Home made ultrasonic-ish parts cleaner

[DAM]

Update re-posted for engineeratomic due to forum glitch.

Here is an update on the home made parts cleaner.

One thing that I have noticed is that there is a high wear rate on the box and the base of the sander. This was cured by placing a piece of 6mm ply between the box and the base and gluing all 3 together using 'No Nails' or similar grab adhesive. I am still using the bungee cords for support though. The result of this change is that it now *really* vibrates although the frequency is lower due to the increased damping. The rubber balls the tank sits on are now essential to let the thing fly. Think dish washer rather than parts washer. I have also had to fit a hinged perspex lid (hinged at the sander end) with a seal around the edge to keep everything in. It really is *very* active.



Cleaning Fluids

I found the Coke works well, but is not a brilliant degreaser. I revisited the dishwasher powder option. The stuff I use is a 3-in-1 cleaner from Fairy. The cleaning agents are contained in a small plastic sachet that dissolved in hot water. I didn't want dissolved plastic lurking around so I let the sachet soften and squeezed out the contents - Quite easy. This is a far better cleaner (as expected) but is more corrosive (wear rubber gloves) and will leave a powder residue that is easily rinsed off.
I'll try some other cleaners over the next few weeks as I progress the GS250 rebuild.

Before and After

Here are some before and after photos of the GS250 cards. It is a 'barn find' which hasn't been run since 2001. The contents of the fuel chambers were crystallised petrol - a you can see.

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


(Note the surface corrosion now present on the mild steel after being in the dish washer cleaner)

Before:


Note the jets are totally blocked

After:

[Hooli]

That works impressively well.

[The Mighty Gusset]

Smart !

[engineeratomic]

Thanks for reposting Hooli..

Some of the parts came out quite literally like new. I just need to reassemble it, but all the aluminum parts have come up really well. The gunge simply needed a light brushing with a toothbrush to remove the last bits of crap which was now quite loose. The mild steel parts (where the plating had gone) showed more corrosion but not dreadfully worse.

A worthwhile exercise.

[paulcali3]

I like it! I plan to seal my Bonneville head in a watertight container full of Fairy 3-1 and/or Cola as you suggest, then strap it on the HD & rip around Dartmoor for 100 miles or so. More fun, but just as noisy.