cleaners

[berndog]

Hey Guys,,,,I'm using cheap thinners for cleaning off residues after polishing,,i had a fella in the shop yesterday,,tells me by doing that,I'm defeating the purpose of polishing by taking the waxes off.Any opinions?

[dadkar2]

Where in the process is the cleaning in question? Is it after plating and polishing, or prior to plating?

Ken

[berndog]

it is after polishing....no plating

[dadkar2]

If you don't plan on plating over, and this is your final polishing:

After polishing with the Flitz polish, a protective film is left on. This is a good thing. Solvent will remove this protective film.

After buffing, you'd have to remove the dirty buffing grease. I use an ultrasonic cleaner to clean off the bufffing grease. NOTHING works better. My cleaning solution for buffing grease is a formulation meant for clock cleaning that can be purchased from Ronell. It works like nothing else I've tried.

I am amazed by how much buffing compound is left on after soak cleaning or even solvent cleaning. The ultrasonic process strips it right off.

Then, finish with Flitz and polish away every trace of it. You'll have a part that is fairly resilient to tarnishing. With brass and copper, you could skip the Flitz and apply a thin coat of VHT lacquer to preserve it if you prefer.

Ken

[skiddz]

Ken, where'd ya get the ultrasonic machine and how big is it? I'm going broke buying gallon cans of brake parts cleaner.. heheeh

[dadkar2]

Skiddz,

Ultrasonic cleaners are available in sizes larger than you can imagine. Much over a few gallons the pricing grows out of sight exponentially. The unit I have is 10" long x 8" wide x 6" deep. All of my plating is related to antique clocks, and I won't handle larger parts. This simplifies things a bit. I don't quite know how large the parts you're attempting to clean might be.

I procured mine at a clock show, for a good price (in the $300 range). It was reconditioned by Lone Star Technical Services in San Antonio and has worked flawlessly for 5 years. www.ultrasonicrepair.com

I think some of the best ultrasonic machines are made by Electrowave. They make some really large models with and without heaters, can custom make units for particular temperatures, and are friendly to work with. www.electrowavecorp.com

Don't use flammable liquids in these cleaners with heating capability. Volatile liquids will build up in concentrations and possibly cause explosions. EPI makes an ultrasonic cleaning formulation for plating that I hear is pretty good. I have not tried it, but I may soon. You'll have to buy 5 gallons minimum, but it might be worth your while!! www.epi.com

It wasn't until I started using ultrasonics and EPI cleaning products that I was able to get a good plate. I use all Caswell products except the cleaning products. I've recommended to Mike Caswell that he carry EKleen125 but so far no luck. It's probably because the stuff is highly caustic and it would be bad if people irresponsibly dumped it down the drain without neutralizing it first.

Ken

[dadkar2]

I want to re-emphasize that my experience with Caswell products has been extraordinary and very successful, along with (and partially because of) the great support. My only difficulty has been the cleaning products; in particular, the SP Degreaser.

I would be interested if anyone else could comment on their success or failures with SP Degreaser or other formulations. Perhaps there are some lessons to be shared on this topic. For example, I use a two stage cleaning process:

1. Coarse degreasing with ammoniated cleaner and ultrasonics
2. Final cleaning with professional platers cleaning product mentioned previously

I also use a 2-stage rinsing process in between each cleaning.

It works 100% of the time, solidly passes waterbreak and plates beautifully. Other experiences encouraged and welcome.

Ken

[skiddz]

Thanks for the info Ken. I'm not sure what kinds of sizes I *might* be getting in to. The stuff I'm doing now is all relatively small, but I'm working on a project with another off road nut to open a small manufacturing/fabrication shop for ATV and Sandrail accessories so something big might be required.

I'm actually headed to Austin in a couple weeks (Lil sis is squeezing out her 1st kid soon) so I may take the drive down to "San An-tone" and visit Lone Star..

I'm not into clocks by any means.. (Hell, I don't even wear a watch!) Do you know of any clock shows going on in or near the Southern CA area in the semi-near future? (Phoenix would work as well - I've got to visit a buggy shop to see if I want to buy my frame from them)

I'll check out electrowave too..

Thanks for the info!

i use hot soapy water and a terry clothe.. i mixed up a bottle of degreaser 10:1 it works to ,, then blow it off

[skiddz]

I'm still using *hot* water and Murphy's Oil Soap for simple parts (Stuff I can rub down with my hands) , but I have been soaking more intricate parts in a gallon can of brake parts cleaner and "scrubbing" with a foam paintbrush.

I do work with a bio-tech firm and I know they revamp their equipment every year or so. I'm gonna call my contact and see if they use any ultrasonic cleaners and find out if they're tossing any out in the near future.