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Suppressors Easy cleaning!!!!!

X

xdeano

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 26, 2005
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North Dakota
Ok guys I needed to pass this on to you all. A few years back I read a post by orkan on here about cleaning carbon out of barrels with CLR.

Well, ive been using it ever since. Works like a charm. It got me thinking about the carbon deposits in suppressors so I decided to go to the local surplus store and pick up a couple of rubber corks that fit the 5/8x24 and 1/2x28. Came home and plugged one end and dumped CLR down the tube. Shook it up and walked away for a half hour. Shook it up, the, left again for another half hour. I should preface that I could not get the baffle stack out before I started. Well they came right out after an hour. I cleaned the baffles up with an old tooth brush and some clean CLR. It took me about 10 minutes of light cleaning and they looked like new.

Hope this helps someone out there.

Xdeano


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I forgot to mentioned that I rinsed them water.

The one with the anodized black baffles is an aac ti-rant 9m can with about 300 rounds down it. It has an aluminum stack, titanium tube.

The other is titanium tube and baffle stack and has roughly 400 rounds on it since the last cleaning.

Xdeano
 
Does CLR work on lead / rimfire? Have a sealed 5.56 suppressor that I mostly use on 22lr and clean with the "dip" solution.
 
I have an omega that’s cerakoted and with the big open ends on each side I think I’ll have to dunk the whole thing. Are all of these chemicals going to wash the cerakote off?
And wouldn’t a dunk also dissolve whatever glue is holding them together?
 
spife7980 said:
I have an omega that’s cerakoted and with the big open ends on each side I think I’ll have to dunk the whole thing. Are all of these chemicals going to wash the cerakote off?
And wouldn’t a dunk also dissolve whatever glue is holding them together?
Click to expand...


Avoid getting CLR on cerakote just plug the exit with a ear plug and fill the inside up
 
I got clr all over the cerakote and it didn't do anything to it. I'm using the air dry cerakote for suppressors.

Not sure if it will work on lead. I've always used the dip also.

I'm on the fence about doing a sealed can. There was a lot of big chunks that came off. I would say it can be done, you just have to rinse with hot soapy water a bunch. I've got an old aac can that is sealed that I should test out. It's got probably 6000 rounds from various guns over the years. It weighs a lot more than it should.

Xdeano
 
xdeano said:
I got clr all over the cerakote and it didn't do anything to it. I'm using the air dry cerakote for suppressors.

Not sure if it will work on lead. I've always used the dip also.

I'm on the fence about doing a sealed can. There was a lot of big chunks that came off. I would say it can be done, you just have to rinse with hot soapy water a bunch. I've got an old aac can that is sealed that I should test out. It's got probably 6000 rounds from various guns over the years. It weighs a lot more than it should.

Xdeano
Click to expand...
I did my titanium Arbiter sealed can with the CLR, soaked overnight. Then to break things up, I ran it through a few full cycles in the ultrasonic cleaner using a 50% solution of simple green. That worked very well. This can had over 1500 rounds on it and was quite caked. enough so that I had started to get chunks falling down the barrel on occasion.
 
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How would motor flush work?
That removes all kind of dirt inside the car engine, on thing that could be good to try is intake valve cleaner.
Engine valves are commonly in carbon, so that valve cleaner might be also good to try.
 
Used the "dip" for many years now on a Gemtech M4-02 all SS, no issues that I can tell. Agree, it's nasty stuff once the lead breaks down. Next cleaning going to try the CLR.
 
Did some light research on corrosion resistance at engineeringtoolbox.com and vinegar in 'the dip' will react with 416 stainless and I don't know what SS is in the Omega. So that and the nasty lead byproduct makes me reluctant to attempt it. How does CLR do on lead?
 
Im not sure on the lead. Ive got a spectre2 that needs to be cleaned. But that's going to have to wait a bit, no time.
Xdeano
 
Ok I made time to clean a 22LR can. I know for a fact that this can (spectre2) had around 200 rounds that my son shot through it the other night. I shot it I dont know how many rounds before that. I havent cleaned it in about a year. I filled it full of CLR corked it and went and got the kids ready for bed, read to them and messed around with the dog. Kinda forgot about it. 1.5hrs later I shook it up quick, dumped it out and took it apart. The baffles just fell out of the tube. It cleaned up with just an old tooth brush. And it's way cleaner then with the "dip". I always had to pick away with the dip with a dental pick. This stuff is Awesome!

Xdeano
 
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I was searching out how to clean my suppressors and came across this thread. The Thinderbeast sight says you should not use CLR on stainless baffles. I am looking for an alternative to the dip. What options do I have for stainless steel baffles?
 
