Simple Green for Ultrasonic Cleaning

[DHall_37]

I have an ultrasonic cleaner I use for deep cleaning of certain gun parts and spent brass. I mostly use water, but I am trying out a mixture of simple green, I’ve tried dove dish soap but it got gunk stuck in the bottom of cases.

I filled up the cleaner with around 1.5-2L of water and about 1/4 a cup of simple green. Cleaned for 10 minutes then placed in water mixed with vinegar to shine up the brass, now they are drying in front of a fan and they look fine.

Now the issues arises, I’ve been doing some reading around the web and some people said that simple green actually harmed their brass, however they let theirs soak for around a day and I’m having mine exposed for 30 minutes max. also read that it’s not safe for aluminum, some said it caused corrosion, when the bottle clearly says it safe.

I’d like to use it to clean gun parts but sometimes a few parts are aluminum. I have some simple green extreme on the way that Is for aircraft use so definitely aluminum safe.

I really have no idea what to believe, y’all’s help would be much appreciated. This is really causing me a headache. I feel like I’m worrying about nothing like I usually do, but I’d like to know what y’all have to say.

PS: I used that same mixture of simple green to clean around 50 older bullets that had some corrosion on them and they look very clean.

 

[JMayo]

Viniger will turn them pink !

 

[DHall_37]

Viniger will turn them pink !

Even mixed with water? It’s just a small amount.

 

[holycow]

BRASS JUICE CASE WASH

No Stainless Steel Media Required Designed for use with sonic cleaner and rotary tumblers Removes fouling, tarnish and oxidation from brass cases Cleans cases inside and out including primer pockets Made in the USA Brass Juice Case Wash is formulated to remove carbon buildup, tarnish and...

www.thereloadingstation.com

 

[DHall_37]

BRASS JUICE CASE WASH

No Stainless Steel Media Required Designed for use with sonic cleaner and rotary tumblers Removes fouling, tarnish and oxidation from brass cases Cleans cases inside and out including primer pockets Made in the USA Brass Juice Case Wash is formulated to remove carbon buildup, tarnish and...

www.thereloadingstation.com

I’ll think about picking some up, it’s the same price as 2 gallons of simple green tho.

 

[mike mccormick]

I routinely use simple green in my wet tumbler with excellent results. I also use it in my ultrasonic ( diluted, a high concentration can turn parts green ), and it works well. Never seen any signs of damage.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I have a very large branson ultrasonic and i always use simple green. Ive left mirror polished harley pistons in there for a year with zero effects

 

[DHall_37]

I routinely use simple green in my wet tumbler with excellent results. I also use it in my ultrasonic ( diluted, a high concentration can turn parts green ), and it works well. Never seen any signs of damage.

I’ll remember this and keep the concentration low. What about aluminum?

 

[DHall_37]

I have a very large branson ultrasonic and i always use simple green. Ive left mirror polished harley pistons in there for a year with zero effects

A year geese! I guess it probably won’t do anything to my brass then, how about aluminum?

 

[gunnermhr]

Viniger will turn them pink !

To avoid vinegar turning brass different colors you need to immediately neutralize it when removed from your solution. It will not change colors until the brass is exposed to air. If you take it from your vinegar solution immediately into water with baking soda you won't have any discoloration.

 

[mike mccormick]

I’ll remember this and keep the concentration low. What about aluminum?

I also use it to clean carburetors, no adverse reaction with aluminum that I have seen.

 

[brcman]

Simple Green is evidently powerful- a friend used to put small block Chevy stripped down heads in the dishwasher with the top rack removed to clean them and it did a good job.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

A year geese! I guess it probably won’t do anything to my brass then, how about aluminum?

Pistons are aluminum. Truthfully i forgot them in there. They were a second set for a race motor

 

[lb-ft]

I believe the caution with simple green and aluminum is a result of the strict controls in the aerospace industry. The stuff will cause intergranular corrosion (often invisible to the human eye) of many aluminum alloys, especially the higher zinc content alloys.

But for pistons or carburetors or normal everyday stuff, does it actually cause damage that normal guys like us could quantify or would need to be concerned with? No I don't think so. I don't lose any sleep over it.

BUT, when it comes to cleaning products in the hangar near your Cessna or or Kitfox or Piper, better have the aerospace approved simple green (made by the same company, and not green in color).

My 2 cents anyway.

I will say, with all certainty, if you use the popular simple green or lemishine or whatever homebrew solutions, be sure to thoroughly rinse your brass with clean running water if you want to avoid etching or discoloration or worse, weakening of the case.

 

[Monte F]

I use Simple Green on my motorcycles, and it shines up the aluminum wheels and engine parts great. For my brass in the ultrasonic I use the RCBS cleaner that they recommend to not rinse after the cleaning cycle. Leaves the brass clean and bullets seat easily.

 

[chkunz]

I use one-part Simple Green to seven parts water in my Model B (wet) tumbler and tumble for two hours or less and that works great. If you go much longer, they will start to turn green but there is no need to go longer.

I also soak my bolt carrier group in Simple Green (full strength and not diluted) for several hours and it does a great job on the carbon. Overnight is ok but not 24 hours.

 

[DHall_37]

I believe the caution with simple green and aluminum is a result of the strict controls in the aerospace industry. The stuff will cause intergranular corrosion (often invisible to the human eye) of many aluminum alloys, especially the higher zinc content alloys.

But for pistons or carburetors or normal everyday stuff, does it actually cause damage that normal guys like us could quantify or would need to be concerned with? No I don't think so. I don't lose any sleep over it.

BUT, when it comes to cleaning products in the hangar near your Cessna or or Kitfox or Piper, better have the aerospace approved simple green (made by the same company, and not green in color).

My 2 cents anyway.

I will say, with all certainty, if you use the popular simple green or lemishine or whatever homebrew solutions, be sure to thoroughly rinse your brass with clean running water if you want to avoid etching or discoloration or worse, weakening of the case.

I’ll make sure to give it a good rinse of water when I’m done.

 

[DHall_37]

I use Simple Green on my motorcycles, and it shines up the aluminum wheels and engine parts great. For my brass in the ultrasonic I use the RCBS cleaner that they recommend to not rinse after the cleaning cycle. Leaves the brass clean and bullets seat easily.

I’ll most likely rinse mine with the simple green just to be safe, however the RCBS stuff probably has something in it that makes it work better with out a rinse.

 

[0.1 Aggregate]

How about some facts rather than opinion? First, there are numerous SimpleGreen products, specifically which are the various posters using? It matters since they have different chemistries. Saying that “SimpleGreen“ is safe for aluminum is misleading at best and flat wrong at worst. One product is specifically designed for metals. Here is what SimpleGreen has to say about aluminum, some types are NOT recommended for extended exposure to aluminum - never more than 10 minutes. Not my opinion, but rather facts from the manufacturer.

 

[DHall_37]

How about some facts rather than opinion? First, there are numerous SimpleGreen products, specifically which are the various posters using? It matters since they have different chemistries. Saying that “SimpleGreen“ is safe for aluminum is misleading at best and flat wrong at worst. One product is specifically designed for metals. Here is what SimpleGreen has to say about aluminum, some types are NOT recommended for extended exposure to aluminum - never more than 10 minutes. Not my opinion, but rather facts from the manufacturer.

View attachment 1297887

Good to know, I have some of the aircraft stuff on the way.