Hearing / watching an ultrasonic cleaner clean clock parts
Channel: Bradford Needham
Date: 2019-01-24

As I say in this video (though you can barely hear), a lot of clock repairers talk about their ultrasonic cleaners, but few show one running. This video gives you an idea of the noise and results to expect.

I recently bought a mini ultrasonic cleaner (which they no longer seem to sell) from TimeSavers: https://timesavers.com/c-326073-tools-equipment-related-supplies-general-purpose-tools-equipment-related-supplies-ultrasonic-cleaners.html and took it for a spin cleaning my Ansonia Kitchen clock.

From the clock repair videos I'd seen, I expected even the most gunky and rusted parts to come out like new after a few minutes in the cleaner - not so.

Since then I've done some research and found many repairers do a first cleaning by hand with soap, water, and either a brass brush or an SOS pad (steel wool), then follow up with a run in the ultrasonic cleaner.

I used 3 Tablespoons of Vigor ultrasonic cleaner (https://timesavers.com/i-9500945-vigor-concetrated-ultrasonic-cleaning-solution.html)  to 1.120 Liters of tap water - I've read distilled water isn't as good - and run at 25 degrees C for 15 minutes.

That cleaning got rid of much of the gunk, and certainly made a dent in the deposits that I can't get to with a brush, but some remained that I had to clean up with a brass brush, SOS pad, and water.

Of course, after each cleaning, I followed up by rinsing the parts under the cold water tap, patting dry, then finishing the drying by wiping with paper towels soaked in isopropol alcohol.

I'm actually happy with the results, now that I know to start with a short by-hand cleaning before the ultrasonic cleaning.