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Suppressors Clean Dead Air

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DocRDS

Head Maffs Monkey
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 21, 2012
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The Great Beyond
Listening to podcast, Thunderbeast has a cleaning recommendation for their cans.

Dead Air really is mum on theirs. Dead Air peeps: Cleaning your Sandman series--any thoughts. Mine is starting to see significant buildup. I'm a little afraid of CLR, simply because I don't know the materials in the Sandman and if its stainless, CLR + long exposure=bad results.
 
DocRDS said:
Listening to podcast, Thunderbeast has a cleaning recommendation for their cans.

Dead Air really is mum on theirs. Dead Air peeps: Cleaning your Sandman series--any thoughts. Mine is starting to see significant buildup. I'm a little afraid of CLR, simply because I don't know the materials in the Sandman and if its stainless, CLR + long exposure=bad results.
Click to expand...
there's been some talk about it on here before, but I found the bore-tech cleaning kit with the lance does the best job, largely because of the lance and not so much the cleaners included.

Decimator Suppressor Cleaning System - Bore Tech

Order Decimator Suppressor Cleaning System for only 249.99 online at Bore Tech for the best in firearm cleaning and care!
www.boretech.com www.boretech.com

mine was almost like new after a little work.
 
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If you shoot mostly subs through it, you need to clean the can about every 1,500 rounds. Subs, especially .300 BLK, are nasty and cake up the inside of the can with unburnt powder.

If I were to clean my Sandman-S, I would disassemble and remove the KeyMo locking collar and spring assembly, and the end cap, and just put the welded parts of the can in the sonic clean, and put the end cap in there, as well, but not installed, that way it has a larger opening to get more carbon knocked loose inside it. Also, do not run heat, just run the ultra sonic in a 3:1 mix of CLR and water. 3 parts water for 1 part CLR. Run it about an hour and a half, and you still might have to run it a second time with fresh water & CLR to get all the shit out of it.

If you're talking about a HUB mount can, remove the mount so more open area to allow carbon to flow out of it.

I hung mine in the basket like a rotisserie style setup with a metal coat hanger to keep it suspended off the bottom of the basket. And made sure to put enough mix in there to where the top was covered about 1/2".

IMG_9684.jpegIMG_9685.jpegIMG_9686.jpeg
 
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FuhQ said:
If you shoot mostly subs through it, you need to clean the can about every 1,500 rounds. Subs, especially .300 BLK, are nasty and cake up the inside of the can with unburnt powder.

If I were to clean my Sandman-S, I would disassemble and remove the KeyMo locking collar and spring assembly, and the end cap, and just put the welded parts of the can in the sonic clean, and put the end cap in there, as well, but not installed, that way it has a larger opening to get more carbon knocked loose inside it. Also, do not run heat, just run the ultra sonic in a 3:1 mix of CLR and water. 3 parts water for 1 part CLR. Run it about an hour and a half, and you still might have to run it a second time with fresh water & CLR to get all the shit out of it.

If you're talking about a HUB mount can, remove the mount so more open area to allow carbon to flow out of it.

I hung mine in the basket like a rotisserie style setup with a metal coat hanger to keep it suspended off the bottom of the basket. And made sure to put enough mix in there to where the top was covered about 1/2".

View attachment 8257420View attachment 8257421View attachment 8257422
Click to expand...
What ultrasonic cleaner machine are you using?
 
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FuhQ said:
They haven't made it in years... It's a Hornady Magnum 3-Liter machine. I bought it almost 15 years ago, and it's been a great machine.

www.midwayusa.com

Hornady Lock-N-Load Mag Sonic Cleaner Ultrasonic Case Cleaner SS 110

The Hornady Lock-N-Load Magnum Sonic Cleaner is the powerhouse of ultrasonic cleaners. The Magnum Sonic Cleaner is triple the size of the original...
www.midwayusa.com www.midwayusa.com
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What are your thoughts on this one...since the model you have isn't made anymore (haven't looked to see if FLEABAY has any yet).

Lymon Turbo Sonic 6000
 
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Damn I really want a sonic cleaner now.

Forgive the n00b question but CLR as in this? :

IMG_1604.jpeg


If so, at the 3:1 mix, you didn’t harm any finishes? I think I saw a post about a finish being messed up, maybe that was you @FuhQ ? Your mix was off or something? Thanks!
 
darkfader said:
Damn I really want a sonic cleaner now.

