Suppressors Cleaning a suppressor.

Militarybuilt

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 21, 2011
147
0
WI
So I'm wondering what everyone is using to clean your can? For a rifle can that you cannot disassemble I just soak it in a diesel/ATF/kerosene mixture and drain it before use. But for my TiRant .45 I have used a ton of different things and now the baffles are currently soaking in Slip 2000 Carbon Killer hoping it works. What is everyone else using? Thanks.
 
Cleaning a suppressor.

Slip2000 carbon killer for my TiRant. Works great! Synthetic safe Gunscrubber on my Thompson Machine Poseidon (monocore, so a bit easier to clean after shooting). Don't really have a plan for my SpecWar, not enough rounds through it yet.
 
What does the manufacturer recommend? Why do you need to clean them? I've got cans with thousands of rounds through and they've never been cleaned....no reason to do so. They don't make contact with the bullet so no accuracy issues, they don't really corrode, don't build up excessive carbon or other fillers (centerfire cans ) so why would you need to clean?

As a manufacturer I recommend to my customers that they clean by firing. I've yet to see any issues from not cleaning them but I've had a few issues from guys that did clean.

Good luck
Frank
 
Don't bother cleaning your cans (Except for take-downs. They can seize up if not cleaned occasionally). They actually suppress better with a carbon layer.

If bits of carbon buildup breaks off, just shake it out, and be done with it.
 
A good reason to clean them is if they start collecting build up of some sort.

H1000 is a big problem according to Zak of Tbac. That being said, I have several thousands of rounds through my YHM Phantom qd and have very cleaned it. It does see the occasional mag dump from an ar so that might help keep it clean.

I ordered some slip2000 a little bit ago but have never used it to clean a can yet
 
If for some reason you feel its necessary to clean the can than make sure you get all the solvent or cleaning agent out of the can. I've repaired a couple cans that were damaged due to liquid being left inside after cleaning. It doesn't take a lot to deflect a bullet enough to smack a baffle. Just a bit of liquid bouncing up in the path can do it and the damage can be severe. I don't shoot H1000 in my .338 lapua mag and with all the rounds downrange through my .338 can I've yet to see any real buildup. I can't measure a weight gain though I can see erosion of the blast baffle. Its not enough to cause any change in operation or worries but it does happen.


Frank
 
I am asking because I have about a thousand rounds through my TiRant and I can hear some carbon flakes in there and like stated before it will sieze up if not cleaned once in a great while. I tried soaking the baffles in the carbon killer and it worked for the looser stuff but there is still some build up. I put some fire clean on the baffles after and I'm gonna run it. I do use it with wire pulling gel so I didn't know if that crap needs to be cleaned out once in a while. Thanks for the info, I will not clean it for another few thousand rounds.
 
Your tirant should be cleaned every 500 rounds or so. But nothing major....I clean mine by brushing the baffles one at a time with a nylon brush. Wipe clean with a frog-lube lightly dampened cloth. Do not leave any residue...I clean the threads and apply a tiny bit of copper anti seize on them. Assemble and your done.
 
Works for me. I have the .45 version but it's used on multiple .45s and 9mm handguns and carbines so it builds up quite a bit of residue. I soaked them in Carbon Killer for about 24 hours which softened up the majority of build up but I still had to scrub with a copper brush and there was still build up after that so I left it and wiped them all down with Fire Clean so we will see what happens tomorrow.
 
For the excess carbon build up on other firearms I use a bronze scratch awl. Which comes mounted on a leatherman MUT, before that I used a bronze knife like scratching tool. Works great for me. Only thing that is also required is a bucket of patience. Which isn't sold on aisle 3 in your local hardware store. My Ti-Rant is a .45 also. How are you shooting yours? Wet? If so with what medium? I have found that it shoots a bit cleaner if I shoot it dry. Though shooting with water in it is so much fun, the presence of carbon doubles. I haven't tried fireclean yet, but frog-lube has made cleaning much easier. Particularly on the baffles. Hope some of this helps ya out man. As for my Surefire 5.56 can. I only brush and scrape the adapter free of carbon and make sure the inside of the mount is free of carbon. Very light wipe with frog-lube rag, mount to rifle, load rifle, squeeze triggger until mag is empty, repeat until you are done shooting for the day.
 
I shoot mine both wet and dry, I use wire pulling gel most of the time but water once in a while. I shot it today mounted on a nagant revolver and got a slight baffle strike at the end cap which could have been bad but its all good, my local machinist sucks, we will say that.
 
I fly RC planes. The nitro fueled racer stuff I have is a mess. "Slimers" is what we call them. The oil and nitro will cook onto the cylinder and form a carbon varnish that is near impossible to remove. Harsh solvents don't do much.

believe it or not getting a big soup pot full of Prestone antifreeze scalding hot and cooking your engine makes it new again. I mean no shit. You toss it in there and go watch a movie for an hour. Come back and it's a total rewind.

I've not tried it on a can -yet. Mine will be here this week.

I gotta think it would work just as well.

C.
 
I've only cleaned it twice in 7000(ish) rounds but what I do is I cut a piece of PVC 2" longer than my can, put an end cap on one end, put the can in and fill it with near-boiling water and some lemi-shine and cap the other end. It sits for a day and when I remember i walk over and give it a couple of good shakes. I get tons of carbon out that way... dissolved and big pieces come out with the water. I do it again a few times with just plain water and shaking to make sure I get everything that was loosened up. After that I give it a good rinse and let it dry.

Seems to have worked good enough for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The_Next_Generation
I fly RC planes. The nitro fueled racer stuff I have is a mess. "Slimers" is what we call them. The oil and nitro will cook onto the cylinder and form a carbon varnish that is near impossible to remove. Harsh solvents don't do much.

believe it or not getting a big soup pot full of Prestone antifreeze scalding hot and cooking your engine makes it new again. I mean no shit. You toss it in there and go watch a movie for an hour. Come back and it's a total rewind.

I've not tried it on a can -yet. Mine will be here this week.

I gotta think it would work just as well.

C.

It doesn't require a lot of heat. Most people I know use a yard sale crock pot for cleaning engines.

I fly RC planes and helis.
 
Years ago I soaked some (automotive) pistons in Simple Green concentrate for a few days... they ended up IMMACULATE. Like, no carbon ANYWHERE. I don't yet have a can gunked up enough to worry about this, and I can't vouch for what it might do to the finish of the can, but it was friggin' amazing.

Also, I recently became aware of a product called Piston Kleen that is supposed to be stellar for loosening carbon.

Regarding getting all the cleaning fluid out of a can before firing, I bought a small toaster oven (not a toaster, mind you) that I keep with my gun stuff... the plan is to "bake" my can after soaking to make sure that the fluid is gone. 250-ish degrees for 15-20 minutes would do it, I'd think.