I had an impromptu tour of the armory of a police department a while back and noticed that they had a gun "dunk tank", literally a gun washer where the guns were submerged in fluid to clean them.

 

I thought of that again this weekend when I fully stripped my GSG 5 completely to clean out all the powder residue and copper/lead shavings it had accumulated from 1000+ rounds....wouldn't it be nice to be able to just dunk the hole gun in a tank for a couple of hours/a day and come back with it cleaned out?

 

Is such a thing even possible on a hobbyist scale? What cleaning solution would be appropriate?

 

I'm thinking along the lines of a electric parts washer like this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Industrial-Electric-Parts-Washer/dp/B0000AXCKJ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1250554692&sr=1-2

 

I've used a ultrasonic jewelry cleaner....didn't do squat. lol

 

But, I do like the parts washer Idea...that would be quite easy. Especially for those who love shooting, but hate cleaning like myself.

Ultrasonic parts cleaners are used for many things. You can buy inexpensive ones which are aimed at jewelry, but which do a great job on gun parts, race engine parts, etc. We used to use them all the time for wheel bearing parts.

 

I just read an article somewhere (Shotgun News?) about using an ultrasonic cleaner for just this!

 

Parts cleaners, like you use for big car parts, which basically pump a solvent over the part, can be nice, but they are a PITA to keep in your house or garage. It's basically a big container of nasty solvent covered by an iffy lid......

Brownells sells a small one suitable for small parts, and I know you can get cheapies at Harbor Freight.

 

One big enough for a full rifle and shotgun will probably cost a pretty penny.

I've used a ultrasonic jewelry cleaner....didn't do squat. lol

 

The small inexpensive ones don't work so don't waste your money. We bought a L&R years back and it worked great although it did cause a few problems. First using the proper solution is a must and it isn't cheap although it goes far. Secondly our units were heated which makes a big difference.

 

the down side is while it does loosen every bit of grease and dirt, if the firearm is not completely disassembled, it has no where to go and just gets trapped in a different location causing problems. It also cleans it so throughly that lubrication is a must on all moving parts. The lubrication solution they sell doesn't work..

 

Another minus is cost. Our unit was over eight hundred for a handgun sized unit.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner i purchased for remanufacturing carbuerators, i have cleaned my guns in it and works very well, but i did pay alot of money for the machine and you do have to use their cleaners for it to work properly, they are also envirmentaly friendly they use soapy solutions all biodegradable. somewhere on my puter i have sks parts i cleaned in it, will post when i find them.

FOUND THEM, BEFORE PICS. THIS WAS A FUN PROJECT FOR ME WHILE I RECOVERED FROM MY CANCER SURGERY. :!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER PICS..................

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, that's hawt! Dare I ask how much for one of them thar machines?

Whoops!

They are not cheap....

http://www.lrultrasonics.com/

this is the co, i purchased mine from.

http://www.omegasonics.com/industrial/table_top.shtml

model 7900, 7 3/4 gal capacity. 2350.00 with basket and 10 gals of omega clean.