Forgive the n00b question but CLR as in this? :

View attachment 8257769

If so, at the 3:1 mix, you didn’t harm any finishes? I think I saw a post about a finish being messed up, maybe that was you @FuhQ ? Your mix was off or something? Thanks!
Click to expand...
That is the "CLR" that is being referred to, yes.
 
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darkfader said:
Thanks threadcutter, I’m probably ordering a sonic cleaner today. Lol. Y’all always spending my money for me!
Click to expand...
Something you can do while using the U/S cleaner.......

Put all of your dirty parts and whatever cleaning solution you choose into a ziplock bag. Put the bag into the cleaner's tank and pour distilled water into the tank, surrounding the bag.

It will take less cleaning solution that way. It's also been said that by using distilled water and keeping the cleaning solution and gunk away from the U/S transducer, it will last longer.
 
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darkfader said:
Damn I really want a sonic cleaner now.

Forgive the n00b question but CLR as in this? :

View attachment 8257769

If so, at the 3:1 mix, you didn’t harm any finishes? I think I saw a post about a finish being messed up, maybe that was you @FuhQ ? Your mix was off or something? Thanks!
Click to expand...
I use CLR Pro (not sure the difference). The finish issue was mostly due to me running the heat a little too high. That why I recommended no heat at all.
 
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What are you guys using as solvents? Am i just being a bitch worrying about the finish? My only concern is not wrecking the can itself. If the paint gets scratch, well--its a rifle (component), its gonna get scratched.
 
What I've found that really helps a lot is that once all the parts are clean, to hose them down with MIG Welding Anti Spatter spray. Let them drip dry, then reassemble. Cleaning is a breeze.
 
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Threadcutter308 said:
Something you can do while using the U/S cleaner.......

Put all of your dirty parts and whatever cleaning solution you choose into a ziplock bag. Put the bag into the cleaner's tank and pour distilled water into the tank, surrounding the bag.

It will take less cleaning solution that way. It's also been said that by using distilled water and keeping the cleaning solution and gunk away from the U/S transducer, it will last longer.
Click to expand...

Genius. Thanks for that tip!
 
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I drop mine in a mason jar full of c4. Let soak.

When I pull it out I let the solvent run out and then blast it with hot water in the sink. Flushes all the rest of the crud out.

I've been using the same jar of cleaner for a few years. I just top it up as needed. There's about 1" of carbon settled on the bottom, so I'll eventually have to clean it out when the cans won't fit in the jar anymore.
 
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Threadcutter308 said:
It will take less cleaning solution that way. It's also been said that by using distilled water and keeping the cleaning solution and gunk away from the U/S transducer, it will last longer.
Click to expand...
Not trying to be devil's advocate here, but I am not following the logic. The transducers are mounted on the outside of the tanks nothing you put inside the tanks should come in contact with the transducers.
 
E. Bryant said:
This one is more than twice as big for half the price:


I bought one five years ago for cleaning up 3D prints, but it's also proven useful for car and gun parts. My biggest complaint is that it's noisy.
Click to expand...
Yeah I bought one years ago , it's some knock off but it has decent watts. The tank is too small though. Just can't get enough brass in it at one time. I can fit about 150 308 size cases in it but that's not really ideal. I bigger tank would be much better
 
DocRDS said:
What are you guys using as solvents? Am i just being a bitch worrying about the finish? My only concern is not wrecking the can itself. If the paint gets scratch, well--its a rifle (component), its gonna get scratched.
Click to expand...
Probably. Try this. Weigh the suppressor before you start cleaning it and then do your deal. Weigh it as you clean and dry it so you have a measurable assessment of what you're doing. I had to soak my suppressors for days on end in CLR to get all the carbon out. The Boretech pressure wand helped a lot too.

You could try to soak the inside of the suppressor only by plugging the muzzle end.

I would also recommend you drop something steel like a chopped off end of a barrel or something into a small glass of CLR and leaving it for a week and then checking out what damage occured so you know how bad your CLR is. I feel like it gets a worse rep than it deserves.
 
Thunderbeast plugs the end of the suppressor, puts it in a plastic Pringles can and fills up the suppressor. Wait for it to foam and add more. Soak for 24 hours, rinse well with a stream of water and repeat. Weigh the can before and after to see how much carbon has been removed.

I haven't found CLR to ruin the cerakote. I haven't soaked the outside of the can in CLR, though.

I have a large sonic cleaner and it does not clean as effectively as the above procedure.
 
parshal said:
I haven't found CLR to ruin the cerakote. I haven't soaked the outside of the can in CLR, though.
Click to expand...
I have an U7 I've soaked for 3-4 days at a time, multiple times. The cerakote is starting to fade a little now. I've had it for 7 years; I guess I could just repaint it eventually if it bothered me but frankly it keeps a can cover on it 90% of the time.
 
