Suppressors Do you clean your suppressor?

I have 4000+ on my Omega. It has gained almost 5oz. I hit them up a few weeks ago asking if they provide cleaning. They said they don’t and to pour Hoppes or Mineral Spirits in it to soak for 24 hours.
So after about 13 hours, the mineral spirits hasn’t done a thing. I’ll let it keep soaking, but I’m not very optimistic. There is so much carbon, my ASR Mount is fused to the rest of the suppressor.
 
I’m about to fill mine with Hoppes and see what happens. When my ASR was fused, it took heat, soaking in MPro7 for a few hours, and locking the suppressor in a vice, attaching the wrench to the mount and smacking it with a hammer.
PITA!

I only run direct thread, now.
 
I’m about to fill mine with Hoppes and see what happens. When my ASR was fused, it took heat, soaking in MPro7 for a few hours, and locking the suppressor in a vice, attaching the wrench to the mount and smacking it with a hammer.
PITA!

I only run direct thread, now.
I'm going to give the mineral spirits 48 hours or so. If nothing happens after that I will order a quart of Hoppes off of Amazon. I bought a cheap double walled steel 24 oz cup from Walmart and the suppressor fits nicely inside it.
 
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I'm going to give the mineral spirits 48 hours or so. If nothing happens after that I will order a quart of Hoppes off of Amazon. I bought a cheap double walled steel 24 oz cup from Walmart and the suppressor fits nicely inside it.

cool! I’m waiting for my hoppes to arrive right now. Got a big ass bottle off amazon for like $9

i have a feeling 24 hours won’t be enough, at least not as caked as mine is.
 
Will CLR cause any pitting on an aluminum can? Ive got a sico harvester and need to clean that nasty bitch but i dont want to use the CLR if it has the potential for damaging it.
 
Will CLR cause any pitting on an aluminum can? Ive got a sico harvester and need to clean that nasty bitch but i dont want to use the CLR if it has the potential for damaging it.
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Bad thangs with CLR and aluminum.

Personally, I'm looking for a gallon jug of Bore Tech C4 for my Omega. CLR works awesome on my TBAC though.
 
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Will CLR cause any pitting on an aluminum can? Ive got a sico harvester and need to clean that nasty bitch but i dont want to use the CLR if it has the potential for damaging it.
CLR will remove the finish on an aluminum can and could cause pitting.

this from CLR company:
DO not use CLR on natural stone or marble, terrazzo, colored grout, painted or metallic glazed surfaces, plastic laminates, Formica, aluminum, steam irons, leaded crystal, refinished tubs or any damaged or cracked surface. CLRmay etch older sinks, tubs and tiles. CLR is corrosive.
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The Cary Company › clr › faq
CLR - The Cary Company
 
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Haven't cleaned my centerfire cans. Try to make sure I put enough hot rounds through to do that.

Rimfire... Cleaned it a few times, then decided I'd wait until I noticed a difference or it looked dirty. Would take the back cap off now and then and look at blast baffle for buildup. Lost count, but put a decent amount of CCI SV through it with some CCI Segmented HP. One day I decided to pull out the stack just because...

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In my case, I just use the one CLR soak, for half a day or so, then rinse out and put unit into a simple green solution bath in the ultrasonic cleaner. Run the u.s. about 6 times, since the longest available timed cycle is about seven minutes, I think. Then rinse again, blow out with compressed air and let dry for a bit before putting a dab of anti seize on the threads and back on the rifle.

I have left it overnight soaking in the simple green solution before with no issue. Also no damage to the finish (Mine are all black). Though I don’t think I care a lot whether or not they look great since I use heat mirage covers on all of them.

A few questions, what strength simple green do you use in the US cleaner? Do you just lay the can in the cleaner sideways? Have you had any damage from the cleaner rack on cerakote?

I've heard from others here that CLR is a no-no on the Silencer-co Omega due to the stainless baffles near the back of the can.

The only thing not steel on the Omega is the blast baffle and sleeve. I too have heard that CLR is a no-no for stainless steel, can anyone confirm?
 
A few questions, what strength simple green do you use in the US cleaner? Do you just lay the can in the cleaner sideways? Have you had any damage from the cleaner rack on cerakote?
50/50 concentrate and water. Yes, lay the can in sideways. It’s the only way it fits in mine. I do turn it sometimes between cycles and have even picked it up and Shawn the simple green in it between cycles to help loosen gunk up. I don’t use a rack in my USC and just lay it on the stainless bottom. No damage to the coating.

