ultrasonic cleaning aluminum

[j-sou]

Anyone have any tips for cleaning aluminum parts in an ultrasonic cleaner? I know a lot of cleaners will mess up the finish of aluminum and/or eat away at the surface.
I'd like to be able to clean batches of hardware and other small parts without screwing any of it up.

[GoMachV]

DON'T use La's Awesome with it, I can tell u that. I made some 8-32 screws into about a 6-32 in minutes and they looked like they came from the titanic

[j-sou]

DON'T use La's Awesome with it, I can tell u that. I made some 8-32 screws into about a 6-32 in minutes and they looked like they came from the titanic

I did know to stay away from LA's, Simple Green, and similar cleaners. Just curious if anyone knew of a cleaner that was safe to use. I guess I could dig through my cleaners here and try some test parts.

[GoMachV]

When you find a safe one let me know haha

[LTO_Dave]

Are you just removing dirt and grease? If so, try Dawn Power Dissolver in a blue spray bottle. It sprays on like a gel and will remove almost anything without an ultrasonic cleaner. We use it for de-greasing parts before powdercoating because it works that good. I've used it thinned with warm water in an ultrasonic cleaner and it worked just fine and didn't hurt any aluminum or plastic. Plus, it works miracles on dirty dishes and electric grills.

But wear gloves because it will dry out your skin instantly.

[GoMachV]

The ultrasonic cleaner I have is heated and the heat is where the magic begins....I may have to try using dawn and see how it goes. I have had a great time with Awesome and it's uber cheap but it's pretty nasty stuff

[Coelacanth]

Dawn dish soap for dirt & grease, WD-40 or acetone for remnants of adhesive tape or stubborn grease--that's all I've ever needed.

[V12]

I have a small ultrasonic cleaner without heating and basically just go with warm water and dish soap. I know there is really a difference between cold and warm water but the dish soap was working very good for me until now. As example there is a picture at my Delta Phaser thread showing an used spurgear for and after cleaning with the ultrasonic. Looks like new afterwards.

[Coelacanth]

For stubborn greasy parts like gears, I spray WD-40 on them, let them sit a few minutes, then brush with a toothbrush.

[esaresky75]

I use WD-40 in my Harbor Freight heated ultrasonic cleaner with no problems. What's nice too is the WD-40 does not hold the dirt and grease in suspension. Let it sit for a day and the grime is on the bottom and the WD-40 is clean.