Mine we're stainless and they cleaned up really nice with clr, I will say that a guy needs to rinse them out very well. I dont know why they would say not to use clr on ss.

Xdeano
 
We HAD an ultra sonic cleaner we used CLR in. It ate through the tank pretty quickly. I'm sure some types of stainless would be ok in CLR, but it should be researched before doing long soaks.
 
I probably wouldnt leave a suppressor in a tank for a week. But I think for short durations it isnt much of an issue. Especially if you wash it well when finished.

Xdeano
 
Tree said:
I was searching out how to clean my suppressors and came across this thread. The Thinderbeast sight says you should not use CLR on stainless baffles. I am looking for an alternative to the dip. What options do I have for stainless steel baffles?
Click to expand...

You can use the wet tumbling method with stainless steel pins. It just takes water and Dawn dish soap.
 
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Sure that works if you can get the baffles out of the can. This method is for those stuck in baffles. You definitely wouldnt want to use pins on a sealed can or one that you can't get apart.

Xdeano
 
JMGlasgow said:
I wonder if the vinegar and peroxide solution is harmful to stainless and aluminum.
Click to expand...


Stainless & titanium no.

Aluminum yes

It's one of my favorite carbon removers. I use 50/50 mix on baffles, brakes and whatever else is gumed up.
 
Tree,
Save your money and try some clr. Ive tried slip2000 many years ago and it just doesnt do as good a job.

Xdeano
 
Thanks I did clean with CLR. Worked well. I had just received some for free and didn’t know others experience with it.
 
Tree said:
Thanks I did clean with CLR. Worked well. I had just received some for free and didn’t know others experience with it.
Click to expand...

Tree, I've used slip2000 in the past for cleaning choke tubes and it works, but not near as well or quickly. Ive also got a small jug of it for putting it on patches for barrel carbon removal, but its just not as good.

Xdeano
 
Anyone else try the clr. Please post your successes or failure or any questions or methods that you guys have been using.

Deano
 
I use Non diluted CLR to clean my rim fire suppressor and various muzzle breaks. I just dip the parts into the solution and watch them bubble. They come out pretty clean.
 
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I use CLR exclusively to clean suppressors. It works great. I have one sealed 30 cal can that I put inside a PVC tube and fill up with CLR and shake. I then dump and flush with water and tap it against something firm, but non-damaging like a piece of carpet over a cement floor, and then flush some more.
I'll add that both my cans are painted with Duracoat and it doesn't hurt that a bit.
 
Okay. I'll admit to not having a rimfire can, so that answers that. BTW, many cleaners in an ultrasonic will also damage aluminum, so keep that in mind.
 
Been doing this for years with Surefire suppressors. Was recommended to me by one of the higher ups at SF. Works great. SF Cerakotes their cans, never had an issue.
 
My Omega has a titanium tube, Stellite blast chamber and SS baffles. Is the whole can safe to submerge? Do I need to pull the end caps off and the baffle stack out and clean it only? Is Stellite safe to use CLR on?
 
JMGlasgow said:
I wonder if the vinegar and peroxide solution is harmful to stainless and aluminum.
Click to expand...

Be VERY careful with vinegar and lead. Wear gloves, don't get it on your skin. Vinegar and lead form lead acetate, which is absorbed by the skin. Copper acetate is another, not sure if that one is absorbed by the skin though.

FWIW, I use a pan of Kroil and put that in the water in a US cleaner. The Kroil won't damage or rust parts. Can clean weapon parts and suppressor parts. They don't come out spotless, what it does is dissolve the gunk so that it wipes or brushes off, no pick action.

If CLR is really safe as a detergent, then I bet it'd work gangbusters in a US cleaner! Definitely wanna make some phone calls and use some test items first though.
 
I clean my TB cans with CLR all the time. Thanks to whoever posted the link to the new procedure from them. I hadn't seen that I wasn't supposed to get CLR on the threads of a direct thread can. I wonder why. I cleaned an older 30 cal can that had thousands of rounds of centerfire thru it as well as probably X2 of rimfire. I changed the CLR twice a day for a week. It foams up like crazy, so I don't see how I'm supposed to not get it on the threads.

I ALSO used it on my TB .22 Takedown baffles, another apparent no-no. That was taking longer than I liked so I dumped them in the stainless pins. Clean as new in about 10 minutes.
 
Strykervet said:
FWIW, I use a pan of Kroil and put that in the water in a US cleaner. The Kroil won't damage or rust parts. Can clean weapon parts and suppressor parts. They don't come out spotless, what it does is dissolve the gunk so that it wipes or brushes off, no pick action.
Click to expand...
You mix Kroil and water in a ultrasonic cleaner?
 
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