Figured out the best way to clean suppressor baffles

[tlawler]

At this point, I've put almost 2K rounds of .22 LR through my dead air mask .22 suppressor and several hundred, but probably less than 1K through my rugged obsidian .45. I had been noticing a degradation in suppression and mrs tlawler even mentioned that the mask wasn't as quiet as it was when new and I first started shooting in my garage range.

I watched a couple of youtube videos on disassembly and was able to get the baffles out of the tubes with a little persuasion with appropriately sized wooden dowels and a rubber mallet. I was amazed at how dirty the .22 suppressor was, and the .45, while pretty dirty, wasn't anywhere near as bad as the .22. It literally had lead plated out on the baffles that would not come off with basic wire brushing.

I did a search for methods of lead removal and found out about something called "the dip". It's a simple mixture of hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar that reacts with the lead to turn it into lead acetate in liquid form, so proper PPE and approved disposal methods are essential.

It still took several dips, with a lot of wire brushing and scraping with a pick between dips to get everything off. I then ran the baffles through my Lyman wet tumbler with pins for 2 hours.

All of my baffles are now squeaky clean and ready to reassemble. I also discovered another process that I'm going to do that involves heating the baffles to 300 degrees and quenching in silicone oil that will make them less susceptible to lead plating. I'll report how that goes after amazon delivers my silicon oil early next week.

I'd like to get the thoughts of others that have more experience with suppressors and cleaning them to see what you think of my methods. Have you tried them? Do you have other methods? I am hoping that with the silicone oil treatment and more frequent cleaning (never going 2K rounds between cleanings!), I'll be able to use the ultrasonic cleaner and simple green method.

I didn't take a before picture ( I wish I had), but here is a picture of my results.

 

[huntsman22]

I clean my rimfire cans at 300-500 rounds. I use the ultrasonic and a small jelly jar. Toss the baffles in the jar, pour in about a third jar of Simple Green, a third of CLR, a couple drops of Dawn dishsoap and top off with water. Fill the cleaner with hot water, toss in the jar, and turn it on..... A couple of wirebrushes for cleaning copper pipe fittings for solder, a water rinse, and smearing a light coat of silicone dieelectric grease on the innards and re-assemble.....

 

[Mike0251]

I use a bead blaster with glass beads, 10 min tops, no picking necessary.

 

[kwill1911]

How do you dispose of the lead acetate? That stuff is deadly.

 

[Conduct03]

I have 4 cans and my favorite has AL baffles. I have an inexpensive soda blaster and find it easy to use.

 

[tlawler]

How do you dispose of the lead acetate? That stuff is deadly.

At work, I have a hazardous disposal station. The total volume was less than a gallon, so my boss said it was ok.

 

[tlawler]

Has anyone tried the silicone oil quench?

 

[Hughbetcha]

I clean the Dead Mask .22 suppressor every 200 rounds. It is always quite dirty at that point and I don't want to let it sit dirty between trips to the range. I don't necessarily notice a drop in performance but I worry about the parts getting carbon locked. I have a ultrasonic cleaner but I found that most of the work is done by the cleaning solution. I use the suppressor primarily on a S&W M&P-15 and a Taurus TX-22, both of which are much harder to clean than the suppressor after several hundred rounds.

 

[JKP099]

I have 2 cans, one with stainless baffles the other titanium. I bead blast with glass beads, done in minutes. Only the baffles.

 

[Hawg Rider]

Looks like your suppressor cleaning idea worked well. I've seen that Otis and Breakthrough both make Suppressor Cleaning Kits ($40 and $70, resp.), and that Ballistol has a cleaning solution kit ($40). I haven't needed to clean my Silencerco Omega 300 yet, but I may invest in the Ballistol kit at some point.

 

[Just another 22 shooter]

Breakthrough cleans up carbon and lead really well. Let soak for a few hours, maybe overnight, use an old toothbrush to remove the debris. No hard scrubbing required. No nasty smell to put up with.

 

[tlawler]

Looks like your suppressor cleaning idea worked well. I've seen that Otis and Breakthrough both make Suppressor Cleaning Kits ($40 and $70, resp.), and that Ballistol has a cleaning solution kit ($40). I haven't needed to clean my Silencerco Omega 300 yet, but I may invest in the Ballistol kit at some point.

Breakthrough costs about $40/quart plus shipping and the ingredients for The Dip are about $1/quart. And I didn't have to wait for it to be shipped. I just picked the components up from walmart.

 

[wood714]

I've been using "The Dip" on my all stainless 22 suppressor since 2011. Just let it soak in a old glass Planters Peanut jar overnight. Rinse and dry.

It will eat aluminum parts.

 

[tlawler]

I've been using "The Dip" on my all stainless 22 suppressor since 2011. Just let it soak in a old glass Planters Peanut jar overnight. Rinse and dry.

