A while back, my Ruger Mark II was misbehaving. It had gotten dirty enough that ammo wouldn't reliably feed or extract. I picked up an ultrasonic cleaner off of eBay, mixed up 3 quarts of Ed's Red (minus the acetone), field-stripped the gun, and gave it a half-hour in the cleaner. Afterward, I wiped it down, reassembled it, and put it away until the next trip to the range, at which it ran like a champ.
As a precaution, I removed the plastic grip panels. Without the acetone, I suspect that Ed's Red ought to be plastic-safe, but this was my first go-round with ultrasonic cleaning and I wanted to play it safe. (Protip: the fluid warms up quite a bit and throws off fumes while the cleaner runs, so do this outside.)
Now, though, I'd like to give my Glock 23 a bath. Other than the Lone Wolf barrel, it's 100% stock. Am I asking for dissolved sights or a deformed frame if I put them in an ultrasonic cleaner with Ed's Red, or should they hold up OK? I'm guessing that field-stripping would be sufficient, as you wouldn't ordinarily break it down any further for other cleaning methods.
(Why Ed's Red? It's much cheaper than the purpose-made ultrasonic gun-cleaning solutions, I can buy the ingredients anywhere, and it's a water-free formula that shouldn't promote rust. I know that acetone attacks most plastics, though, which is why I left it out; I'm using equal parts low-odor mineral spirits, kerosene, and transmission fluid. Are any of these, alone or in combination, likely to damage a polymer handgun frame?)
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