Ultra sonic cleaning of zamak

[Mrdix18]

I use my ultrasonic cleaner on many parts in the shop , does anyone have experience using an ultrasonic cleaner on the Zamak parts ? I sure don’t want to ruin anything inadvertently, I know aluminum with the wrong chemicals in the ultrasonic cleaner is bad !
Thanks in advance !

 

[markba633csi]

I think you're fine- it's only caustics I'd be concerned about

 

[pontiac428]

Don't use cleaners with glycol ethers, either- that's about all of your simple green and wonder cleaners in a bottle- they also attack aluminum and yellow metals (though generally to a minor extent). I'd use regular dish soap. Also be aware that ZAMAK suffers from "zinc pest" or oxidation that can substantially reduce the integrity of the matrix. Ultrasonic may or may not yield unexpected results, depending on the overall condition of your ZAMAK parts. It's "probably" okay, but there's always a risk. You can't go wrong with a scrub with a stiff bristle brush and soap, but the usual tools for ultrasonic cleaning and the associated bottled products is iffy, double goes for if the cleaning bath is warm or hot.

 

[Mrdix18]

Thank you , having never worked around the material before I was hoping for some good information!

 

[pontiac428]

Thank you , having never worked around the material before I was hoping for some good information!

I love my ultrasonic cleaner and I wield chemicals with skill, but when I had an Atlas, I washed the gears in the kitchen sink with palmolive.

 

[ChazzC]

Ultrasonic carb cleaners made for Aluminum should be OK.

 

[WobblyHand]

A word of caution with ultrasonic cleaning. If the zamak has significant corrosion the cleaning may remove the internal corrosion and weaken the part. Use good judgement, a mild detergent and limited time in the bath.

Sometimes ultrasonic cleaning can generate unexpected results. They sell low power ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning eyeglasses. I dipped my glasses into a bigger unit for less than 5 minutes and watched the expensive anti reflection optical coating slide off my glasses into the bath. I was surprised, to say the least. For solid parts, ultrasonic cleaning is awesome. But do watch carefully as non solids, or coatings may do things you don't expect.

 

[ChazzC]

Worked part time at Service Merchandise as a Diamond Consultant long, long ago. A new to us Jewelry Manager was trying to make a sale to a male customer who had a flashy “23K” gold ring with a n OK diamond setting; to help the sale along, the manager offered a free cleaning, and placed the ring in the US cleaner (filled with hot standard jewelry cleaning solution) without fully checking it - the plating was completely stripped. We overnighted the ring to the shop on Brooklyn, they re-plated it and the customer given a significant discount on whatever it was he bought. Standard procedure was to visually confirm the quality stamp, test any stones and give the customer a receipt stating “one man’s approx 1/2ct diamond ring marked 24K yellow gold” and then clean.