[sdiy] Ultrasonic cleaners and key grease - opinions sought!

[Steve Lenham]

Hi,

I wondered whether I could tap into the group's wisdom on a couple of 
things.

First, I'm tempted to invest in a small ultrasonic cleaning bath. I have 
lots of keyboard instruments to restore, and it looks like that might be 
a quick and easy way of cleaning the keys themselves (and much more). 
eBay is full of cheap no-brand Chinese units, and I am curious whether 
anyone has already tried one of them. Are they too good to be true? 
Anyone care to recommend a particular type?

I'm aware of the risks and tradeoffs with buying this kind of cut-price 
stuff, but there is a whole spectrum between "cheap and cheerful" and 
"totally unusable" - hence the question.

Second, and slightly related, is the subject of "key grease", i.e. the 
grease for key pivots when reassembling keybeds. Sellers will happily 
charge large amounts of money for tiny amounts of this, but is there 
really anything special about it? Does it require particular properties 
(besides being suitable for plastic)? Silicone or silicone-free? Again, 
recommendations would be great.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,

Steve L.
Benden Sound Technology