I posted a while back asking questions about vibratory tumblers, who uses them, how do they work, results, yada, yada, yada. Most of the posts I read were neutral to negative, so I kept thinking how I could best clean all of those boxes and boxes (one is a banana box, lol) of Y block hardware. Some of the hardware has the usually buildup of surface rust, and still most of the nuts, bolts, washers, and do-dads have a load of grease/grime... especially in the threads.
Two weeks ago I pulled the trigger on an Ultrasonic Cleaner at china freight after a couple of guys I knew swore by the results when I asked about it. The price was pretty good when it was on sale and a 20% off coupon. Check out the before and after photos. The unit has a "heat" function, and then it has a few increments you could select from. To be frank, I was amazed at what it did. I've never seen something like this (that had no caustic solution or wasn't a dishwasher,
) that could get the grease and crud out of those threads on the bolts and nuts. After a couple of cycles, I could literally just about take and rinse off any residue that remained (minus rust, of course).
Here's the unit...
I use a bottle of "Awesome" cleaner purchased at the local dollar store. Basically, I empty the whole bottle into the tank, and then fill up the rest to the Max line with lukewarm water. Maybe your wife uses this cleaner... here is a photo of it:
You turn the heat function on, wait several minutes for the unit to make the water hot (about 125 degrees or so), and then simply place your hardware in the tank. There is a hard plastic screen/tray at the bottom to keep materials off the bottom of the tank of itself (something about a transducer). I actually fashioned a handle for either side so that retrieval would be much easier. That solution gets FILTHY!
The photo above is representative of what I dump into the tank, only this is HALF THE PILE. I do not pre-wash or anything, just put them in as you see them, grime and all. (I would probably not have to do 2 time cycles if I only used a pile this size)
They come out like the photo below and I let them dry out for an hour or two.
Maybe the only thing that I have to do is simply rinse them in a washt tub with water for a few seconds... the ultrasonic cleaner basically loosends and lifts all the grime off th threads. All that's left is clean metal and rust of course...
You can see a couple of Y block oil pan bolts (you know, the ones that have that recess on the head where grime likes to collect?)... the ultrasonic cleaner also lifts the gunk off of those. The washers work best when strung on a bailing wire and suspended in the tank...
I was stoked on the Ultrasonic Cleaner and the results, but the best is yet to come... next post!
Daniel JessupLancaster, California
aka "The Hot Rod Reverend" 
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com