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Hey guys, I wanted to check back in to this thread because my new ultrasonic cleaner should be delivered tomorrow and I wanted to get some BCG’s cleaned up.

Are you still using the 3:1 distilled H2O/CLR for BCG’s, and are there any cautions for nickel boron vs phosphate coated I should be aware of? Just break down to field stripped condition, bag it in the CLR mix and go? Heat/no heat?

I appreciate the advice.
 
darkfader said:
Hey guys, I wanted to check back in to this thread because my new ultrasonic cleaner should be delivered tomorrow and I wanted to get some BCG’s cleaned up.

Are you still using the 3:1 distilled H2O/CLR for BCG’s, and are there any cautions for nickel boron vs phosphate coated I should be aware of? Just break down to field stripped condition, bag it in the CLR mix and go? Heat/no heat?

I appreciate the advice.
Click to expand...
Haven't tried anything but cans and baffles in the 3:1 mix, so no idea. Sorry. Maybe someone else can chime in. But I don't see why it would, as long as you don't run any heat... To my knowledge, there isn't any burnishing compound in the CLR, so I don't think it would hurt anything, but that's just a speculation.
 
FuhQ said:
To my knowledge, there isn't any burnishing compound in the CLR, so I don't think it would hurt anything, but that's just a speculation.
Click to expand...

You don't need any abrasive to fuck things up in an ultrasonic cleaner - cavitation will do the trick. Ever see what clean hydraulic oil can do to hardened steel if cavitation occurs? Things only get worse if there's chemical incompatibly. Note that this isn't any sort of guarantee that there will be harm (in the vast majority of applications I'd argue that it's safer than scrubbing the part with a metal brush), but people need to understand that the potential exists due to the powerful forces involved.

I don't run any NiB BCGs, but plenty of people on gun forums have reported problems with them in ultrasonic cleaners over the years with a variety of "mild" cleaning compounds. At the very least, some discoloration should be expected. If I didn't care much about the part (and I don't generally care about BCGs - they're wear items), YOLO. If it's some special unobtainium part, then brake cleaner and a nylon brush are likely safer.
 
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E. Bryant said:
You don't need any abrasive to fuck things up in an ultrasonic cleaner - cavitation will do the trick. Ever see what clean hydraulic oil can do to hardened steel if cavitation occurs? Things only get worse if there's chemical incompatibly. Note that this isn't any sort of guarantee that there will be harm (in the vast majority of applications I'd argue that it's safer than scrubbing the part with a metal brush), but people need to understand that the potential exists due to the powerful forces involved.

I don't run any NiB BCGs, but plenty of people on gun forums have reported problems with them in ultrasonic cleaners over the years with a variety of "mild" cleaning compounds. At the very least, some discoloration should be expected. If I didn't care much about the part (and I don't generally care about BCGs - they're wear items), YOLO. If it's some special unobtainium part, then brake cleaner and a nylon brush are likely safer.
Click to expand...
I typically hand-clean my BCG’s, as well.
 
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I guess they wouldn’t sponsor him, or give him any money. 🤡🥴🤡🥴🤡

IMG_2806.jpeg


It literally says what it’s safe for right on the damn label… If something says it’s safe for plastic and fiberglass, and it’s shipped in a thin plastic jug and it doesn’t eat through it, wouldn’t you assume just about any type of heat-treated metal would be ok? It even says it’s safe for stainless steel specifically. 🤷🏼

IMG_2838.jpeg
 
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I thought I’d pick up that CLR at Lowe’s or even Home Depot. Neither store had the CLR Pro. I guess I’ll order some. I did pick up a gallon of the Simple Green HD purple stuff. I saw some YouTube videos of guys using that for parts. I didn’t make it home tonight so I won’t be cleaning anything. Work tomorrow and bow hunting for whitetails for four days straight after that, so it’ll be a little bit before I can even get familiar with my cleaner.

Just for reference, I got a 15L, 760 watt, 40kHz digital model. Chinese in origin for sure but whatever.
 
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darkfader said:
I thought I’d pick up that CLR at Lowe’s or even Home Depot. Neither store had the CLR Pro. I guess I’ll order some. I did pick up a gallon of the Simple Green HD purple stuff. I saw some YouTube videos of guys using that for parts. I didn’t make it home tonight so I won’t be cleaning anything. Work tomorrow and bow hunting for whitetails for four days straight after that, so it’ll be a little bit before I can even get familiar with my cleaner.

