Cleaning rust and dirt from a drill chuck

[James Biddle]

Hi all, I have a Crest ultrasonic cleaner and a drill press chuck that has some surface rust. I hoping to use the ultrasonic to clean the chuck. My questions are:

Is is advisable?

What solutions to use?

Do I follow it up with a rust inhibitor solution?

[Bill Dufour]

I would take it apart to clean. that is actually pretty easy to do if it is off the arbor.
Bil lD.

[Darcy Warner]

Toss it in evaporust.

[Peter Christensen]

I would put the chuck in a plastic cup with mineral spirits or varsol covering the chuck. Put that in the water and buzz away. Disassemble to remove the rust and if parts are still dirty buzz them again. If the rust is light steel wool or Scotch Bright it. If heavy the Evaporust already suggested is the way to go.

[lowell holmes]

I have been on a rust removal operation for weeks. Hurricane Harvey decimated my garage shop.
My best luck has been a wire wheel on a $30 bench grinder followed by a coat of Johnsons floor wax.
Try it, it works.

[Joseph Quattro]

I have a foredom flex shaft that I keep a small stainless cup brush on. I use it most for cleaning up rust, corrosion, etc. from tools. Once brushed, if I need to clean further, I’ve been using simple green in a sonic bath. I stopped using normal simple green because of issues with aluminum and use the blue version instead. I think I got it from lowes in a large jug, and it seems to be a good general cleaner for what I’ve been using it for. I’ve also used dawn detergent in water, but the simple green works better for me. I echo the johnsons paste wax, I use it on anything metal.

[lowell holmes]

If you use my method, be sure to wear safety glasses though.