I was at Cabelas today for a company safety meeting and for attending we all get a $100 gift card. I decided it would be best used on a sonic cleaner and grabbed one and solution. I was in a rush to get to the range and did not take time to notice there was two different solutions. One for brass cases and one for gun parts. Well you guessed it I grabbed the one for gun parts. Can it be used for brass? It says not to use the brass solution for gun parts or other sensitive metals but nothing about using the gun parts solution on brass.

If you do a search, I believe Homebrewer did an extensive posting on sonic case cleaning solutions .
I posted some excellent homemade concoctions which will clean with the best of them " Inexpensively " !.

I'm not familiar with the ingredients in that particular product ,so without that info I can't help !.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc224/375:
If you do a search, I believe Homebrewer did an extensive posting on sonic case cleaning solutions .
I posted some excellent homemade concoctions which will clean with the best of them " Inexpensively " !.

I'm not familiar with the ingredients in that particular product ,so without that info I can't help !.

Dipropylene Glycol n-Propyl Ether, Diethanolamine

It says to use 1/2 ounce to 20 ounces of water.

You can use it as to how well it works ? Can't really asses that aspect of it . This might help you . it's a common formulation used in household cleaners as well as other products .

http://www.dow.com/PublishedLi....pdf&fromPage=GetDoc

Homebrewers thread was in the gun cleaning forum for a long time, he did a very lengthy test.

One thing to remember if anyone uses vinegar ( Acetic Acid ) the longer the cases stay in solution ,the cases lose some of their properties .

It's why I suggest Citric acid ( Simple lemon or citrus solvent ) Baking soda combined with a degreaser Dawn dish soap ,simple green ,TSP

or Borax .Remember to use distilled water both in ultrasonic cleaner and preferably the rinse also . Dry and polish or wax to preserve .
The sooner that can be accomplished once cases are removed and dried from the water rinse the better off you'll be .
For super shiny cases they still will need to be polished by hand or in tumbler media .

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

http://ultrasoniccleaning.blog...c-case-cleaning.html


The Chemistry
Both metals used in brass cases (copper and zinc) are soluble in acetic acid (vinegar). The salts, copper acetate and zinc acetate, are also soluble. Zinc is more soluble than copper so it dissolves faster. In addition a galvanic action occurs that cause copper to be dissolved and then redeposited on the surface at the expense of the zinc.

When you clean brass cases in a vinegar solution you change both the chemical and physical properties of the surface of the case. There have been comments about cases being too clean, primers hard to seat, deposits on mandrels, etc. When you change the surface by dissolving some of it and etching it these things will happen. Whether they happen to the point of being a problem becomes the issue.

There are commercial carbon deposit removing chemicals , one must be cautious if mixing other solutions with them especially cleaning brass .

The gun cleaning solvent smells like Pine -Sol. I used it tonight to clean the lock off of my flinter. Did a real nice job and I didn't have to take it apart. After the cleaning I just rinsed under hot tap water and used compressor to blow the water off. Gave it a good oiling and back together. Got the barrel and slide from my pocket pistol in there now.

I may never clean brass with it just parts.