Ultrasonic cleaner - underwhelmed

[Vengeance]

So everyone keeps talking about Ultrasonic cleaners and how they are great for cleaning pinball parts, I went to harbor freight when I was down in the US and bought a unit.

Gave it a try today with the generic cleaner that was for sale at harbor freight and I have to say I'm pretty underwhelmed. I tried a wireform in the cleaner and I don't feel like it cleaned it all, and I ended up just cleaning it by hand with a sponge and some general cleaner.

Is there some mixture of cleaners I should be using to get better results?

 

[DRANO]

I find the US cleaner is great for some things and just okay for others.
I mix a couple of cap-fulls of purple power degreaser and hot water. My unit has a heater, but I'm impatient.

It does an excellent job on things like plastics parts... especially star posts.
I do all my coils in the US during a full restore and they come out looking new. I then print my own coil wrappers.

It does a fantastic job on wire harnesses. I plan to get a really large unit simply for this purpose alone. And, it also does a great job on PCBs. Use cold water only for those.

On metal parts, I find it gets grease and powder. But they don't come out looking perfect. However, removing dirt in a US for parts that you plan to tumble will greatly extend the life of your tumbler media.

Very important.
The dirt gets lifted but will remain on the surface. You must rinse the parts well in running water immediately after taking them out of the unit. The water is usually good for several 8-15 minute batches.

I quickly dry off everything with a microfibre cloth, which will get any remaining surface dirt.
It's not a magic bullet, but it does a good job of loosening dirt on most materials... but you still want to apply a little elbow grease to finish some stuff.

 

[Menace]

Yep, I concur with everything Drano has said. For plastic parts (especially star posts caked with old novus / wax) there is nothing better. A couple of minutes in my US cleaner and the posts come out looking new after a quick once over (and sometimes a very light brush with an old toohbrush) For metal parts it's only good for cleaning the gunk off, then the parts need to be tumbled.

Results will vary, but I'm happy with the results I get from mine. (it's a very tiny one, and I'll be purchasing a decent size tabletop unit once my new shop is finished)

D

 

[Vengeance]

I never use old star posts when I shop a machine, chances are the posts are all original and plastic that old gets brittle.

Easiest way to freshen up a machine it to replace all the plastic posts.

I ended up getting a much harsher cleaner, and I got better results, but yea my main purpose will be to extend the life of my tumbling media.

thankfully my CFTB shop is coming to a close, now I have to decide which game to do next.

 

[Menace]

Ahhh see... there's the diff. When I restore a machine it gets all new posts (if they are available because some posts are NLA), but when I shop a machine out for a client they usually never opt for new posts so the US cleaner is exactly what's needed. Nothing worse than giving a machine back to a client with nasty cruddy posts.

D