Just for reference, I got a 15L, 760 watt, 40kHz digital model. Chinese in origin for sure but whatever.
Click to expand...
I don’t know about regular CLR, but the Pro is what I use because it said it was safe. Works fine for me.
 
I've used it many times and never had an issue. I don't just leave it in there though and I make real sure I get it all out too. That said, the point isn't about if it does damage or not, the point is that barrel manufacturers and action makers too, are all starting to say "if you use clr, we are not going to warranty it". So at this point, it's not worth it to me. The Birchwood Casey foaming gel bore scrubber and a nylon brush is where it's at anyway. Works exceptionally well and it's fast and easy.
 
I use striaght CLR on all my cans. The only "bad" thing I have seen is it will turn those pretty straw colored baffels silver. Oh NO! [/sarcasm] At this point I have probably cleaned my Hybrid 46 3 or 4 times and the Masks at least 10 times each. No issues to date other than some missing cerakote on the 46 and I blame that on feeding it a steady diet of hot .338LM loads more than the cleaning process. Buyer beware and all that but no issues to mention here.
 
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BuildingConceptsllc said:
I've used it many times and never had an issue. I don't just leave it in there though and I make real sure I get it all out too. That said, the point isn't about if it does damage or not, the point is that barrel manufacturers and action makers too, are all starting to say "if you use clr, we are not going to warranty it". So at this point, it's not worth it to me. The Birchwood Casey foaming gel bore scrubber and a nylon brush is where it's at anyway. Works exceptionally well and it's fast and easy.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm sure he gets paid by Birchwood Casey, or some company that sells/makes cleaning products... That's how shills work.

But I'm sure all these manufacturers are claiming that it's bad because it's cheap as fuck, and works like a charm. And the companies they're friends with, or monetarily vested in, are selling you truly harsh chemicals in 2-8 oz. containers for $15-$30 a pop, compared to buying an entire GALLON of CLR Pro for $20-$25 on Amazon.

Vested interest in the gun industry is just as crooked and underhanded and greedy as politicians are. You have to watch who you trust and listen to in this industry. I learned this a LONG time ago. Not everyone who is popularly-considered an expert is an actual expert. Some are just smooth-talkers and trigger jockeys that can shoot a gun good, but have nothing between the ears, and a soul that's always for sale.
 
FuhQ said:
I guess they wouldn’t sponsor him, or give him any money. 🤡🥴🤡🥴🤡

View attachment 8278012

It literally says what it’s safe for right on the damn label… If something says it’s safe for plastic and fiberglass, and it’s shipped in a thin plastic jug and it doesn’t eat through it, wouldn’t you assume just about any type of heat-treated metal would be ok? It even says it’s safe for stainless steel specifically. 🤷🏼

View attachment 8278015
Click to expand...
Know what's funny? This right here...

No need to go much past the 5 minute mark.
 
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I only use CLR to clean my suppressors...And I dilute it 3:1 ratio (3x water : 1x CLR Pro) just to ensure it's not going to hurt the finish. I've never used it to clean a gun, and probably never will, because a micro-fiber cloth or paper towel coated in RemOil works great for quick cleans, and RemOil soaked nylon bore brushes and wet patches every couple hundred rounds to clean out small deposits works fine. And if I need to really scrub-out a bore down to the white, I've got some of that old school Pro-Shot Copper Solvent-IV that requires copious amounts of ventilation because it's so strong, and it works amazing for cleaning rust, carbon deposits, carbon rings, stubborn copper, etc... out of barrels. Then I run RemOil patches afterwards to neutralize the CS-IV in the bore.
 
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FuhQ said:
Yeah, I'm sure he gets paid by Birchwood Casey, or some company that sells/makes cleaning products... That's how shills work.

But I'm sure all these manufacturers are claiming that it's bad because it's cheap as fuck, and works like a charm. And the companies they're friends with, or monetarily vested in, are selling you truly harsh chemicals in 2-8 oz. containers for $15-$30 a pop, compared to buying an entire GALLON of CLR Pro for $20-$25 on Amazon.

