Cleaning solution?

[buddhasummer]

For those of you who do not have an ultrasonic bath what concentration of white vinegar/distilled water do you use? I've seen various concentrations mentioned so am unsure and don't want to melt my reg. How long do you leave it soaking? Cheers.

 

[steveharriss]

50/50 of 5% white vinegar to ordinary tap water rather than distilled. 10 minutes maximum, less if you're heating the solution.

 

[macado]

50/50 water/vinegar bath is commonly recommended but I try to avoid using vinegar even at short intervals since it can really do a number on old or bad chrome.

I use SaltX concentration with water or Simple Green solution.

Try to use very hot water if your ultra sonic cleaner doesn't have a heating option.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

That works for corrosion. If it's simple dirt or grease clear simple green works well. Or in a pinch something like unscented clear Dawn diswashing liquid does a very good job followed by a running freshwater rinse.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[beanojones]

50/50 water/vinegar bath is commonly recommended but I try to avoid using vinegar even at short intervals since it can really do a number on old or bad chrome.

I use SaltX concentration with water or Simple Green solution.

Try to use very hot water if your ultra sonic cleaner doesn't have a heating option.

As noted, acid can completely kill gear that is on its last legs.

Cheapo electric tooothbrushes and dish soap are cheap and easy replacements for most commercial cleaners, and unltrasonics. And use hot as you can get water. Since you are in Japan, the electric pot for instant ramen is a great source of hot water that makes cleaning easy. And when rinsing using hot water makes the gear dry faster too.

 

[rsingler]

I can't stand the odor that Simple Green leaves on plastic parts. I've given it up for Dawn and a toothbrush.
Try switching from vinegar to warm 2% phosphoric acid. Get some liquid tile cleaner from HomeDepot or equivalent, and dilute it heavily. Check the label to confirm it only has phosphoric acid, some glycol (antifreeze) which acts as a penetrant, and add a little Dawn as a surfactant. You've just made some cheapo Lawrence Factor Wash.
The improvement over vinegar is amazing. Warm it and it's even better.
Plastic parts just need a 30-sec dip and a little rubbing on the salty areas, and then a rinse in clean water.
Metal parts can handle 3-10 min in warm solution, and then rinse.

 

[Dsix36]

I soak in 100% vinegar for 15 minutes and then rinse well in Simple Green. I do not soak any plastic parts in vinegar, I just clean them with a brush and rinse.

 

[macado]

100% vinegar bath for 15 minutes is pretty aggressive. May want to be careful; It will work but can easily damage chrome.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

50/50 of 5% white vinegar to ordinary tap water rather than distilled. 10 minutes maximum, less if you're heating the solution.

1+.

But I only use an "acid" bath on parts that have corrosion, and for the bare minimum amount of time needed to remove it. I'll usually soak for 5 minutes, brush gently with a toothbrush, then maybe another 5 minutes if there are "stubborn" deposits (which I usually only see on old eBay regs).

In most cases when servicing my personal regs, an acid bath is not required at all. Simple Green or something similar, or dish soap and warm water is more than enough.

As others have already mentioned, be careful with even weak acid solutions.

Best wishes.

 

[buddhasummer]

50/50 of 5% white vinegar to ordinary tap water rather than distilled. 10 minutes maximum, less if you're heating the solution.

Can you buy vinegar at 5%? And do you mean equal amounts of water and vinegar? Cheers

---------- Post added July 16th, 2013 at 02:02 AM ----------

Thank you very much for all the replies, I now have a better idea of how to go about it. Cheers.