I Ended up with a Branson 3800 mechanical.



The 365 Fits


So does a p226




And two sets of roller skate wheels for the wife, along with 36 ball bearings.

More please. What medium did you use on the pistols? How well did it work?

You didn't clean your aluminum frame in an ultrasonic cleaner, right?

So far my mask internals and Odessa 9 are cleaning up fine.

In the past stainless or Nitron was fine. All I had were the cheapy harbor freight and it cut down cleaning immensely.

I contracted the manufacturer asked specifically about cleaners for firearms.

They said MC-3, and also to call the wholesaler.

So I did. I used MC3 at the 10% solution he mentioned over the phone.

quote:

You didn't clean your aluminum frame in an ultrasonic cleaner, right?

For non-ammonia cleaners and Non-coating guns, it shouldn't be an issue with aluminum. Which is what i specifically asked about. Apparently, there was an issue. To besure I am not fully sure what went on. This isn't like any of the passed aluminum issues I have seen.





I have an email into the vendor to see what is up. I have two suspicions. 1 that their cleaner has some kind of ammonia. or 2, since this is one of those sig refurbished lowers, the job redoing it was sub par. Causing it to fail where it seen in the photos.

The aluminum p226 22lr slide was fine. It turned out spotless. So, I am not sure entirely what is up.

Holy shit!

I hope you get that figured out and that the fix isn't too painful on the wallet.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Holy shit!

I hope you get that figured out and that the fix isn't too painful on the wallet.

The more I look at it, I am betting it is likely from the refinish. Keep in mind I bought this frame from that batch of sig refurb frames that came out a few years ago. I am betting this is why they were refurbed.

Could be. Looking at it, I keep thinking of the CPO P229 I had years ago where the finish on the frame started flaking off all over the place. It was one of "those" CPO's.

So you can see the slide which is aluminum is pretty good shape. the area on the second part with the serrations is just not oiled.

I've always heard that finished aluminum was a no go in ultrasonics. Due to finish damage. I always read it in regards to using them to clean suppressors. So I'm not surprised if the frame suffered some finish damage.

Now you get to send it to CCR!

Holy sheep! I feel for you. I hate to see something like that happening.

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:
I've always heard that finished aluminum was a no go in ultrasonics. Due to finish damage. I always read it in regards to using them to clean suppressors. So I'm not surprised if the frame suffered some finish damage.

Now you get to send it to CCR!

Then why are countless of gun ranges using ultrasonic machines on their rental guns? Ones like sig, ar15's etc No, this is either a chemical issue or more likely a finish issue. IIRC CCR had seen a couple of these come through at some point. They were supposedly purchased from sig like this. My bet is they were refurbished because of the poor quality in the original coating. I'll posit the upper as proof fo that theory also. It is aluminum, and not damaged

I have an inquiry into CCR now. Keep in mind, while it was perfect beforehand. I did pay 35 bucks shipped for each of the frames I bought. So with transfer, i am at 55 bucks per frame. This whole gun is sitting at about 325. Most of that being the upper, which wasn't damaged.

quote:

Jimmo952
Member
posted July 09, 2020 07:26 AM Hide Post
Holy sheep! I feel for you. I hate to see something like that happening.

I was upset, However, it is the primary reason I put this in here over any other gun I own. I am hoping i can get it repaired and refinished. Shit happens. I just move on. compared to being at the local gun range where some guy thought his life was so dismal that he ought to end it. I left just before this happened.

quote:

Man found dead inside shooting range in Ashland
HANOVER COUNTY
by: Alonzo Small

Posted: Jul 8, 2020 / 06:41 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 9, 2020 / 09:09 AM EDT

I also purchased an ultrasonic cleaner a year or so ago. There are some firearm parts that get a heavy coating of carbon and the ultrasonic does a great job of cleaning those hard to reach places. The problem with ultrasonic cleaning that many cleaning mediums are water based, so you have to IMMEDIATELY dry the part and apply a coating of oil or else the part will start forming rust almost immediately.
For that reason, I would never put an entire firearm into the cleaning vat. I don't think that all water could be removed from the internals and the result would be a firearm that develops rust. Compressed air to blow out the moisture is a great help, but not perfect.
I tend to use my cleaner for parts that have a lot of places that are hard or almost impossible to clean with the normal cleaning procedures like a brush or swab. For small parts like that an ultrasonic cleaner can be a big help, but a complete firearm, no way in my opinion although some do. I've found there's just no substitute for a good old fashioned cleaning.
Even if you use a cleaning solution with no water, the process still strips the oil coating off of internal parts. That oil coating helps to protect and lubricate those internal parts. And then there's the fact that we often don't know how a part or a finish is going to react to the cleaning process, as shown above. Another reason I avoid putting an entire assembled firearm in the ultrasonic.
I have to say, I found for my purposes an ultrasonic cleaner has many purposes, but in cleaning firearms the ultrasonic cleaner was unnecessary. But that's just my opinion, others swear by them.

