Since they are becoming more popular on this front, we thought it would be a great idea to do another article on what you can and cannot do with an ultrasonic cleaner when it comes to cleaning your firearms.

Cleaning a Firearm

If you are used to cleaning a gun manually, you know how painstaking this process can be for those not so familiar with the routine. I have a veteran friend who can strip his weapon down, clean it, and have it back together again in less than 15 minutes. I also have friends that only use their weapons occasionally and take more than two hours to clean. I realize that is an extreme case, but you get my understanding.

Over and above time, the manual methods used, such as brushes, sprays, and pads, are not likely to penetrate every crack and crevice of the weapon, so while it may be clean to the naked eye, there are likely contaminants that were left behind.

An ultrasonic cleaner’s cavitation creates microscopic bubbles that penetrate every surface, crack, and crevice of the firearm so that the cleaning solution will remove every little speck, no matter how small, making this a far more effective way to clean the weapon.

What You Should DO

Even though an ultrasonic cleaner is very effective at cleaning, you will still have to field strip the weapon before cleaning it. You will find that it cleans the small parts of the weapon very effectively which presents a challenge when manually cleaning.

After the cleaning process is over, you should rinse, dry, and lubricate the various components of the gun. You should do this within a few minutes of the cleaning process being completed to avoid any contaminants getting into those components as well as keep the gun rust-free.

The final “do” here would be to consult with an expert member of our team to ensure you are using the proper setting, temperature, and cleaning agent for your machine.

What You Should NOT DO

The big no-no here is using flammable solvents to clean the gun in an ultrasonic cleaner. Our gun cleaning solutions are water-based, which is obviously far safer.

To help, we also have this video that fully explains how to clean a gun with an Omegasonics ultrasonic cleaner…

If you have any other questions or would like to talk to a member of our team about ordering a tank, please give us a call at 888-989-5560.

The traditional way involves messy and smelly chemicals and oils, taking apart the weapon, and painstaking scrubbing at each individual part and the inside of the barrel with wire brushes.

Thankfully, with the advent of ultrasonic cleaning, you can choose whether you want to clean your gun in the time-consuming traditional way or simply let the ultrasonic cleaning device do all the hard work for you–in a fraction of the time and more effectively. In fact, ultrasonic cleaning is 16 times more effective than manual methods of gun cleaning!

How Does Ultrasonic Cleaning Gun Cleaning Work?

Ultrasonic cleaning uses the power of sound waves to achieve its incredible effects. Ultrasonic sound waves are generated by the device and pass through a liquid bath, which is often a detergent or oil solution. When the sound waves impact the immersed object to be cleaned, they produce millions of tiny bubbles. When these cavitation bubbles collapse, they release jets of intense energy, dislodging dirt and grime from every surface of the object to be cleaned. Ultrasonic cleaning is used across many industries, and it has revolutionized gun cleaning.

How to Clean Your Gun Using Ultrasonic Cleaners

One common question is whether ultrasonic sound waves could potentially damage gun parts, especially rubber and plastic. Hard polymers are generally safe in ultrasonic cleaners, and many law enforcement agencies are subjecting tritium night sights to ultrasonic waves without any damaging effects. Experts, however, discourage the cleaning of any soft polymer or rubberized items, such as pistol grips, in an ultrasonic system.

Simple field stripping of the gun into its main component parts is usually all that’s required to ensure a good, thorough cleaning with an ultrasonic device. If you follow the basic teardown procedure in the owner’s manual, then you can achieve a fast, professional cleaning without the added labor or expense of complete disassembly of the gun.

Steps to Clean Your Gun with an Ultrasonic Device

Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. First, plug the device in and prepare the solution to be poured into the tank, following the label instructions on the ratio of solution to water. Once you immerse your gun, turn on the machine. Most firearms clean up nicely in 15 minutes or less, though if there is an unusual amount of carbon buildup, you may need to clean the gun for up to 30 minutes. Of course, this is still far less time than would be needed for traditional cleaning methods.

Once the time is up, take the gun out of the bath and inspect it. If there is still grime or fouling, you can either spot clean it by hand or run the ultrasonic cleaner longer. You may notice a sludge collecting at the bottom of the tank. This is normal. You can install a filter in tank which will catch this sludge, allowing you to collect and reuse the detergent solution.

Ultrasonic Lubrication Process

Once the cleaning is completed, it’s time for step two in the ultrasonic cleaning process – lubrication. Since the gun has just been deeply and intricately cleaned, the unprotected bore and intricate workings inside the frame need some penetrating lubrication to protect the surface metal from rust. Fortunately, there is an ultrasonic solution to this issue: a lubrication solution.

