Omegasonic? Heard of this??

[GregM.]

A local mechanic (who's been working on these bikes since the 70's) likes the ultrasonic method for cleaning-up carb parts during the rebuild process.

He uses the Omegasonic ultrasonic machine for doing this. I'm not familiar with this... Most everything I've been reading here suggests Berrymans carb dip etc.

Opinions please... Is this a good thing?? Pros... or, cons??

Thanks a bunch.

[denydog]

I'm not familiar with that particular machine, but depending on how crusty the carb parts are, I wouldn't think the ultrasonic machines I've used would be very effective. My main jets required some serious scraping to clean the crud, even after dipping. But carb dip in an ultrasonic machine could be the best of both worlds!

[louisciccoli]

We have an Omegasonic at work & I have used it many times for both my bike as well as workrelated things & it works great. The one we have is a larger unit ( I am able to fit all four carbs into it at the same time) & it has the extra option of heating the solvent while cleaning. Our Gunnersmates have a smaller one from the same company that they use for cleaning small parts off of the weapons & they like it as well. They say the only problem with it is if you leave parts in it for too long it will begin to remove the bluing from the part. In ours, we use a detergent soap designed for ultrasonic cleaners & they (the GM's) use CLP (a weapons grade cleaner & lubricant) in theirs. The big down side to the units is that they tend to be a little pricey, but the affects & ability to put in a part & walk away from it while it is being cleaned is great! I hope this helps you in your decision.

[GregM.]

Thanks guys for your thoughts.

Well I don't know how much crud is caked into my carbs... Seems to me a strong chemical and a piece of wire (like in the carb clean up article at this website) would be needed to do the trick. Especially in those small passageways.
Then again, maybe my carbs aren't too terrible... she was running pretty good before. Anyway, the mechanic has used this table top Omega-sonic on small parts for a long time and says it'll do the trick.

Does anyone know if you can put carb dip solution in one of these? How might it work differently depending what solution you put in it?

And Louis (or someone who knows) You say don't leave parts in the solution too long, or they'll lose their "bluing". Did I get that right?
What is 'bluing"??

Thanks for the education........

[txironhead]

Blueing is a protective coating found on most firearms.....gives 'em that "blackish blue" sheen.

Come to think of it, I don't know if you can "blue" aluminum, but a blued engine seems like it would look cool....any thoughts?

[louisciccoli]

You can put almost anything as far as a cleaning solution into them, as far as I know. The cleaning agent just aids the ultrasonic action of the cleaner to remove the gunk from the parts. As far as bluing, I am not familiar with the process of how it is done. I can find out from the GM's when I go back to work tomorrow. I'm not sure how it would look when it was finished though.

[DanTheMan]

Louis, You must be Active Duty Navy then? I never had the luxury of a parts cleaning machine of that nature for cleaning my crusty old pump parts when I had to re-build them. the "Newer Navy" sounds like it must really be moving forward now, all the way into the late 20th century?

[runewolf]

Blueing is a protective coating found on most firearms.....gives 'em that "blackish blue" sheen.

Come to think of it, I don't know if you can "blue" aluminum, but a blued engine seems like it would look cool....any thoughts?

I need to talk to my gun dealer about blueing aluminum. I'm not sure if he has tried or knows anyone who has, but he does have the equipment to do it. Might have to toss him that damn choke lever that is always rusting.

[GS550joe]

Cold Blueing

You might want to try casey blueing... it is a brush on and wash treatment that will blue the part... not quite to what the manufacturers of guns use but it did work on a chinese pistol I had and it did blue it to almost indistinguihable from orignal.. I think the slide was aluminum or real soft steel ..

JP

[drhach]

Blueing

You can not "Blue" aluminum. Blueing is a form of controlled rusting. Aluminum does not rust. The blueing is actually a form of iron oxide, with iron being the key word. You could however anodize the aluminum to a color that is very similar to bue steel. But, to get the same effect, you would need to do some pretty serious polishing first.

[louisciccoli]

Louis, You must be Active Duty Navy then? I never had the luxury of a parts cleaning machine of that nature for cleaning my crusty old pump parts when I had to re-build them. the "Newer Navy" sounds like it must really be moving forward now, all the way into the late 20th century?

Sorry Dan, not Navy, US Coast Guard. We have a little more money to be able to buy the nice "toys" than the Navy does.\\/