Cleaning a 22 Suppressor

Melonite is a surface treatment, not a coating. It will "repair" any scratches that are already there as well as help prevent new ones. If this wasn't perfectly legal, Stalking Rhino wouldn't do it. They wouldn't jeopardize their license, their customers items, or put their customers in a legal bind. They even verified with Silencerco that this will not affect warranty. All bases are covered.
 
..........They even verified with Silencerco that this will not affect warranty. All bases are covered.

I like the sound of that, considering doing the treatment to mine once the stamp shows up. Thanks for the info.
 
I just had Stalking Rhino Industries treat my Silencer Co. SS Sparrow with Melonite. I worry less now about the alloy tube rusting as fast when shot wet. I have no idea yet if it makes it easier to clean but I'm really liking how it came out.

When I research melonite treatment of steel, a never see stainless being treated. Seems melonite is normally done to standard steel, to make it as hard as stainless. All discussions I see compare the two, kinda as equals.

I'll be curious to see if treating the stainless internals of the Sparrow does anything. Please let us know. I too like how it turned out.
 
Stainless steel can be Melonite treated.

I am currently working on finding a local owner of a sparrow so I can trade a clam shell to test if Melonite treatment is easier or faster to clean. I will post cleaning results this weekend.

Just so I'm clear about why I Melonite treated my Sparrow, I did it to make my carbon Sparrow tube more corrosion resistant. It was not about making the suppressor easier to clean. I do know that the Melonite treatment will not make it harder to clean.

By the way, Matt @ Stalking Rhino Industries has begun treating Silencerco Sparrows. Here is a link to the thread.
http://www.silencertalk.com/forum/vi...7943&start=125:
 
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I put 550+ rounds down range this week with a .22 LR SMG, including multiple 100 mag dumps. The Melonite treatment I mentioned in the last post held up great and cleaned up well with just 8 hours in The Dip.

If you want to get your SIlencerCo Sparrows Melonite treated, contact Matt @ SRI for the group buy. Cool part is... you can send it directly to SRI without a transfer and have it shipped back to your home when it's done. :)
 
The question I have is what does the treatment do? How was cleaning with it, as opposed to without it?
 
Melonite Processing

Melonite.wmv - YouTube

The Melonite/Tennifer process case hardens metals and provides much better corrosion and wear resistance than any other coating. The 2nd gen. Sparrows had a parkerized carbon steel tubes and black oxide stainless steel core, locking ring and bare SS clam shells.

The Melonite process changes the part's surfaces into a much harder material. I jumped at the chance for SRI to do mine and Matt did a fantastic job.
 
I have a Outback II type that is one piece. If I can't take it apart; what would be the best way to clean it?
 
If it's sealed, anything you use will remove some carbon but not the lead. Lead is the performance killer.

Some manufacturers clean cans for owners every 10-20K rounds. Call Gemtech and see if they provide this service. You could also have someone like SRI "jailbreak" it so you could clean it yourself properly..
 
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Gemtech won't do it anymore. best bet is to send it to stalking rhino and have it jail broke. it will come back user friendly and clean so you can get it dirty all over again. i plan on sending one off to them soon. the Gemtech Outback II was a take down, the original Outback, of which i have one that is going to be sent off, was sealed. are you sure you don't have a number 1?

i don't know their lead time on returns......anyone?

wait a minute, unless they changed from Feb. 2013 i may be wrong from my first sentence:

$150 is a good price for all the below:

"Outback upgrade:
http://www.gem-tech.com/store/pc/OUT...ADE-13p456.htm

Beginning March 2011, GEMTECH will accept older OUTBACK and OUTBACK-II model suppressors to be refurbished with new baffles and endcap to make it user-serviceable.

We use your existing tube so there are no new transfer taxes needed. You can send your suppressor directly to us without need to go through a dealer, and we can send it directly back to you after a cleaning and modification to make it into a user-serviceable version - and we give you the option to make your own custom suppressor by configuring your choice of current-spec baffles!

As an industry-first, we offer our clients the most flexible options: Baffle-by-baffle choice of materials so you can get exactly what you want.