Ultrasonic lubricating solution not only oils all the gun’s parts but the ultrasonic action makes sure the oil evenly and thoroughly coats every surface. To lubricate the gun, just pour the premixed blend of solvents and water-displacing oil straight into the tank so all parts are covered, and turn on the ultrasonic cleaner for roughly 10 to 15 minutes.

Once the gun is lubricated, drain the tank again (saving the lubricating solvent for reuse) and allow the parts to fully air-dry. When the lubricating solution dries, it’s advisable to add additional lubricating oil on all high-use moving parts to prevent wear or damage.

Although some may prefer the time investment and effort involved with cleaning their guns by hand, there is a faster and more effective alternative. In fact, ultrasonic cleaners provide the fastest, easiest, most effective firearm cleaning system available.

Want to know more about gun cleaning with ultrasonic cleaners? Contact the experts at Omegasonics and find out more at 888-989-5560 or email us at omegasonics@omegasonics.com

Many experts recommend cleaning guns every time they’re shot and definitely after target practice, when many rounds are shot.

Carbon buildup inside the barrel, for example, can affect the bullet’s velocity and, potentially, its accuracy.

Lead build-up in the barrel, smoke fouling in other parts of the gun, plus plastic residue when shooting shotgun shells all can contribute to decreased gun safety and accuracy.

Cleaning a gun the traditional way involves a somewhat tedious, multistep process involving strong chemical solvents and hand scrubbing, which can unintentionally remove gun bluing, exposing the gun to potential rust damage. Ultrasonic gun cleaning offers a high-tech and efficient solution, saving hours of labor.

What is Ultrasonic Cleaning?

Simply put, ultrasonic cleaning involves putting an object in a liquid solution inside a device which then bathes the object in ultrasonic sound waves. The vibration of these waves against the object produces millions of tiny “cavitation” bubbles that explode against the object, safely and thoroughly cleaning any grime from all its surfaces.

When done correctly, ultrasonic cleaning can get even the most stubborn substances off certain object surfaces and can quickly clean even the most hard-to-reach places. This effect makes ultrasonic cleaning perfect for guns.

Where Can I Buy an Ultrasonic Cleaning Device?

Ultrasonic cleaning machines are available from companies like Omegasonics, and offer a great ROI in terms of labor savings, especially for gun stores and law enforcement or military organizations, which have to clean large volumes of guns often.

Ultrasonic Gun Cleaning Steps

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to make sure you don’t damage your weapon! Remember, not every material is suitable for ultrasonic cleaning. In particular, if your gun has a wood stock or handle, be advised that ultrasonic cleaning can warp, crack or swell it  permanently. However, ultrasonic cleaning will not damage metal or even hard plastic parts.

The ultrasonic cleaning gun process should involve two types of solution in the ultrasonic bath: a cleaning solution and, afterwards, a lubricating solution to protect the gun metal from rusting as well as keeping its moving parts lubricated.

Prepare the ultrasonic cleaning device by putting in the correct amount of cleaning detergent. Remember that you can use the same detergent more than once so be prepared to filter and save it for future uses. Strip down the gun. Remember that since it’s being cleaned ultrasonically you won’t need to strip it down quite as much as if you were hand cleaning it. Just take it apart enough so that the cleaning solution can reach all surfaces.

Place the gun to be cleaned in the solution bath and set the timer for the ultrasonic cleaning device. The amount of time you set will vary based on how dirty the gun is, what type it is, how strong the cleaning solution and ultrasonic cleaning device are, and so on. Once you clean your weapon with this method, you’ll be able to predict this better in the future.

Once the timer goes off and the ultrasonic cleaning is done, remove the gun parts and inspect them. If they look like they need more cleaning, return them to the device for another round. Once they’re clean, use compressed  or blown air to dry the firearm..

Remove all fouling and impurities that have settled to the bottom of the tank and then prep the ultrasonic device for round two: the lubricating bath. The ultrasonic waves will make sure the lubricating bath gets into every crevice of your gun–just follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Or use a separate drip pan with a lubricating solution and drop this pan into the ultrasonic bath. The ultrasonic waves will pass through the pan and cavitate the firearm housed within.

When you’re done, you should have a thoroughly cleaned and lubricated weapon, ready to use. If you make ultrasonic cleaning part of your gun cleaning routine, you can go off and do other things while it’s cleaning automatically, saving you lots of tedium and labor. Not only that, but ultrasonic cleaning and lubrication are likely to be far more thorough than what you can easily achieve through hand methods.

Want to know more? Contact your Omegasonics representative at 888-989-5560 or email us at omegasonics@omegasonics.com

After all, each shot is a small explosion. The trouble is that to ensure that a weapon fires accurately and safely, your gun needs to be as clean as possible. That means spending a lot of time soaking parts in chemical baths and scrubbing with brushes. None of that is necessary with an ultrasonic cleaner!