The only thing not steel on the Omega is the blast baffle and sleeve. I too have heard that CLR is a no-no for stainless steel, can anyone confirm?
It is not recommended to use CLR on stainless steel appliances, though CLR says it is fine to use inside a stainless dishwasher. Partly that is due to the simple fact that so many “stainless steel” appliances are not in fact true stainless steel. As for actual stainless steel, CLR is good to go. I wouldn’t worry about it:

CLR Calcium, Lime & Rust Remover is a powerful formula that quickly and easily dissolves and removes tough calcium and lime deposits as well as surface rust stains from bathtubs, toilet bowls, sinks, glass, chrome, fiberglass, stainless steel, most coffee makers, humidifiers, dishwashers, washing machines and ...
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CLR Brands › CLR-Household › CL...
CLR® Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover | CLR Brands
 
I’m currently running a little experiment. I have 3 solo cups containing 2 aluminum baffles from my 9mm can ( quietbore ).

Going to let them sit for 24 hours and see which one does the most damage, in terms of carbon removal. I’m not looking for squeaky clean, just something to keep up on maintenance.

after 24 hours I’ll pull one baffle and see what i can take off with a plastic pick/paper towel, then throw it back in for another 24 hours again if nothing really comes off.

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They all look like this currently.
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I’m currently running a little experiment. I have 3 solo cups containing 2 aluminum baffles from my 9mm can ( quietbore ).

Going to let them sit for 24 hours and see which one does the most damage, in terms of carbon removal. I’m not looking for squeaky clean, just something to keep up on maintenance.

after 24 hours I’ll pull one baffle and see what i can take off with a plastic pick/paper towel, then throw it back in for another 24 hours again if nothing really comes off.

View attachment 7230765

They all look like this currently.
View attachment 7230770
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The only suppressor I’ve ever cleaned is my .22 can in which case “the Dip” works great. It won’t work so good on a centerfire can though.
That being said, I have a TBAC 30-P1 that has probably a good 7K+ on it and my Omega is gotta be close if not over 10K and both still work and sound fine. ?‍♂️
 
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6 hours into the soak...

BoreTech C4 you almost cannot even see them. At the 3 hour mark there were chunks falling off.
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MPRO7: this stuff is still pretty clear, with a blue haze and floating white pockets.



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Hoppes 9 : darker than the Mpro7, but still clear enough to see it hasn’t begun to really work yet.

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Now, lets see what comes off with a paper towel swipe...

First is the Boretech... this was like wiping wet snow off the hood of a car. Zero effort, clean off. I don’t think this will even need 24 hours.

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Next Mpro7... could’t get much off the top as with Boretech, but its coming off the sides pretty easily

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Hoppe9... still nothing really coming off. Slight smudges, but this will definitely take longer.

I’ll pull them all tomorrow for the full 24 hours and see then. So far, BoreTech C4 is the clear winner.

EDIT: pulled the boretech after seeing the picture I put up. This stuff wiped right off. Maybe a little longer would have gotten it all, but fuck it... its just going to get dirty again. This is good enough for me. Ill still put up the others tomorrow, but BoreTech definitely works, and safe on Aluminum. Time to order a few bottles to clean my Omega.

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Was reading TBAC’s website, they never clean their shit. And it seems to stay quiet and get quieter. But they also have full access to new ones if needed. Haha
Meanwhile, also from TBAC

Granted, that's a whole lot of rounds but that's a pretty big decrease in suppression. The old "centerfire rifle cans dont need cleaning" needs to go away like it did for pistols. It needs it, just in significantly longer intervals.
 
Granted, that's a whole lot of rounds but that's a pretty big decrease in suppression. The old "centerfire rifle cans dont need cleaning" needs to go away like it did for pistols. It needs it, just in significantly longer intervals.
Exactly this.

@Cheeseburger1976, you need to read more on the TBAC website. Zak Smith wrote this too:

We recommend taking a baseline weight measurement when the suppressor is new. When the suppressor has gained approx 2-3 ounces, it's time to clean.

