Suppressor cleaning

[este]

Originally Posted by Rikky Lee

Don't do it. Other forums have reported that this is a great way to buy another can after the damage done through cleaning in this solution.

Bullshit. 50% vin/perox is fine for steel, ti, nickle (inconel). It will eat away at softer metals like aluminum and lead (obviously). Regardless, you would really have to abuse an aluminum can to get it to fail.

Exactly like frank said, it will be fine for the suppressor but may damage your coating. I've have never heard of AAC coatings being damaged by the dip though.

Silencerresearch.com has an article (paid members only) about the sound difference in a dirty 9mm can vs a clean one. It's significant. The can in the test had several thousand rounds down it.

Exposed lead bottom is fine, don't even pay attention to that. However, I would be interested if Frank was talking about 500 rounds of cast or jacketed. I am reluctant to shoot cast in a sealed can. While I think it wouldn't be as bad as .22, some people disagree and say it would be worse because of the addition lead surface area over .22 bullets.

It's tough to tell because I know my 22 can gets filthy, but I only ever shoot non-jacketed down it. Does anyone even make a copper jacketed that isn't high velocity?

I suspect cast is a bad idea in a sealed can. Don't worry about the base.

[Rikky Lee]

Only relaying what one person's experience was FWIW. I tend to err on the side of caution when peroxide is involved.

From a detailed thread on this issue:

Quote

I asked YHM this question awhile back, they said
The best way to clean any of our sound suppressors is to soak the
entire suppressor in mineral spirits overnight and then remove the next morning and
any accumulated lead should have come off. If there is any left it will wipe off with a brush or rag.

Unquote

[amafrank]

My statement concerning lead based bullets was referring to the exposed lead base on jacketed bullets. I don't shoot cast lead through any cans as the friction of going down the bore will create more heat and thus lead vapor. Jacketed bullets don't really have that problem since the lead is contained. There is some vaporization of the lead at the exposed base but not enough to create any real problems. Low velocity helps keep the fouling and heat down so subsonic loads with cast lead may or may not be a problem in reality. I don't do any casting and have little interest in spending the time and money to do the research though so I'm sticking with jacketed bullets for the rifles.

Test results on the vinegar/peroxide solution have shown that lead and aluminum dissolve fairly rapidly. Mild steel will pit quite badly if left for a day or two, stainless will frost if left for a few days. The solution does remove the lead and results in lead acetate solution which is very toxic. Pure lead isn't too good for the human body and accumulates over time. Lead acetate is really really bad for humans and usually kills before it has time to accumulate. Don't get the stuff on you or dispose of it in a place that will come back and haunt you.

Frank

[Alleycat]

You could go this route
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2-LITER-1-2-...item19b659b1ef
Ultrasonic baby. Some of the available solutions are bad for aluminium, but every thing else is ok.

[este]

I don't know anyone that has ultrasonic cleaned a suppressor, lots of people that talk about it, but never anything first hand.

I suspect it doesn't do much for baked on lead... unless those heaters get it to 500-600º or so :)

So you would still need a solvent. I wonder how the 50/50 mix works when combined with an ultrasonic...

[Rikky Lee]

I know people who have used an ultrasonic cleaner. It does work and you don't require dangerous peroxide solutions.

But talking about a Whisper, I would support amafrank's comments, a lot of shooting required before serious cleaning is needed.

[320pf]

We use ultrasonic cleaners at work to clean fused silica residuals off of stainless steel ultra-high vacuum parts. They work great! We put the part in distilled water and let it work for 45-60 mins. Done!

320pf