Dead Air Mask-HD: Qs about cleaning, anti-seize, etc.

MrBitey

MrBitey

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I've been enjoying the Dead Air Mask-HD, shooting 22lr with both a pistol and rifle. I've put ~300 rounds through it, and now I have some questions about cleaning, etc. I took it apart after the first 50 rounds and wiped it down, but didn't do a deep clean.

Now after another 200-250 rounds, there's some buildup on the baffles and I had a hard time getting the end cap off. What are the best practices for maintaining and cleaning this and similar 22lr suppressor?

Cleaning: I'm currently trying M-Pro 7 gun cleaner on the steel baffles, with a nylon brush. It's slow going. I've read about the dip and probably won't go that direction due to toxicity, but maybe I'll change my mind. Has anyone tried the Bore Tech suppressor cleaners? I watched a youtube video comparing approaches and there didn't seem to be any perfect method, but curious what others have found with experience.

Anti-seize: IIUC, the end caps and tube are titanium. Any recommended anti-seize? I've read that some people always break apart their cans at the range right after use. Have others found that avoids problems with stuck baffle stacks and end caps?

Baffle coatings: I've read that some people put CLP or Bore Butter on their baffles and claim the fouling just wipes off. Has anyone tried this? Any problems associated with coating the baffles with something like bore butter?

Cleaning frequency: IIRC the manual says you can go as much as 2000 rounds between cleaning, but I'm guessing I'd have a much harder problem with stuck baffles and end caps. How often do folks clean their 22 silencers?

Thanks in advance!
 
I’ve never cleaned one. I’ve opened them up, taken the stack apart, knocked any chunks loose, and reassembled…but never used a tool or a chemical beyond that.

The easiest method is to throw the baffles in a tumbler. If you reload, throw them in with a load of brass. If you don’t, buy the small Harbor Freight tumbler and some stainless steel pins.

Lots of people trust the “pretreat with silicone oil”, but I’ve never done it.
 
BTW, this is the video that compares different cleaning methods.
 
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I use simple green, drop the parts in leave them for a few hours, then brush and wipe the loose junk off. Do not use simple green on aluminum.
 
MrBitey said:
I've been enjoying the Dead Air Mask-HD, shooting 22lr with both a pistol and rifle. I've put ~300 rounds through it, and now I have some questions about cleaning, etc. I took it apart after the first 50 rounds and wiped it down, but didn't do a deep clean.

Now after another 200-250 rounds, there's some buildup on the baffles and I had a hard time getting the end cap off. What are the best practices for maintaining and cleaning this and similar 22lr suppressor?

Cleaning: I'm currently trying M-Pro 7 gun cleaner on the steel baffles, with a nylon brush. It's slow going. I've read about the dip and probably won't go that direction due to toxicity, but maybe I'll change my mind. Has anyone tried the Bore Tech suppressor cleaners? I watched a youtube video comparing approaches and there didn't seem to be any perfect method, but curious what others have found with experience.

Anti-seize: IIUC, the end caps and tube are titanium. Any recommended anti-seize? I've read that some people always break apart their cans at the range right after use. Have others found that avoids problems with stuck baffle stacks and end caps?

Baffle coatings: I've read that some people put CLP or Bore Butter on their baffles and claim the fouling just wipes off. Has anyone tried this? Any problems associated with coating the baffles with something like bore butter?

Cleaning frequency: IIRC the manual says you can go as much as 2000 rounds between cleaning, but I'm guessing I'd have a much harder problem with stuck baffles and end caps. How often do folks clean their 22 silencers?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I've found that if it's locked up a good method to loosen it up is to do a few mag dumps (20-30 rounds) to get it hot. Once apart using dental picks or other similar tools to remove a majority of the carbon and lead buildup works best. That's typically where I stop, but if you want to for go super clean acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide aka the "dip" have worked best for me. If you have access to a higher concentraition of acid and peroxide that typically found it will speed the process up significantly! Of course wear gloves and eye pro when doind this and properly dispose of any solutions and debris.

