I hope this will be a great learning experience for everyone. It has been for me. The big question is should the cap jewels be removed when cleaning with an ultrasonic cleaner? I ran a test using my GemOro ultrasonic. The test was totally UNscientific but hoped to shed some light on how well an ultrasonic would perform on a capped jewel assembly. An Elgin 18s balance cock was cleaned (with heat) for five minutes face down, then five minutes face up, followed by five minutes face down for a total of fifteen minutes. This is about 5 minutes longer than I like to clean using this particular ultrasonic cleaner. To ensure the best cleaning possible, I used some super strong ammoniated L&R clock cleaner. The results bolster both points of view. The following pictures document the results: |