You may simply refresh your dirty OUTBACK or OUTBACK-II suppressor to original OUTBACK-II specifications with a quiet, proven aluminum K-baffle, or you can mix and match aluminum, stainless, and titanium components by selecting each individual baffle to build your personal perfect can! Some clients value a steel or titanium initial "blast" baffle for enhanced durability, some may opt for an entire titanium stack for light weight using premium materials, and some may prefer the option to get only the initial two or three baffles of stainless or titanium and use lightweight, cost-effective aluminum for the remaining baffles in the stack. It's your call: we're here to offer the choices, it's up to you to build your dream can!

Standard aluminum K-baffle upgrade is $150, which includes our disassembly labor (no matter how plugged up your suppressor is), cleaning of existing parts, a new disassembleable endcap, and brand new current-spec aluminum k-baffles. From that base configuration, you may choose to select different material baffles at additional cost per baffle. Configure your perfect baffle stack starting with the Blast Baffle (the baffle closest to your barrel threads), click "add to gear", and then send in your suppressor in an insured, trackable manner to our shipping address so you know it gets here safe along with your invoice (which will serve as our work order and your RMA number) and a xerox copy of your Form 4. From there, our experienced staff will configure it to your specifications, and return to you in a timely manner."


Or then again maybe not as this service is not on their website anymore.....????????
 
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from SilencerTalk, May 22, 2013:


"Thank you for contacting us regarding our Outback-IID Upgrade Program. We have suspended upgrade services for the foreseeable future. Due to current demand, all components are dedicated to the production of new complete suppressors to supply to our dealers. We do not have an ETA to resume the upgrade program, if ever.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Gemtech Techstaff
208-939-7222"
 
2nd time to clean my 22Sparrow. There has been approx. 500 rounds thru it since the last cleaning, shooting 100% CCI Standard Velocity. My hope was to stay away from the dip so I was excited about the reviews I read about using the tumbler with stainless media. So much for reviews, as I find the tumbler does a pretty poor job. In the future, I might just use it to do the initial cleaning... knocking off the big stuff. I find the biggest deposits on the inside of the clam shells.

dirty1.jpg


dirty-2.jpg


After 16 hours in the tumbler.

tumble.jpg


In the dip.

dip.jpg


After 16 hours in the dip. Clam shells are smooth as a baby's butt.

clean.jpg
 
I see the tumbler polished the clam shells. I wonder if that will make it easier/faster to clean next time? Did the tumbler remove the black oxide finish from the core?
 
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That had me wondering if sends ng off the internals to be coated would make a difference.

Sent from my One using Tapatalk
 
I see the tumbler polished the clam shells. I wonder if that will make it easier/faster to clean next time? Did the tumbler remove the black oxide finish from the core?

Sorry, I didn't notice your post. The core is still black. I personally don't think a polished surface will help any. I am amazed at how hard that deposit is. It is attached to the stainless so well that it leaves a "stain" behind after the dip dissolves it all.
 
Sorry, I didn't notice your post. The core is still black. I personally don't thing a polished surface will help any. I am amazed at how hard that deposit is. It is attached to the stainless so well that it leaves a "stain" behind after the dip dissolves it all.

The "stain" is probably just where the tumble media didn't get the opportunity to polish the clam shell. I bet you could tumble that away.
 
I emailed AAC about how to clean the sparrow. He recommended the thumbler tumbler, so I spent $200 and did the monocore and clam shells. All that did was take off the nice black finish from the end cap and left lead deposits in all the nooks of the core and left the "waves" of lead on the clamshells. Dang. I have a bead blaster (google barrel blaster) with aluminum oxide media in it- I barely used any pressure and was gentle and the media "melted" the lead right off like it was nothing. Took 5 minutes. I'll be doing that from now on.

On a positive note, the tumbler makes my brass look like jewelry!
 
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agreed on above, just use a respirator and take your 'box' outside. i use crushed walnut shell media, have not tried any Al oxide. i got the cheap harbor freight one and it works well for the price. Very fast cleaning also, about 10 minutes if you are anal about it!!!
 
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