Hot take: those ultrasonic cleaners with the cheap degreaser will eat your aluminum shifters

I ran a set of 105 shifters through my $80 ultrasonic cleaner with the included degreaser for 15 minutes and the finish came out pitted and chalky. Anyone else wreck parts using these things before switching to a proper pH neutral solution?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.nina25d ago

Alright, I gotta push back a little on the "cheap degreaser" thing. "Pitted and chalky" sounds rough, but I've run aluminum parts through my cheap ultrasonic with the included solution way more than 15 minutes and never had that happen. I think the real issue might be how hot the solution got or if there was already some corrosion on those shifters before you put them in. A lot of people blame the degreaser, but it's usually the heat or a pre-existing weak spot on the part that gets wrecked. Not saying it can't happen, but I'm pretty skeptical it's just the price of the cleaner.

james_kim25d agoTop Commenter

Actually, the cheaper degreasers often use ammonia based compounds that can weaken aluminum over time if you leave them sitting. Running them 15 minutes is fine, but letting parts soak for an hour without checking could start eating into anodized surfaces. The real difference between expensive and cheap ultrasonic solutions is the pH buffering, not just the price tag.