shoff535

Just curious if anyone uses one of these to clean parts (shift/brake levers) deraileurs & brakes, or chains. If so, what type of cleaner do you use that wont harm the anodized finish (or paint) on the parts? The most common cleaners that I can think of would be diluted mixtures with either Purple Power, Citrus cleaner or Simple Green. Typically I either soak in Mineral spirits and rinse with brake parts cleaner and alcohol.
Thanks

leftthread

I put a concentrated solution of Dawn in a Ziplock bag, the parts in that bag, then the bag in a dilute Dawn solution in the ultrasonic cleaner.
Easier to keep the cleaner clean that way.
Mineral spirits first it it's really grungy.

Some here have mentioned hydrogen embrittlement with Simple Green.
Project Farm likes Super Clean as a degreaser but haven't tried that yet.

tcs

Many ultrasonic cleaner threads here and on Bicycle Mechanics. 'Search' might find them for you, or it might not.

madpogue 

I don't recall if I ever put anodized parts in mine. If so, I probably used Dawn. Mostly I use it for "bare" parts like cassettes, chains, derailleur pulleys, etc., using Simple Green. Almost always in a bag, bowl, jar, etc. so I don't have to use as much "juice". Also good for degreasing BB, hub and headset bearings.

I have used mine with rusty parts including fasteners. A jar with enough Evaporust to drown the part, the combination of heat and ultrasonic vibration, what otherwise would take hours is reduced to minutes.

JaccoW

Just cleaned a coaster brake hub in my tiny cheap ultrasonic cleaner yesterday. Just hot water and some dish soap. Some brushing for the loosened up gunk if necessary but other than that no special chemicals. I've had some discoloration when using vinegar on anodized aluminium parts.

purpurite

I'm kindof addicted to my ultrasonic cleaner.

Depends on what I'm cleaning as to what I use in the tank. Chains and cassettes I will use mineral spirits or Simple Green, some items straight water with a couple drops of dish soap in it. Works so nicely on derailleurs. My wife uses one for vintage 78rpm records, and they come put beautifully deep cleaned.

unworthy1

Simple Green has been reported as "caustic" to anodized aluminum alloy parts tho this may take awhile to take effect, it you clean QUICKLY and rinse off with plain water the finish is probably safe. it's a long unwatched soaking that is dangerous, and IMO the "Purple" cleaners are even worse! So use them with care and be quick.
I agree that with ultrasonics they work fine with just plain water and a little (drops not glugs) of dish washing detergent, I tend to use "Joy" because was once told by an optometrist that he trusted that brand on plastic lenses. Dawn might be more effective on greasy bike parts and easier to find in these (Joy-less) days.
I think the labs that use Ultrasonic cleaners all day every day use a "wetting agent" that's even less of a danger to delicate merchandise than the mildest detergents

purpurite

Correct. If you are using Simple Green (the original) in an un-diluted state, and you aren't soaking overnight, you should be fine. I have seen the Purple cleaners do a number on paint, though, so use caution with any of those. I used to use Castrol Super Clean to strip chrome from model car parts, so it's pretty aggressive, for sure.

unworthy1

aggressive, yes, but it sure does work!
Better than many solvents as a de-greaser and no danger if you're in a "no open flames or heat sources" setting...but wear gloves cause your hands will turn to full-prune-wrinkle in seconds flat!

purpurite

Oh yeah, that stuff does nasty stuff to your hands.

bark_eater 

One bit of highschool science trivia I remember was a cautionary about acetone. I believe the teacher was describing himself as the guinea pig, but apparently if you soak you hands in acetone and then water you get super prune hands, because the acetone dissolves a water resistant lipid layer in the skin. This is why I try and wear gloves when using more volitable solvents, and do not use acetone to clean epoxy and such off my hands, because it drives the chemicals into your blood.

shoff535

Thanks for all of the comments. Good to know that SG works well and as long as it's diluted and not left on for too long shouldn't be an issue for the finishes on the parts. I was especially interested and pleased to hear that plain old Dawn DW liquid works well (cheap, easy to use and should be harmless to the finishes)

bark_eater 

My experience so far is that anodizing gets "foggy" in my cleaner. I'm using dawn soap and hot water. I haven't done much experimenting to see if I can reduce the problem.

spclark 

Try using distilled water instead of tap water, hot or cold. Your piped-in water may be alkaline enough to be causing the fog.

Taking a tangent off this thread I'd like to see pics of ultrasonics large enough to do an assembled 11-speed cassette or a 78 rpm phonodisc, maybe with links to where they're being sold?

I have a smallish one made by Kendall, takes about a quart of liquid, a major PITA to clean 'cause the tray's integral with the chassis. There's a plastic basket for stuff being dunked so all the crud that comes off parts ends up settling out into the bottom of the tray. My go-to solution is tap water and Dawn too.

Avoid acetone whenever you can (or lacquer thinner) and use proper PPE and an abundance of caution if you do; they're both nasty and way too flammable for casual purposes. Most assuredly NEITHER is appropriate for use in any ultrasonic device!

bark_eater 

Interesting about the water quality. I have a salt machine that makes our water "soft". I've experimented with a steam cleaner a bit and it seemed to fog the anodizing as well. I filled that with water from my shop dehumidifier, but it came to me second hand so may be pushing previous contaminants out.

spclark 

Softened water should work fine, particularly if you add some kinda liquid detergent. Dish liquid's common for this (Dawn, similar products); I've used liquid laundry detergent before in both ultrasonic cleaners as well as tumblers with stainless pins for cleaning other metallic objects though in that device not aluminum.

Remember utrasonic forms tiny bubbles at the surface of what you're cleaning that then 'explode', the effect being what you're after: to disperse contaminants. Those little explosions, if continued over time, may be causing the change in surface appearance that you're seeing.

Your post caused me to look into whether a common chemical might be worth trying on aluminum in an ultrasonic. Citric acid appears to be non-reactive with aluminum, in fact is employed for inhibiting corrosion before painting in industry. I use it in water solution often for de-liming stainless cooking utensils, and it works great for augmenting the cleaning effect of detergent in those wet tumblers I'd mentioned earlier. I buy a product called LemiShine, sold for use in dishwashers to cleaning their insides of built-up residues. For the object cleaning a little goes a long way.

The reactivity of aluminum makes using chemicals with a pH over 7 risky. Years ago I generated hydrogen gas for experimenting by combining sodium hydroxide (lye) with aluminum metal. Reaction's a vigorous one (2Al + 2NaOH + 6H2O → 2Na [Al (OH)4] + 3H2 ) and I caution those who would attempt this to use proper PPE in handling lye because it WILL hurt you if you give it the chance. Too, hydrogen burns in air very easily so be aware of the flammable nature of the main byproduct of this combination of materials.