It will eat aluminum parts.

I would soak for a couple hours, brush them with a small wire brush on the outside and a copper fitting brush on the inside, then put them in a fresh dip. I figured when the chemical reaction subsided, all of the ion transfer had taken place and it became ineffective. In this case, it was about 2 hours, but mostly because there was so much lead.

Yeah, I just did the baffles. The mask tube is titanium and the obsidian is aluminum. No end caps or direct mounts either, even though the mounts are steel. The pistons and spring for my obsidian had mostly just baked carbon and the remnants of white lith grease.

 

[LittleCooner]

Just cleaned my suppressor last week after 400 rounds. Consumed about 30 minutes of time to make them look new and retreated and back together. I did like the OP a few years ago, boy do we ever learn the hard way. It took forever and a dental pick to get the lead off the 22LR suppressor. Then I read about silicone. Dot 5 brake fluid can be found in any auto parts store in the country. I picked some up for by shooting buddy day before yesterday, $ 17 for a pint container that will last him for years. Yes, get them clean. heat to around 200 degrees in the oven and drop them in the Silicone. After they cool, just wipe them off and reassemble. It seems the more they are treated, the easier it is to clean them.. I use Boretech C4 carbon remover to keep the carbon ring out of the chambers and though I would try it this time, wow, wet patch and almost everything came off in a few wipes. I did use the dental pick about 2-3 minutes on each baffel to get the last bit of junk off. I think you will grow to love the silicone treatment, yes it works.

 

[tlawler]

Just cleaned my suppressor last week after 400 rounds. Consumed about 30 minutes of time to make them look new and retreated and back together. I did like the OP a few years ago, boy do we ever learn the hard way. It took forever and a dental pick to get the lead off the 22LR suppressor. Then I read about silicone. Dot 5 brake fluid can be found in any auto parts store in the country. I picked some up for by shooting buddy day before yesterday, $ 17 for a pint container that will last him for years. Yes, get them clean. heat to around 200 degrees in the oven and drop them in the Silicone. After they cool, just wipe them off and reassemble. It seems the more they are treated, the easier it is to clean them.. I use Boretech C4 carbon remover to keep the carbon ring out of the chambers and though I would try it this time, wow, wet patch and almost everything came off in a few wipes. I did use the dental pick about 2-3 minutes on each baffel to get the last bit of junk off. I think you will grow to love the silicone treatment, yes it works.

I was wondering if it was a once and done treatment. So you re-treat after each cleaning?
I opted for actual silicone oil. I ordered a quart of it on amazon and should receive it early to mid week. I'm glad it can be reused; that quart should last me for quite a while.

 

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

How do you dispose of the lead acetate? That stuff is deadly.

So, lead acetate is soluble in an aqueous solvent like "dip." It is toxic stuff and unwise to add to the water system by pouring down a drain. Lead sulfate is not soluble in aqueous solvents. It is the crusty stuff that forms on lead acid battery posts in cars over time. Interestingly, lead acetate in dip solution will react with sulfuric acid to produce insoluble lead sulfate and acetic acid. The lead sulfate precipitates out of solution and forms a granular powder layer at the bottom of the container. Sulfuric acid is also dangerous stuff, but is sold at hardware stores as one type of drain cleaner as it dissolves hair, grease and organic matter. Interesting facts, not a recommendation. These chemicals are to be treated with caution and respect.

 

[wood714]

I need to find a fool proof way to clean my form 1 9mm suppressor. It's all aluminum except for the blast baffle, end cap, piston booster, and tri lug adapter.

I'm so paranoid about it, I just clean it after every use. Gets old, but stays pretty clean.

 

[CptCurl]

I am new to this "silicone treatment." Would some of you elaborate on how it is done and what it accomplishes please.

My .22 silencer is a Liberty Essence, all titanium except for a stainless blast baffle. As everyone else has noted, cleaning a .22 silencer is quite a pain, but essential.

Your suggestions will be appreciated!

Curly

 

[zeke]

Can remember when the "dip" first started circulating on the internet as a way to clean lead from pistol barrels. After seeing what it did to one barrel and realizing the implications of the waste product, immediately stopped using it . Fine if you're comfortable with it and have access to haz waste disposal, but am suspecting a lot of people do not properly dispose of it.

 

[DHernandez]

Once off of the NFA Registry, suppressors will become disposable items for civilians, like the military.

 

[ladder13]

Somewhat off topic. How do you like the Obsidian 45? I keep going back and forth between that and the Silencerco 46M.
I don't have any large bore magnums other than a 44 mag lever gun, non threaded, and don't plan on getting anything other than a PCC.