Why Ultrasonic Cleaning for Firearms

Modern firearms and most of the materials from which they are made are perfect for a trip through an ultrasonic cleaner. This includes any parts that may be made of hard polymers as well as metals. A word of caution, antique wood and even that rust blue antique metal may be damaged in an ultrasonic cleaner. If you have any questions about what parts should or should not go into an ultrasonic cleaner, contact the manufacturer.

The Process

If you know how to field strip your weapon, then you know how to get it ready for a trip through the ultrasonic bath. A manufacturer recommended tear-down of the gun will get it into a state that it is ready to go into an ultrasonic bath. If you are cleaning a revolver, you can remove the yolk and cylinder assembly from the frame and put them into the bath separately.

How it Works

Why does ultrasonic cleaning work so well for guns? Because of the nature of how ultrasonic cleaners work. Soot, carbon and dirt get stuck to the surface parts of a gun with high heat and high velocity. This means that there is a strong chemical bond between them and the hard parts of the gun. Traditionally, chemicals were used to break down those bonds and brushes and rinsing took the dirt away.

This process is limited by where you can reach with cleaning implements as well as how effective the chemicals you use are. Ultrasonic cleaners work by using cavitation. This is a process where sound waves are put into a bath of cleaning solution. The sound waves create tiny pockets of energy that fill the bath and collide at the surface of the gun parts.

They release that energy and break apart the bonds between the dirt and your gun. The dirt is then broken down and carried to the top of the bath. Once the cycle is completed, all you need to do is remove the gun parts, rinse them and dry them; they will be as good as new.

Ultrasonic Cleaning for Firearms Reduces Time and Effort

Are you a firearms enthusiast or do you own a gun shop? Then you should consider an ultrasonic cleaner for maintaining your equipment. Omegasonics has a wide range of small and large cleaners that can suit any need. Find the right model for your home or shop here.

We knew it all along, but hunters and sport shooters were hesitant about trusting the operability and reliability of their firearms to a different technology, choosing instead to spend hours disassembling their weapons and cleaning them by hand.

Now that enthusiast periodicals like Guns & Ammo have endorsed ultrasonic cleaning, gun owners are flocking to it, primarily because of the final cleanliness it provides and the short amount of time it takes to get their guns back in peak condition.

Guns contain a lot of residue and contaminants after they have been used for a while. Copper, brass, and lead residue, bullet lube, burnt powder, carbon, dust, grime, rust, and old grease are commonly found in firearms that have been fired a lot. The traditional method has been to break down the weapon and meticulously hand clean it with brushes, patches, and a lot of hazardous solvent, which usually takes hours.

Gun cleaning using an ultrasonic cleaner is a very simple, two-step process that takes minutes instead of hours. The first step is the actual ultrasonic cleaning of the gun, and simply requires that it be field stripped. It does not need to be completely dismantled. Removing any obvious heavy build-up with a patch will speed up the process, but it is not necessary.

Guns usually take about 15 minutes to clean completely, although heavy build-up or first-time cleanings may require a second cleaning cycle. Once the cleaning is complete, simply wash the gun with warm, clean water, and then put it back into the ultrasonic cleaning system for step two of the process—the lubrication step. In this step, a solution is used that actually wicks water away from the surface of the gun to prevent it from rusting when air dried, and leaves a lightly lubricated surface behind. After this step, the gun can be reassembled and spot-lubricated, and it is ready for use.

The standard cleaning solutions used in an ultrasonic cleaning program for firearms are safe for all metals and most plastics. Carbon steel, stainless steel, cast iron, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and brass can all be cleaned safely, as can guns with finishes that are blued, nickel plated, Parkerized, anodized, or painted.

This is also an excellent way to clean shell casings prior to reloading. Soft rubber and wood grips and stocks should not go into an ultrasonic cleaner unless the manufacturer recommends it, since they may swell or distort in the warm aqueous solution.

Ultrasonic cleaning removes all the barrel crud, carbon residue, and junk from the workings of the gun, leaving behind a well-lubricated firearm that will function as new. The entire process can be completed in less than an hour, which is great if we’re cleaning several guns, or just have better things to do with our time. Gun cleaning using an ultrasonic cleaner is effective, safe for the weapon and user, and saves time. We knew about its benefits long ago; we’ve just been waiting for the gun lovers to catch up.

Contact us for more information on ultrasonic cleaners. You can also find us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The best way to restore a case back to its original perfection is with ultrasound and water based soaps. This unique technology is capable of cleaning specialized gun parts in a fraction of the time, reaches areas unreachable by hand-cleaning, and effectively leaves no residue without any harm human skin to the hand or the gun metal.