This can be accomplished using CLR (a ZEP product - find at Home Depot) to dissolve the carbon. Soak the inside of the suppressor in ZEP CLR and flush it every day for several days. Alternating with an Ultrasonic cleaner can help to break up stubborn carbon. Do not use CLR in an ultrasonic cleaner - it will damage the tank.

Once you have had carbon chunks fall down your barrel into the action and chamber of your rifle during a match, you will decide that it is time to clean your suppressor.

I don’t think that anyone is saying to clean it often at all, but there comes a time when it should be done, just like with other things in life. If you really think that shooting a few hot rounds through your can now and then will burn out the accumulated carbon, then you are probably beyond hope and you don’t know what you don’t know.
 
Meanwhile, also from TBAC

Granted, that's a whole lot of rounds but that's a pretty big decrease in suppression. The old "centerfire rifle cans dont need cleaning" needs to go away like it did for pistols. It needs it, just in significantly longer intervals.

I agree. I never once thought about cleaning mine until I began to notice the weight increase. Mines gained almost 5 oz since i first got it.

A once a year cleanout shouldn’t harm anything.
 
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Here is something to think about,

The rim fire shooters and some benchrest shooters as well tune their rifles by adding / moving weights around on the muzzle of the rifle , fractions of an ounce . What does a random amount of constantly changing weight of both position and amount do the barrel harmonics and consistency ?

How many times do you see people talking about wierd zero shifts , wandering zeroes, and the like online when shooting suppressed . People are quick to talk about muzzle weight changing barrel harmonics in those instances but then say that the can doesn't need cleaned too , weight on the muzzle is the same no matter what causes it .

I went from not cleaning and having carbon chunks shake out down the bore during matches to once every 1 k rds to once a month during shooting season now . Most consistent and repeatable condition is clean with minimal carbon build up so it just makes since .
 
24 hours...

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Top is obviously the boretech c4, which again only soaked for 6 hours and wiped off. Perhaps another two would have gotten them squeaky clean, but this is abou cutting down on carbon buildup, not returning to show room finish.

bottom left is Hoppes 9, bottom right is the MPO7. Really nothing to report. They clearly need more time and to be honest, this was only 300 rounds. Imagine 10 times that... or even 3 times... you could be waiting weeks maybe for this to break it down.

Findings: BoreTech C4 works, and again, from the company themselves, is safe for aluminum.
 
24 hours...
Top is obviously the boretech c4, which again only soaked for 6 hours and wiped off. Perhaps another two would have gotten them squeaky clean, but this is abou cutting down on carbon buildup, not returning to show room finish.

bottom left is Hoppes 9, bottom right is the MPO7. Really nothing to report. They clearly need more time and to be honest, this was only 300 rounds. Imagine 10 times that... or even 3 times... you could be waiting weeks maybe for this to break it down.

Findings: BoreTech C4 works, and again, from the company themselves, is safe for aluminum.
Thanks for putting this up. Its obvious from your test that the C4 is the best cleaner. The question is, is it safe to use on the Omega? I saw in a previous post you were going to use the boretech on your omega, but Silencerco only recommended Hoppes and Mineral Spirits. Based on my soak in mineral spirits for 2+ days and your observations with Hoppes, Silencerco's recommendation is useless. What now, just accept the risk and try the C4?
 
6 hours into the soak...

BoreTech C4 you almost cannot even see them. At the 3 hour mark there were chunks falling off.
View attachment 7231053

MPRO7: this stuff is still pretty clear, with a blue haze and floating white pockets.



View attachment 7231054

Hoppes 9 : darker than the Mpro7, but still clear enough to see it hasn’t begun to really work yet.

View attachment 7231059

Now, lets see what comes off with a paper towel swipe...

First is the Boretech... this was like wiping wet snow off the hood of a car. Zero effort, clean off. I don’t think this will even need 24 hours.

View attachment 7231057

Next Mpro7... could’t get much off the top as with Boretech, but its coming off the sides pretty easily

View attachment 7231061

Hoppe9... still nothing really coming off. Slight smudges, but this will definitely take longer.

I’ll pull them all tomorrow for the full 24 hours and see then. So far, BoreTech C4 is the clear winner.