 

[LittleCooner]

How I "treat" my baffels with silicone - I have a 1/2 pint "fruit jar" that I labeled "Silicone" and keep it in my gun solvent section of the cabinet. I have about 10 oz of Dot 5 brake fluid in this jar. After I heat my baffels, I use a dental pick and pluck each one off the tray I used to heat them and drop them in the jar of silicone. Most of the time I let set over night, or at least a few hours, I then use the dental pick to reach inside and pull each baffel out and drop on a paper towel. After a few minutes of letting some of the silicone run off on the towel, thanks to the law of gravity, I use a clean paper towel, remove some of the product and put my suppressor back together. I have no idea if you can only do this once and forget, because to me it is such a simple and easy process to heat, drop in the jar for some time period and then reassembly. As I understand from research, the warm metal will absorb some small microscopic particles on silicone as it cools.

 

[tlawler]

Somewhat off topic. How do you like the Obsidian 45? I keep going back and forth between that and the Silencerco 46M.
I don't have any large bore magnums other than a 44 mag lever gun, non threaded, and don't plan on getting anything other than a PCC.

I really like it, but I don't have anything similar to compare it to. It's touted as the quietest on the market, a claim that may be true or just marketing hype. It was recommended to me at the shop I got it from and seems to be a very popular choice. The factory customer service is very good and it has a lifetime warranty. What I've heard from people that have damaged them, there's no questions asked… they just fix the problem with a quick turnaround time. It was also on sale at the time and they gave me a veteran's discount. Getting accessories is pretty easy, but not cheap, as there are two shops in my area that actually stock Rugged accessories. So far, I've added a piston to shoot 9mm, direct mount to run it on my PCC's, and a multi-tool to assist in disassembly.

 

[tlawler]

I'm getting ready to reassemble both suppressors and downloaded the manuals for them. They talk about lightly lubing the inside of the shell and the outside diameter of the baffles with grease. But they don't specify any certain type. I have moly grease, white lithium, Mobil polyrex (used on electric motor bearings), as well as silver, nickel, and food grade anti-seize, and probably some others I can't recall at the moment.

What do you guys use?

 

[kwill1911]

How I "treat" my baffels with silicon - I have a 1/2 pint "fruit jar" that I labeled "Silicon" and keep it in my gun solvent section of the cabinet. I have about 10 oz of Dot 5 brake fluid in this jar. After I heat my baffels, I use a dental pick and pluck each one off the tray I used to heat them and drop them in the jar of silicon. Most of the time I let set over night, or at least a few hours, I then use the dental pick to reach inside and pull each baffel out and drop on a paper towel. After a few minutes of letting some of the silicon run off on the towel, thanks to the law of gravity, I use a clean paper towel, remove some of the product and put my suppressor back together. I have no idea if you can only do this once and forget, because to me it is such a simple and easy process to heat, drop in the jar for some time period and then reassembly. As I understand from research, the warm metal will absorb some small microscopic particles on silicon as it cools.

Sorry, but don't you mean silicone (with an "e"?)

 

[tlawler]

Sorry, but don't you mean silicone (with an "e"?)

I never thought about that before, but there is silicon and silicone. After some quick interweb research, I leaned that silicon is used to describe the elemental form and silicone describes the myriad polymeric compounds made with silicon. Kind of like nickel and nickle.

 

[wrhk33]

Question about the dip. once done with the cleaning. If you leave it out will it evaporate leaving the lead behind?

 

[tlawler]

All I have to say is WHEW!!

I reassembled my Dead Air Mask and for the life of me, no matter what I did, the stack came up short and would slide back and forth inside the tube. Even with the exploded view in the manual showing the re-assembly sequence it was the same…I had the proper number of components. Then I blew up the picture and looked closer. It shows the blast baffle and the first standard baffle nested together and inside the blast shroud which is inside the the back cap, which makes it look like two, instead of three components. Mystery solved, so then it was just a matter of searching for the missing baffle. I cleaned off my workbench and swept the garage to no avail. The only other place I could think of at first was the windshield washer gallon jug that I dumped the remnants of the dip I used and took to work. Then I remembered my Lyman Cyclone wet tumbler I used to finish the cleaning. I normally have to pick the last few pieces of brass out of the ends of it due to the way it is made, but didn't expect it to trap something as big as a baffle. But there it was! Happy Day! I'm back to shooting. I don't get my silicone oil until Wednesday now, so I'm not going to wait. I'll just have to clean it again, but it won't be nearly as bad as before. I just got my final three 15 round mags, so now I can load and shoot 100 rounds without filling mags again.

 

[tlawler]

Question about the dip. once done with the cleaning. If you leave it out will it evaporate leaving the lead behind?

I had it sitting on my workbench for a couple of days and didn't notice any appreciable evaporation. The components are not volatile like acetone or mineral spirits and probably wouldn't evaporate any faster than water.