Cleaning a suppressor?

[little_airwolf]

For those who are lucky enough to protect your hearing. What cleaner do you guys use?
Ive read alot about build up. 50-200 rounds and then recommended cleaning. If the suppressor is a monocore, what method works best for cleaning?
Thanks for your help.

 

[dullh]

I picked the Silencerco Sparrow, not just because my dealer had it in stock, but also because of ease of cleaning.

After my supervised visitations I hang around and clean it. The Sparrow is probably the easiest to disassemble. Unscrew the back and the whole inside pushes out through the front. Two aluminum shells pop off and expose the baffles. That's it. Reassemble in reverse.

The dudes at the dealer suggested soaking the baffle portion in either brake cleaner or fuel injector cleaner. I have tried neither...I used Hoppes 9 solvent and a small stiff bristle brush and was able to get the hard carbon deposits out of the baffles.

When I take permanent possession of my Sparrow I may try the suggested methods...

 

[RedNeck Jim]

For those who are lucky enough to protect your hearing. What cleaner do you guys use?

This might help some. http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-15-22/317504-cleaning-22-suppressor.html

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

With my Sparrow... gloves, tongs and mason jars.

Scrape off as much crud as I can.
Drop clam shells and baffle in a mason jar.
Fill mason jar with 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar.
Leave for a few hours.
Remove and rinse with garden hose.
Dry and wipe with oily rag.
Assemble.
Put lid on mason jar.
Take to hazmat disposal once a month.

 

[BigWaylon]

Spectre II baffles in a rotary tumbler with SS pins.

 

[KEN L]

Spectre II baffles in a rotary tumbler with SS pins.

We have a winner!

 

[little_airwolf]

Cool. Do you add any wd40 or solvent to keep the lead dust down?
I saw a youtube vid of a salesrep showing how to clean a suppressor. He wasnt using gloves and was shaking out the lead/carbon gunk into his hand.
Lead is bad stuff and care should be taken when around the stuff.

 

[strobro32]

Solvents do nothing for lead.

Sonic cleaners damage aluminum and clean poorly.

Blast cabinets and wet tumblers get contaminated with lead.

The dip works best on stainless steal. Take basic preventative care and the danger is easily mitigated.

 

[RedNeck Jim]

I initially tried the tumbler with SS pins and it eventually cleaned the Sparrow pretty good, after 24 hours of tumbling. I would never use it again. It didn't get everything plus now you have to mess with a toxic stew of liquid. With the dip, you also have toxic liquid but you don't have to mess with it. With the tumbler, you have to dispose of the toxic liquid, clean up the SS media & clean the tumbler.

The dip cleans everything perfectly. No moving parts & no electric needed. I see no advantage to using a tumbler. Quite the opposite actually.

 

[roadkill45]

on my Huntertown, since it's aluminum you can't use the dip method. i use brake cleaner and a brass brush about every 100 rounds. when i put back together, i coat each baffle with some brown grease and the lead does not adhere too bad with it, at least for me.
my centerfires are non user serviceable but i don't care about those too much since no lead is shot through them, i plug one end then fill with brake cleaner and plug the other end, let it sit for awhile, shake it up, dump and blow out with a compressor. just gets the carbon out very well.
if you clean it regularly you won't have any issues, it's when you shoot a K and don't clean it is when you have issues.

 

[sithlord]

I use dried play sand or soda in a blaster. No blast cabinet. The world is my blast cabinet.

Wear a respirator, googles and gloves, and I believe you'll be good to go.

Lead poisoning requires injestion - via inhalation, mouth, or open wound. Otherwise all of us that shoot 22lr would be dead by now just from handling ammo. The 'dip' is serious hazmat as it can be absorbed easily by the skin. Not an issue if you have the right personal protective equipment.

The dip should ONLY be used on stainless steel. Aluminum cores should either be sent back to the manufacturer for cleaning or use a soda blaster (play sand may be a bit too rough).

It takes me about 15 minutes to clean my sparrow. The HARDEST part for me is often getting the core out of the sparrow. The clam shells seem to need more cleaning than the suppressor. If I don't clean the clam shells often enough, I have to use a mallet and wooden stick to get the core out.

$0.02.

 

[RedNeck Jim]

I use dried play sand or soda in a blaster. No blast cabinet. The world is my blast cabinet.

Wear a respirator, googles and gloves, and I believe you'll be good to go.

Lead poisoning requires injestion - via inhalation, mouth, or open wound. Otherwise all of us that shoot 22lr would be dead by now just from handling ammo. The 'dip' is serious hazmat as it can be absorbed easily by the skin. Not an issue if you have the right personal protective equipment.

The byproduct of cleaning a suppressor is hazardous... period. How we choose to dispose of and handle this material is the question. I think it dangerous & irresponsible to dump it down the drain or let it float around in the world.