quote:

any cleaning mediums are water based, so you have to IMMEDIATELY dry the part and apply a coating of oil or else the part will start forming rust almost immediately.
For that reason, I would never put an entire firearm into the cleaning vat. I don't think that all water could be removed from the internals and the result would be a firearm that develops rust. Compressed air to blow out the moisture is a great help, but not perfect.
I tend to use my cleaner for parts that have a lot of places that are hard or almost impossible to clean with the normal cleaning procedures like a brush or swab. For small parts like that an ultrasonic cleaner can be a big help,

This unit is heated to about 140 degrees. So, I put the objects in, clean them then rinse them in very hot water. That heat evaporates most of the moisture.

This was a test run yesterday. Usually, I would strip them bare and reassemble after cleaning. In the future, I may do 2, or three guns clean them. Wipe them off, Drain, wipe out the bin, and put in the liquid lube. Then air them off.

Again I have some questions in to some vendors.

Edit,

I went over this both with the manufacturer, and the wholesaler before purchasing. I was extremely clear about what I was going to use it for.

"Hello Aaron,



Thank you for sending the pictures. Branson’s MC-3 is safe to use on aluminum. The aluminum firearm is anodized and exposure to the ultrasonics, along with a chemical, can potentially remove the coating. The longer the frame is left in the bath, the more the ultrasonics can have an effect at wearing away the coating. If you have any questions, please let me know.



Best Regards,



Rob Deckelman"

Sigh. I am returning it today. I don't like it when businesses semantic games.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DSgrouse,

An ultrasonic cleaner will cause standing waves to form within aluminum items. The photos above show the damage done by these standing waves. The damage shown is identical to that of the damage I suffered using an ultrasonic cleaner on an aluminum tubed suppressor and Uzi .22lr conversion bolt. It makes no difference what fluid medium is used. Never, ever, use an ultrasonic cleaner on any aluminum item!

My friend suffered $4K in damage to his M2 50 Caliber machine gun because of an ultrasonic cleaner. He placed the M2 hydraulic buffer assembly in the cleaner. The ultrasonic cleaner caused the rubber seals to leak and the hydraulic buffer fluid seeped out. The hydraulic fluid within the buffer was replaced by the sonic cleaner fluid. During the next shooting session, the buffer assembly froze causing the M2's side plates to buckle and warp. My buddy needed to send the weapon out for repair which cost $4K and a three month wait.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:

I was upset...Shit happens. I just move on...

Note: Quote edited, but stays in context.

This is what I tell my wife, kids, friends, etc...you'll live a long and healthy life with that perspective. Thanks for staying engaged in your thread. I'm learning alot about these as I'd like one for my suppressors.

Only small parts go in the ultrasonic, barrels, stainless or titanium suppressor baffles, AR bolt. Dry, displace the water with brake cleaner then Ezzox, dry , re oil.
Ultrasonic with a rotary tumbler using stainless steel pins gets suppressor baffles clean.

I use the ultrasonic cleaner for small parts, but wasn't aware of the finish-destroying property on aluminum -- I wouldn't have expected that. Thanks for the heads up.

This may be a good excuse for hard chrome. These guys have some pictures of recently-plated Sigs.

I am at ways to refinish it.

I have use my ultra sonic cleaner to clean my wifes Ruger LCRX revolver. All aluminum frame and barrel shroud. I use a chemical approved for aluminum aircraft parts by the FAA. Absolutely NO issues except an extremely clean fire arm by removing only the grips. After cleaning in solution I clean again in plain water at high heat. Like in my dishwasher I take the gun out and it dries almost immediatly on its own. I then lube throughly and wipe off the excess.

Yeah, I'll just stick with doing it buy hand and letting some of them be dirty longer....