My $80 ultrasonic cleaner turned my brass shutter gears into a dull mess

I picked up one of those cheap ultrasonic cleaners off Amazon thinking it would save me time cleaning old shutters. Paid about 80 bucks for it, figured it was a solid investment. Ran a set of brass gears from a 1960s Kodak Retina through it for two cycles with some jewelry cleaner solution. When I pulled them out the brass had this weird hazy look, almost like it got etched. Turns out those cheap units pulse at a frequency that can actually damage softer metals over time. I should have just stuck with my solvent bath and a soft brush like I always do. Now I'm stuck with a batch of gears that need repolishing before I can even think about reassembly. Has anyone else had a cleaner wreck parts or am I just unlucky with the cheap ones?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_green8512d agoTop Commenter

Tried the same thing and learned the hard way too, never again.

taylorcarr12d ago

Same here man, it's one of those lessons that just sticks with you. Right there with you on never again.