I've been finishing a few long-unfinished etched kits lately. Iain Rice recommends dunking the article in a solution of washing soda at about 1 tablespoon in a pint of warm water at the end of the construction session to neutralise any acidic fluxes and clean off grease. Lacking any washing soda immediately to hand, I am wondering if sugar soap (which seems to be largely sodium carbonate) would do the job as effectively, and, possibly be useful in the ultrasonic cleaner?
Steve
Ultrasonic Cleaners
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Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
I was recently tempted to try Lotoxane HD for degreasing but for my use (wheel cleaning) I found the postage cost too high and am trying barbecue lighting fluid from our local hardware store. However for use on things like a whole model a solvent that will degrease and remove flux residues in an ultrasonic bath sounds very attractive.
https://www.arrowchem.com/products/lotoxane-hd/
Both Lotoxane and the barbecue lighter fluid are essentially higher molecular weight aliphatic hydrocarbons that will not damage most plastics in normal use. Soaking a piece of toughened polystyrene sheet in the barbecue fluid overnight showed no damage.
https://www.arrowchem.com/products/lotoxane-hd/
Both Lotoxane and the barbecue lighter fluid are essentially higher molecular weight aliphatic hydrocarbons that will not damage most plastics in normal use. Soaking a piece of toughened polystyrene sheet in the barbecue fluid overnight showed no damage.
Regards,
Andrew Nummelin
Andrew Nummelin
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Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
I would suggest that, if using some of these chemicals, it might be better for your ultrasonic gadget if you contain the cleaner (and parts) in a second container and only put water in the tank. You might remember water baths in science lessons at school. The ultrasonics will do their job. This is a useful thing to do when you have smaller parts and you use the cleaners more economically.
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Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
David B wrote:I would suggest that, if using some of these chemicals, it might be better for your ultrasonic gadget if you contain the cleaner (and parts) in a second container and only put water in the tank. You might remember water baths in science lessons at school. The ultrasonics will do their job. This is a useful thing to do when you have smaller parts and you use the cleaners more economically.
I'm with David on this.
I use my ultrasonic for the final clean with only water. It seems to do the trick
Steve Carter
Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
You could of course use a cleaning fluid specifically made for ultrasonic baths. There's a wide range available from, say, Allendale Ultrasonics (https://www.allendale-ultrasonics.co.uk ... and-fluids) which includes one specifically for flux removal. I've also found that their general purpose solution, used in the ultrasonic bath at 10% with warm water, is an excellent paint stripper.
DT
DT
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Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
David Thorpe wrote: an excellent paint stripper.
David,
That may be useful, but what kind of paint, acrylic, enamel or cellulose?
Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
I've only ever tried it with enamels although it has also worked on some factory finishes, albeit old ones. As an example, see the image below. I've got some old Tri-ang Caledonian coach sides, and I use them for trying out various paint colours and finishes. The picture below shows one such side before and after immersion in the ultrasonic bath. It did take quite a long time - I seem to recall it was something like two 20-minute sessions - but after that all the paint was off except for a few stubborn bits which a quick scrub with a toothbrush got rid of. As stated in my post above I used Allendales general purpose ultrasonic cleaning fluid, mixed at 10% with warm-to-hot tap water. I've also used this method to remove enamel paint from a white-metal loco as well as various items of freight stock.
DT
DT
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Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
Winander wrote:David Thorpe wrote: an excellent paint stripper.
David,
That may be useful, but what kind of paint, acrylic, enamel or cellulose?
Precision Paints two-part etching primer. Discovering that was a surprise, I can tell you! But the water was hot (from the tap).
When used with hot water, the USC will also nibble away at Milliput.
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Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
David Thorpe wrote: As an example, see the image below. I've got some old Tri-ang Caledonian coach sides, and I use them for trying out various paint colours and finishes.
DT
So what USC do you use that can accommodate coach sides?
Rod
Re: Ultrasonic Cleaners
The one I bought was a 6L one from ebay. Search for "6L ultrasonic cleaners" and you'll find a whole host of them on both ebay and Amazon, many appearing to be identical. The one I bought is pretty much identical to the £89.99 CO-Z one shown on this page:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=6l+ultraso ... nb_sb_noss .
You'll note that there are lots of others, seemingly identical. It's got a timer and heating element and it accommodates coach sides, at least of the size I build. It hasn't been subjected to an awful lot of work, but so far I'm very happy with it. The heating element is slow, so it's best to put hot water in it to start as that speeds things up quite a lot.
DT
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=6l+ultraso ... nb_sb_noss .
You'll note that there are lots of others, seemingly identical. It's got a timer and heating element and it accommodates coach sides, at least of the size I build. It hasn't been subjected to an awful lot of work, but so far I'm very happy with it. The heating element is slow, so it's best to put hot water in it to start as that speeds things up quite a lot.
DT
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