Simple Green HD Pro is over 70% water and users dilute the product with water. After cleaning, how can you be sure the water is completely removed from all the nooks and crannies? Ballistol may be a better choice but may not clean as well. At least ballistol is apx. 50% mineral oil.
I've got a small ultrasonic cleaner and it is only used to clean my Blues Harps...in Vodka! LOL Denny
Yep, it is water-based, I checked the ingredients. After air blasting the pistol, maybe a few hours in the refrigerator would dry it out completely. That's basically a dehumidifier. Thought I'd try an experiment. I filled a glass cup with half Simple Green HD Pro & water & dropped in some small metal parts. Will see if there's any rust by the time it's all evaporated. I dropped in a drill bit, Allen wrench, 2 nails & a few small metal knick knacks from the garage. Will check them twice a week until the cup's dry.
A day in the sun might also help drying her out. Another idea, the cheapest air compressor at harbor freight will deliver 3 to 4 times more air than canned air. With the right nozzle you won't be concerned about leftover moisture. Thanks for posting...great thread! Denny
In doing a brief search, the last thread about air compressors/drying agents was around 8 yrs. ago and the references are defunct. The photos are blanked(thanks to Photobucket). Time for a new thread ref. air compressors and assoc. equipment for cleaning?? Come on you mechanical gurus, help the rest of us out.
For me the right nozzle has an extended tube that has a bend in the tip. I had put the bend in mine but I bent the tip for another application. A straight tip may work great also. A thin stem can really get in there more effectively than a blunt tip. Den
If your compressor will only be used for light duty a small unit capable of 100psi will be fine. If you think your uses may grow than a larger compressor is a must. I only have a medium size and it runs all my pro. air tools just fine.
By the way, harbor freight air tools are good quality, cheap, and perfect for home use. I think Lowes stores has a good selection of compressors and accessories that won't break the bank also. Den
Well the glass was half full, or half empty? Didn't want to wait 2 more weeks so I poured it out & looked over the parts. Everything looked the same but the 2 silver colored nails were a little gray. No rust on anything. Wondering if something in Simple Green inhibits rust because I expected so see some after a week. Anyway, 16 days equals about 2,000 ultrasonic cleanings since the gun gets wet for about 10 minutes each time. I'll try to post pics. Most forums I can't because too many pixels & I have to find an image resizer & figure out how it works & I'm too tired to fight it tonight. We'll see in a few minutes....
Put it in an ultrasonic cleaner for 8 minutes, dried it off, blasted it with a can of compressed air. Done. Super clean. It was so gunky it hardly functioned. I have taken it down using the 500 step procedure many times, for various mods & for cleaning. And that is exactly why I didn't want to do it again. This might tick off some traditionalists but for anyone wanting a simpler option here it is. Used the $79.95 Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner, 2.5 liter & Simple Green HD Pro which is actually purple not green. I had considered just getting the Mk 4 & doing the same Volquartsen mods again but this was cheaper.
Hey, thanks for that info. We recently had a "Harbor Freight" set up a store here in Rice Lake, WI. I'm gonna stop in and see about one of those. I do have a small one that I use to clean small parts that my fingers can't hang on to, but the one you mention sounds like a better plan.
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