Last weekend I spent the morning with @bdstone914 , @ValcoOscar cleaning hardware with Oscar's ultrasonic cleaner and trying different chemicals.
It got me thinking that I want an ultrasonic cleaner so I started doing some research.
Looks like for most automotive cleaning 40khz is the sweet spot.
I ordered a DK SONIC 6L 180W 40khz Ultrasonic Parts Cleaner with Heater from Amazon. (ETA Thursday)
Oscar used a solution made for ultrasonic cleaners
Bruce likes Evaporust
I'm partial to CLR
The ultrasonic solution cleaned most of the grease and oil and minor corrosion but did not affect the zinc coating.
A 50/50 mix of the ultrasonic solution and Evaporust cleaned oil and grease and moderate corrosion but took some of the zinc coating off.
I played around with straight CLR today with different lengths of submersion.
I found a short dip cleaned corrosion ok but not much affect on grease/oil.
A long dip takes the rust and zinc plating off completely.
Once my cleaner gets here I want to play with a diluted CLR and a citrus degreaser to see how it does.
What are you guys using to clean hardware / brackets?
Anyone using an ultrasonic cleaner? Tips / tricks?