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Suppressors "The Dip" is more poisonous than hydrogen cyanide?

bm11

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 18, 2010
2,562
13
40
Maine
I kid, but reading on line has gotten me a bit paranoid! I used my Surefire MINI with a FH556-212 adapter for 600 or so rounds rather than the brake that I run on other guns. It apparently causes different buildup on the inside of the can, and I couldn't get it on my brake adapter after.

Long story short, I decided to dip it. I mixed 50/50 peroxide and vinegar, and before long, a cloudy material was coming out of both ends. Getting back from lunch, the liquid had turned blue, and there was a foam built up over the adapter end.

Getting back on my phone where I looked up the recipe, I start seeing all kinds of warnings. Like "don't do this in your home" or "use chemical rated gloves" etc. Some of these posts had me thinking that you could probably poison darts with this stuff and use them to drop someone DRT.

So, it made me a bit paranoid. I didn't bring it outside, because it's a suppressor and I didn't want it to get stolen, but I did bring it into my basement. I'll have to find a way to safely contain it when I get home tonight.

Anyone who has dipped a can have any advice for me on how to safely handle this material without calling the Department of Homeland Security?
 
Yeah you made some nasty stuff...recommend you research a base solution to wash everything and neutralize the acid so it doesn't cause your little surefire damage and to wear gloves (always wear gloves & eye pro with acids or harmful agents, & dispose of that properly :)

I think you'll live though haha!
 
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Actually what he has produced is lead acetate. It is quite poisonous and accumulates in the body like most lead compounds. Since you have reduced the metallic lead in the can to a salt it can much more easily enter the body. Metallic lead is much less of a hazard because it isn't soluble in water. Interesting article in wiki with the very application listed that the original poster asked about. Lead(II) acetate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia If you don't want to read the whole thing have a look toward the bottom under "other uses".

One more very important thing to consider before using this mixture on your suppressor- it is only useable on stainless steel suppressors. Drop your aluminum suppressor or any aluminum parts into the solution and they will slowly disappear. If you drop plain steel parts in there they will pit.

Take care with this line of cleaning.

Frank
 
Actually what he has produced is lead acetate. It is quite poisonous and accumulates in the body like most lead compounds. Since you have reduced the metallic lead in the can to a salt it can much more easily enter the body. Metallic lead is much less of a hazard because it isn't soluble in water. Interesting article in wiki with the very application listed that the original poster asked about. Lead(II) acetate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia If you don't want to read the whole thing have a look toward the bottom under "other uses".

One more very important thing to consider before using this mixture on your suppressor- it is only useable on stainless steel suppressors. Drop your aluminum suppressor or any aluminum parts into the solution and they will slowly disappear. If you drop plain steel parts in there they will pit.

Take care with this line of cleaning.

Frank

This +100.

Most people have good results with Kroll Oil for center fire cans. I personally use fire clean on the brakes and mounting surfaces of my qd cans.
 
Actually what he has produced is lead acetate. It is quite poisonous and accumulates in the body like most lead compounds. Since you have reduced the metallic lead in the can to a salt it can much more easily enter the body. Metallic lead is much less of a hazard because it isn't soluble in water. Interesting article in wiki with the very application listed that the original poster asked about. Lead(II) acetate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia If you don't want to read the whole thing have a look toward the bottom under "other uses".

One more very important thing to consider before using this mixture on your suppressor- it is only useable on stainless steel suppressors. Drop your aluminum suppressor or any aluminum parts into the solution and they will slowly disappear. If you drop plain steel parts in there they will pit.

Take care with this line of cleaning.

Frank

Excellent and accurate info.

The lead acetate is much more dangerous to you than either the Acetic Acid or Hydrogen Peroxide in the concentrations typically available to consumers. Now if you have access to Glacial Acetic Acid and 30% Hyrdogen Peroxide like I do, then that is a different PPE conversation.

I'm not a metallurgist by trade nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express, but my limited understanding is that not all stainless steels have the same level of corrosion resistance. 17-4 is what Silencerco uses for the mono-core of the Sparrow and it is able to be cleaned by the Dip method safely. 416 Stainless does not appear to have a very good corrosion resistance to Acetic acid nor hydrogen peroxide.

Metals and Corrosion Resistance

http://www.aksteel.com/pdf/markets_products/stainless/Stainless_Steel_Comparator.pdf
 
Thanks guys! I bought gloves tonight and remembered to use my safety glasses too. I funneled the solution into a bottle and sealed it up, now I just need to find a hazmat facility. So far I'm not dead, but I suppose it takes longer than that...
 
Funny you should mention the can not going from one adapter style to the other. I noticed on mine it didn't want to go onto my flash hider since it normally lives on a brake. Thought it odd and scrubbed it good and lubed it. Still kinda tight but it's better.
 
After draining "the Dip" from your suppressor I would flush it out with WD-40, Kroil or some other fluid to displace any remaining "dip" before firing.

Nasty stuff and I would run some rounds thru it outside before using it indoors or inside a firing range.
 
I'll be sure to douche it with something. Thanks guys!