Ultrasonic Reel Cleaning

[Wilfong9]

Ok, so my ultrasonic cleaner has arrived. I do precision rifle reloading so that is its main purpose. However, I have 32 reels that have never been deep cleaned.

What parts do y'all avoid tossing in the cleaner. I have several chemical options (Hornady small parts, Hornady brass, simple green, alcohol, acetone, and several reel cleaners) but wanted to see what y'all recommend. 20 of the reels are Revo STX and SX, 8 are Shimano spinning and the other are a mixed assortment. 2 of the Revos have ABEC 7 ceramics but the others are all factory.

I know I could send these in and someone could probably do a fantastic job. I know I could also throw a grand worth of new bearings in them all and I bet they would spin for weeks. I have the cleaner at my disposal, I have a little time and I enjoy tinkering. I've torn down all of the reels entirely so that isn't an issue. Just looking for a little advice to perfect this effort. Thanks!

[PikeRoadBassn]

I use Simple Green HD Pro. It’s purple in color. A 30/70 mix works best for my cleaner. I hand wash frames, side plates, main gear, pinion gear, and worm shaft. Everything else goes into the US Cleaner with Simple Green Pro HD. I run them on no heat for 1 hour. After that a warm water rinse, and air dry.

Bearings I clean in Acetone. 30 minutes first, then new acetone, and another 30 minutes. Air dry, and check for roughness/noise. If they are still dirty, or noisy, I run for another 30 minutes in fresh acetone. If that doesn’t clean them up, I go ahead and replace them.

[iabass8]

The only pieces I don’t put in my ultra sonic cleaner are the side plates, frame and handle . I run the bearings through one cycle with the parts in 50/50 water/pefect solution cleaner or simple green. Then i put the bearings in acetone im a baby food jar and then put that back in with the parts and run another cycle. Repeat until clean. Rinse parts in hot water bath and dry with compressed air.

[cadman]

I use one as well and use 50/50 Simple Green and water. All parts go in except , side plates, frame,, handle and any parts that has graphics on it, bearings and metal gears. Side plates and frame I hand wash with Dawn, hot water and tooth brush to clean crevices. On metal parts like gears, I put them in a small jar filled with Naphtha and put the jar lightly tightened in Ultrasonic cleaner. Bearings go in a separate jar filled with Naphtha and cleaned for 10 minutes. Then in clean Naphtha again and cleaned until they spin freely.

[Wilfong9]

Good stuff guys, I like the idea of the baby food jar. Do you just put the cars in the ultrasonic cleaner and run it without any other liquid or heat. Just the chemical of choice in the baby jar?

[Jeff Hahn]

Good stuff guys, I like the idea of the baby food jar. Do you just put the cars in the ultrasonic cleaner and run it without any other liquid or heat. Just the chemical of choice in the baby jar?

I do the same as the other guys above. Avoid putting any parts in the ultrasonic cleaner that is painted, plated, or has graphics. I have water in my cleaner when I put in a jar with a little lighter fluid that contains the bearings. You want water in the cleaner to transmit the vibrations into the jar and lighter fluid to clean the bearings.

[LgMouthGambler]

Am I the only one who still does everything by hand?

[Jeff Hahn]

Am I the only one who still does everything by hand?

i used to scrub every part by hand. A cheap ultrasonic from Bed, Bath, Beyond saves me at least 30 minutes per reel.

[cadman]

I have water in my cleaner when I put in a jar with a little lighter fluid that contains the bearings. You want water in the cleaner to transmit the vibrations into the jar and lighter fluid to clean the bearings.

This, plus make sure your jars are not floating in the water. They should rest on the bottom of the USC for vibration. Also, I heat my water, which heats the Naphtha in the jars. Do not fill jar all the way to the top. Leave the lids loose and do not leave this unattended. Naphtha (Lighter fluid) is flammable. My USC runs for 5 minutes and then stops. **Warning** If you don't know what you are doing and don't want to monitor your cleaning process, don't use heat with Naphtha. **Warning**