Easiest way to clean your baffles!

[BHPSteel]

Any truth to the rumors about fatigue cracking aluminum baffles from the vibration on the ultrasonic?

Not that I know of, but there have been concerns voiced. I think if they have any merit, it'll be highly dependent on the kind of aluminum alloy being used.

Edit: Just to clarify, you absolutely shouldn't clean aluminum components in an ultrasonic bath (and other soft metals might warrant care too). Ultrasonic transponder manufacturers don't hide the fact:

How to Safely Clean Aluminum Parts with Ultrasonic Cleaners

Low ultrasonic frequencies are commonly used to clean metal surfaces, but these will damage aluminum parts. Here are Kaijo’s recommendations for Aluminum.

www.kaijo-shibuya.com

Industrial cleaners usually have the ability to change both the frequency and the power of their transponders - a luxury we don't have in our toy ultrasonic cleaners.

Aluminum alloys however vary in composition and physical properties, and in general I'd expect that if it's been used in a can, that it's probably OK. I've used an ultrasound on my Beretta 92 frame many times, and the anodized alloy they use for that frame is fine. Your best answer however is to contact the can manufacturer if you're at all concerned.

 

[BHPSteel]

Now, I'm not a metallurgist - or rather I've never earned a salary as one, and I might or might not have played one on TV.

Just to scratch an itch, I went out and did some reading on the subject of whose cans use aluminum - particularly for baffles - and I came to a conclusion.

Most suppressor manufacturers - (and particularly their marketing teams) and internet experts - can't differentiate between 'aluminum', 'aluminum alloy' and even 'alloys' when they write about them. And don't get me started on the British and their 'aluminium'.

Aluminum metal, whether it has been anodized or not is not suitable for use in suppressors, except possibly for the tube. It's too soft and subject to creep and therefore useless if there's a danger it's going to be hit by a projectile or a lot of pressure.

Aluminum alloys may or may not be suitable. Old school Duralumin and other very similar alloys for example seem to be being used in some rimfire and pistol cans, but they don't seem to be used for centerfire rifles. 7075 aluminium is a higher-strength aluminum alloy that Griffin Armament use in their Ultralite range. 7075 is highly resistant to corrosion and some of the variants have very high tensile strengths, and when heat treated are very hard, being used in many aerospace applications.

It's probable that both of those alloys are fine in a toy ultrasonic cleaner.

(What is also probably true is that you won't find aluminum alloy baffles in a full-auto-rated centerfire rifle can. Those are often made of an alloy that has almost no aluminum in it - Inconel. And Inconel is really tough)

So this kinda-supports my comments above. When you hear people talking about a particular silencer having 'aluminum baffles' - dig deeper and make sure you know what is actually in that can. It's unlikely that it's actually 'aluminum' - and the type of aluminum alloy that is actually in there matters when you're considering whether you can clean it in the ultrasonic.

The can manufacturers should probably be your ultimate experts.

 

[Matts13]

so i tried that new breakthrough clean suppressor clean stuff. i let me alum stuff soak in it and could almost wipe most of the stuff off. i did let it soak a few time for 36-48 at a time. but the work i put into cleaning was little to none. i bought a gallon off amazon after trying one of there small bottles. i like the idea of it not being so bad for you.

 

[hamburglar3]

so i tried that new breakthrough clean suppressor clean stuff. i let me alum stuff soak in it and could almost wipe most of the stuff off. i did let it soak a few time for 36-48 at a time. but the work i put into cleaning was little to none. i bought a gallon off amazon after trying one of there small bottles. i like the idea of it not being so bad for you.

Link?

 

[HydroAuto]

Link?

Looks like this stuff...

Amazon.com

 

[Matts13]

thats it

 

[fuelman1]

Looks like this stuff...

Amazon.com

Holy cow! They're sure proud of that stuff. It better work miracles at that price.

 

[BHPSteel]

Holy cow! They're sure proud of that stuff. It better work miracles at that price.

If you shop around, there are a number of places a lot cheaper than Amazon, especially if you can order when there's free shipping

 

[alexs2006]

I just avoid aluminum cans in general. Stainless and titanium.

I don’t ultrasonic clean my tubes or end caps. Everything else(Baffles) goes in a mason jar all at once with purple power or mean green or whatever I have. Run em for an hour, anything that doesn’t come off with the wipe of a rag stays.

A dirty can is better than a clean can.

 

[alexs2006]

Looks like this stuff...

Amazon.com

Preparedness depot has this stuff for $35