Ultrasonic for pistol pmcs?

[rsa-otc]

I'm wondering if a small consumer ultrasonic cleaner might help speed up my scrubbing. Mainly my problem is with cement-like carbon gunk on my breech face & extractor hook that I currently have to soak with Hoppes, let sit, scrape with a plastic gun pick (nylon brushing does little and brass scratches the surrounding finish), and then repeat like 4 or 5 times to get all the gunk off.

Will an ultrasonic cleaner take care of that -- without ruining my night sights? Can I leave it field stripped, or does it need to be detail stripped? Any recommendations for cleaners & solvents?

AS with most everything in life I guess the best answer here is it depends. It depends on how long you leave the parts in the machine, it depends on the type of solvent you use....etc.

A local PD got one and dropped their Sigs in it overnight. The next morning they had beautifully clean guns SANS their night sights. All the vials were found rolling around in the bottom of the unit. Wrong type of solvent and for to long.

We got one here for my organization a few years back to clean our revolvers and it worked wonders. The only problem I ever had was a plated revolver (Don't know what type of finish) that came out discolored after I got busy and left it in the machine to long. Usually I only left the guns in for an hour or little bit longer.

While you can probably get away with not detail stripping you will need to do a complete rinse. Loose particulates will settle in the nooks and crannies. Make sure you properly Lube the gun afterwards. It will be BONE Desert dry when done.

We used Shooters Choice Aqua Clean solvent.

[sparkyv]

I use ultrasonication on my barrels successfully, but I would not use it on sights, especially night sights. I would also not use it on aluminum parts. Disassemble completely all the bits and pieces before sonication. I use it on fired brass quite successfully. Sonication is great for many things, not not all!