EDIT: pulled the boretech after seeing the picture I put up. This stuff wiped right off. Maybe a little longer would have gotten it all, but fuck it... its just going to get dirty again. This is good enough for me. Ill still put up the others tomorrow, but BoreTech definitely works, and safe on Aluminum. Time to order a few bottles to clean my Omega.

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I have a small bottle that I soak my brakes in C4. It works really well. Cleaned one that had 2500-3000 rounds on it and it was clean in a few days.

I use CLR on my TBAC 30P-1, but I am going to use C4 on my Harvester, noticed it is louder than it used to be. Weighed it this morning and it has gained a few ounces.
 
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Thanks for putting this up. Its obvious from your test that the C4 is the best cleaner. The question is, is it safe to use on the Omega? I saw in a previous post you were going to use the boretech on your omega, but Silencerco only recommended Hoppes and Mineral Spirits. Based on my soak in mineral spirits for 2+ days and your observations with Hoppes, Silencerco's recommendation is useless. What now, just accept the risk and try the C4?

I cannot see it doing any harm, really. @spife7980 filled his with BoreTech for a week. I’m sure by now he would have seen some kind of issue. I say roll with it and don’t even worry about it. My 3 bottles arrive tomorrow.

BoreTech is like Franks Red Hot sauce... you can put that shit on anything.
 
I have a small bottle that I soak my brakes in C4. It works really well. Cleaned one that had 2500-3000 rounds on it and it was clean in a few days.

I use CLR on my TBAC 30P-1, but I am going to use C4 on my Harvester, noticed it is louder than it used to be. Weighed it this morning and it has gained a few ounces.

I have a Harvester in Jail. I will definitely keep up on this more than I did my Omega.
 
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I cannot see it doing any harm, really. @spife7980 filled his with BoreTech for a week. I’m sure by now he would have seen some kind of issue. I say roll with it and don’t even worry about it. My 3 bottles arrive tomorrow.

BoreTech is like Franks Red Hot sauce... you can put that shit on anything.
Damn, you have a hell of a memory.

Yeah, I put mine in a cup of boretech for what I intended to be overnight but I forgot about it until a week later. No problem to the can or its cerakote.

The carbon on top which I could visually see got all puffy and soft and simply wiped away like lunchbox's experiment shows but I had many thousands of rounds though it so there was some major build up, the harder underneath layers came off with a bit of a scraping from a pick. I could only really scrape the blast chamber and the end out though, not sure how to actually get inside the interior baffles to clean them. I then just sprayed it out with a waterhose on as high a blast to try and flush it clean and then blasted it dry with an air compressor in an attempt to get whatever would easily come out with those methods.

I wish I would have taken pics and documented it a bit better.
 
My plan exactly!

well... almost... cold as fuck here in MD at the moment. Might need to plan this for a warmer day. Wife might bitch if I start rinsing this thing at the kitchen sink.
 
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...cold as **** here in MD at the moment. ...Wife might bitch if I start rinsing this thing at the kitchen sink.

I started mine in an uninsulated pole barn and the CLR froze to a slush in and around the can. The jar I had sitting beside it froze solid. I then took my dealio to the kitchen sink. Wife didn't say a word!
 
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I use a media blaster on my 22 can. Cleans it up almost like new. Has been through this process a few times in the 12 years I have owned it and still works great
 
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Ok. Thanks. So what do you do, fill up a tub and set the can down in it or what?
Thanks
If you are asking about the CLR treatment, your are best served to plug one end with an earplug or cork or something, stand it up in a cup or container, and fill up the suppressor with CLR. Let it soak for a good 1/2 day or so. Then pour a little out, cover the open end and shake it really well to try and agitate it to get as much loosened as possible. Then pour it out and either do another round of CLR or switch to Simple Green solution. You can soak the whole can in the simple green, in fact that’s what I do when I use it in the ultrasonic cleaner.
 
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If you are asking about the CLR treatment, your are best served to plug one end with an earplug or cork or something, stand it up in a cup or container, and fill up the suppressor with CLR. Let it soak for a good 1/2 day or so. Then pour a little out, cover the open end and shake it really well to try and agitate it to get as much loosened as possible. Then pour it out and either do another round of CLR or switch to Simple Green solution. You can soak the whole can in the simple green, in fact that’s what I do when I use it in the ultrasonic cleaner.
Ok thanks. My ultra sonic cleanser is a smaller one so not big enough for my can. Thanks.
 
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