Vested interest in the gun industry is just as crooked and underhanded and greedy as politicians are. You have to watch who you trust and listen to in this industry. I learned this a LONG time ago. Not everyone who is popularly-considered an expert is an actual expert. Some are just smooth-talkers and trigger jockeys that can shoot a gun good, but have nothing between the ears, and a soul that's always for sale.
Click to expand...
That may all be true or the truth may be somewhere in between. No doubt there are some vested interest at play here. That said, if it's going to void a warranty and there's other stuff that works better, kind of silly to use it. I don't think I've ever heard anyone push Birchwood Casey stuff , I just found it by trying different stuff over time trying to get my 6.5cm and 6cm barrel clean right at the dreaded carbon ring spot. I had one and it was a real tough thing to get cleaned until I tried that combination. The bore scrubber alone wouldn't do it and the nylon brush with a few other bore cleaners wouldn't do it, including the boretech stuff that's pretty pricey. Once I liked the idea of a gel and it foaming so I stuck a straw on it and squirted it further down into the bore via my guide, and let it sit there for about 15 or 20 min and then did about 10 or 15 strokes with the nylon brush. Then the magic happened. I finally got it legit clean. I was always really cautious with any brush even nylon, but since that day, it's the only way I go when I need to give it a good Cleaning. Maybe every 3rd time I clean it or so. Otherwise I use whatever I have (boretech until it's gone) and I always finish with hoppees#9 then oil
 
FuhQ said:
I only use CLR to clean my suppressors...And I dilute it 3:1 ratio (3x water : 1x CLR Pro) just to ensure it's not going to hurt the finish. I've never used it to clean a gun, and probably never will, because a micro-fiber cloth or paper towel coated in RemOil works great for quick cleans, and RemOil soaked nylon bore brushes and wet patches every couple hundred rounds to clean out small deposits works fine. And if I need to really scrub-out a bore down to the white, I've got some of that old school Pro-Shot Copper Solvent-IV that requires copious amounts of ventilation because it's so strong, and it works amazing for cleaning rust, carbon deposits, carbon rings, stubborn copper, etc... out of barrels. Then I run RemOil patches afterwards to neutralize the CS-IV in the bore.
Click to expand...
It'll fuck up blued finishes..........
 
BuildingConceptsllc said:
That may all be true or the truth may be somewhere in between. No doubt there are some vested interest at play here. That said, if it's going to void a warranty and there's other stuff that works better, kind of silly to use it. I don't think I've ever heard anyone push Birchwood Casey stuff , I just found it by trying different stuff over time trying to get my 6.5cm and 6cm barrel clean right at the dreaded carbon ring spot. I had one and it was a real tough thing to get cleaned until I tried that combination. The bore scrubber alone wouldn't do it and the nylon brush with a few other bore cleaners wouldn't do it, including the boretech stuff that's pretty pricey. Once I liked the idea of a gel and it foaming so I stuck a straw on it and squirted it further down into the bore via my guide, and let it sit there for about 15 or 20 min and then did about 10 or 15 strokes with the nylon brush. Then the magic happened. I finally got it legit clean. I was always really cautious with any brush even nylon, but since that day, it's the only way I go when I need to give it a good Cleaning. Maybe every 3rd time I clean it or so. Otherwise I use whatever I have (boretech until it's gone) and I always finish with hoppees#9 then oil
Click to expand...
Yeah, for stubborn copper and carbon, I use an old bronze brush and copper solvent IV. Soak a patch, let it sit for a few minutes, and then dip your brush in it, and run it. Then patch it, then start alternating brush & patch each time dipping in the CS-IV. That will get rid of any carbon rings or buildup. But you'll want to spray some RemOil or run RemOil patches down the bore afterwards to neutralize it.

 
FuhQ said:
It literally says what it’s safe for right on the damn label… If something says it’s safe for plastic and fiberglass, and it’s shipped in a thin plastic jug and it doesn’t eat through it, wouldn’t you assume just about any type of heat-treated metal would be ok? It even says it’s safe for stainless steel specifically. 🤷🏼
Click to expand...

This is not sound logic. Hydrochloric acid can be stored in PVC, and hydrofluoric acid is safe in HDPE (milk jug plastic), but either one can fuck up all sort of metals including stainless steel.

The deal with many combinations of corrosion-resistant metals and acids is that compatibility is a matter of concentration and time. There can also be substantial differences between the various grades of stainless.

Fun fact - the compatibility of certain stainless steels with certain acids can be affected by other chemical compounds. For example, go look up the effects of lactic acid + salt, and then look at the list of ingredients in CLR. That's just one common example. There's a reason that Frank Green tells us not to mix chemicals in the barrel, and sometimes those chemicals are the deposits we're trying to remove.

The complexity of this situation is why I won't make broad statements about the safety (or lack thereof) of certain compounds, and why one's personal track record does not ensure that everyone will share the same experience.
 
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