I've had a SilencerCo Sparrow about a decade now and have maybe deep cleaned it three times over easily 10k+ rounds. A dirty suppressor is a quieter suppressor in my experience. YMMV
 
I have had a Mask now for over 3 years. I take mine apart every 1500 - 2000 rounds. I hit the baffles with a brush, blow them off with a compressor, and wipe them down. For the tube I make sure the threads are clean, run a brush in it, blow it out with the compressor and run an old tee shirt through it. 15K + plus rounds through it with no issues.

If you have a 3D printer, the following tool is a must. Makes it easy to put back together by hand and gives you a better grip on the end cap.

www.thingiverse.com

Dead Air Mask tool by SpeedyR647

Created a tool to remove or tighten the Dead Air Mask threaded end cap that is threaded to the barrel. you will still need the tool with the pins to remove the other end, but this allows you to tighten the threaded end so that your can won't come off the barrel without the threaded end still...
www.thingiverse.com www.thingiverse.com
 
wscato said:
If you have a 3D printer, the following tool is a must. Makes it easy to put back together by hand and gives you a better grip on the end cap.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that looks really useful! I had to put the end cap in a vice (with plastic pads), and I had a hard time getting it tight enough without the vice guards popping out of the vice. I think the 3d printed tool would do the trick.
 
AR10ShooterinNC said:
I use simple green, drop the parts in leave them for a few hours, then brush and wipe the loose junk off. Do not use simple green on aluminum.
Click to expand...
I put a few baffles in simple green and a few others in M-Pro 7 cleaner, and after 3 hours I'm surprised how well the simple green worked. I wasn't expecting much, but it's as good as the M-Pro 7, maybe better. Both sets still have fouling, but a lot did come off using a nylon brush and towels. I put them back in to leave overnight and will see how they look in the morning.

I understand that there's no need to get everything off, but I want to try coating the baffles with bore butter and see whether that makes cleaning next time easier, so I'm trying to get back to a point where I can tell whether the bore butter helps.
 
I soaked a few baffles overnight in simple green, and another few in M-Pro 7. The simple green continued to remove gunk, but I didn't find any significant change with the M-Pro 7. Overall, I'd say the simple green removed 90% of the build up. For the end caps and tube I just wiped them down with some gun oil and did several passes over the threads to get them clean.

I smeared the baffles with Bore Butter and look forward to seeing how well that works to simplify cleaning. I've also ordered some Permatex nickel anti-seize for the threads. It'll be a couple of weeks before I can get back to the range, but I'll post an update on how the bore butter works.
 
Today I cleaned my CGS Mod9 for the first time. Compared to the Dead Air Mask-HD, it really didn't need cleaning (after maybe 300 rounds of 9mm). But I did have trouble separating the piston housing from the tube. I ended up using a couple of strap wrenches to get them apart. After cleaning, I coated all parts with Bore Butter and reassembled with Permatex nickel anti-seize on all threads. Hoping this will help.
Amazon product ASIN B007NJOEAI
I also ordered the Bore Tech Decimator suppressor cleaner and will report back on how well that works compared to M-Pro 7 and Simple Green.

Decimator Suppressor Cleaner - Bore Tech

Order Decimator Suppressor Cleaner for only 59.99 online at Bore Tech for the best in firearm cleaning and care!
www.boretech.com www.boretech.com
 
I brush off the thick Carbon then throw mine in a Harbor Freight ultra sonic cleaner with a 80/20 mix of Simple Green for 15 minutes. Light CLP afterwards, clean enough for the next 2000 rounds or so.
 
zmot said:
I brush off the thick Carbon then throw mine in a Harbor Freight ultra sonic cleaner with a 80/20 mix of Simple Green for 15 minutes. Light CLP afterwards, clean enough for the next 2000 rounds or so.
Click to expand...
I'm thinking of getting an ultrasonic cleaner for the dead air mask. For the CGS mod9 which has aluminum baffles, they recommend a soda blaster. But I'll wait and see whether the bore butter helps with cleaning.

Next up, I need to look at my Omega 300. I've put very few rounds through it but I'll go ahead and apply the bore butter and anti-seize and hopefully avoid trouble down the road.
 
As far as the anti-seize, there is some stuff made called Neolube, it is essentially graphite in alcohol. Brush on and the alcohol evaporates. Doesn't run and get all over everything like regular anti-seize.
 
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