So you folks using a tumbler, what do you do with the byproduct? How do you clean the SS media?

Folks that blast it & let it swirl around in the environment, sorry but that makes no sense.

If you use the dip properly, you have minimal hazardous material & that is very easy to keep safe, keep controlled & very easy to dispose of properly... as Phil described.

 

[BigWaylon]

So you folks using a tumbler, what do you do with the byproduct? How do you clean the SS media?

You have lead particles suspended in water. Not even in the same ballpark as lead acetate.

Pour it down the toilet. The ppm levels of lead are minuscule to your overall sewer output.

Or...pour the dirty water into a jug and let the water evaporate. Put the lid on it and toss it in the trash.

Rinse the pins off and let them dry. Reuse. Wipe the inside of the tumbler down and let it dry. Lead has to be ingested to be dangerous. Wet tumbling doesn't cause the dust of other methods, but I do wear nitrile gloves just so any of it doesn't get under my nails, etc. Scrub hands afterwards just like you would when loading mags, shooting, reloading ammo, etc.

Right now I just deal with the one Spectre II. But, I have two more in jail, along with two Octanes (SS baffles) so I'm sure I'll try some other methods including the Dip. I also have two Warlocks in jail and their Al baffles will require a different method.

 

[dullh]

With my Sparrow... gloves, tongs and mason jars.

Scrape off as much crud as I can.
Drop clam shells and baffle in a mason jar.
Fill mason jar with 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar.
Leave for a few hours.
Remove and rinse with garden hose.
Dry and wipe with oily rag.
Assemble.
Put lid on mason jar.
Take to hazmat disposal once a month.

I have a Saker sitting in jail next to my Sparrow...would this method work for Saker baffles too?

 

[BigWaylon]

I have a Saker sitting in jail next to my Sparrow...would this method work for Saker baffles too?

No. Saker isn't user serviceable. You can't remove the baffles to dip them.

Sealed centerfire cans generally don't require cleaning. Hopefully you're not shooting cast reloads or 22LR through them.

Straight from Saker manual:

Maintenance
The Saker series of suppressors typically require limited maintenance.
The mounts should periodically be cleaned with any standard gun cleaning solvent and a brush to remove any carbon or fouling.
If the finish becomes discolored, wipe the suppressor with any high quality gun oil. This should restore the finish to the factory condition.
While not required, the end user may submerse the Saker in solvent, oil, gun cleaner, etc. to remove fouling. Allow the suppressor to drain fully and blow out with compressed air until dry. If necessary, run a cleaning brush through the bore to remove any light fouling in the bore of the suppressor.

NOTE: Do not run cleaning patches through the bore as the patches might become lodged in the bore of the suppressor and cause damage upon firing.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Just my non expert toxicity opinion.... as long as you don't drink the dip solution after cleaning your suppressor or regularly soak your self with it, I really think the dangers from lead acetate are nil. Hair dye has lead acetate in it, but maybe it's not the best idea to pour the dip over your head. With these type of things, common sense and a pair of gloves are helpful.

 

[roadkill45]

i have not tried the SS media but have read a lot about it and it is used by a lot of folks. Soda blaster outside would be ok, neighbors may look at me funny, but it does not take that long, i don't have a blast cabinet, but a big arse compressor!
i have used a brass wheel on my Foredom tool to get some stubborn spots, does not seem to affect the AL at all, but i'm not running it at crazy speeds and gorilla pressure either.

some anti seize or bearing grease, lightly coated on your baffle stack really helps.

 

[dullh]

No. Saker isn't user serviceable. You can't remove the baffles to dip them.

Sealed centerfire cans generally don't require cleaning. Hopefully you're not shooting cast reloads or 22LR through them.

Straight from Saker manual:

Maintenance
The Saker series of suppressors typically require limited maintenance.
The mounts should periodically be cleaned with any standard gun cleaning solvent and a brush to remove any carbon or fouling.
If the finish becomes discolored, wipe the suppressor with any high quality gun oil. This should restore the finish to the factory condition.
While not required, the end user may submerse the Saker in solvent, oil, gun cleaner, etc. to remove fouling. Allow the suppressor to drain fully and blow out with compressed air until dry. If necessary, run a cleaning brush through the bore to remove any light fouling in the bore of the suppressor.

NOTE: Do not run cleaning patches through the bore as the patches might become lodged in the bore of the suppressor and cause damage upon firing.

I guess once it's out of jail I will read the book...

 

[strobro32]

I use Turbo Dip. That's the dip in a heated ultrasonic cleaner.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Sealed centerfire cans generally don't require cleaning. Hopefully you're not shooting cast reloads or 22LR through them.

When someone is considering the purchase of their first can I think it's pretty common somewhere during the research phase to get the bright idea-- Hey, I can buy a 5.56 can and use it on my AR and .22s and only buy one can!