Figured ultrasonic cleaners were hype, until the 4th rinse showed me the crud coming out of a 50mm

David Kim · 2026-10-26T19:30:03.591368+00:00

I always thought guys running ultrasonic cleaners were just burning money on hype, since a brush, a blower, and some eclipse fluid got me through years of lens work at my bench in Fresno. Last month a customer brought in a 30 year old 50mm with a stiff focus ring, and I could not get the grit out of the helicoid no matter how many swabs I went through, so I caved and dropped $120 on a cheap 2 liter unit with heater. Ran the barrel parts at 45C with a drop of dish soap for 6 minutes, and the junk that settled in the rinse jar made me feel dumb for waiting so long. Sold my old parts brush the next week. Now I want to know what fluid mix everyone runs, because I keep second guessing mine.

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Figured ultrasonic cleaners were hype, until the 4th rinse showed me the crud coming out of a 50mm | Camera Repairers - Free To Speak