The ultrasonic cleaner I swore off for years is now my favorite tool

After 12 years of hand-cleaning old lenses with cotton swabs and solvent, I bought a cheap 2-liter ultrasonic unit last month and it stripped decades of haze off a 1960s Takumar in 8 minutes, so has anyone else had one of these machines fail on brass or cemented groups?

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patriciap5239m ago

Wait, 8 minutes on a 1960s Takumar? That's wild. Mine took like three full cycles and still had a stubborn haze spot I had to hit with a swab after. Which solvent did you use, or did you just go straight water with a drop of soap? Also, I've heard cemented groups can get cloudy if the solution gets too warm, so I keep the temp low. Not a total failure story, but a buddy of mine had a cheaper unit kill the paint on a brass lens barrel, so your mileage may vary on that one.