Has anyone tried Sea Foam for cleaning a gun ? My stainless revolver has black on the front of the cylinder and I am having no luck removing it. I have tried several CLP's and a brass brush and it does nothing.
It's a solvent, so it may work. If other gun cleaners aren't getting it, though, I doubt that Seafoam is going to be different. What other cleaners have you used? I'd exhaust all gun cleaners before going to something that isn't designed for guns.
Seafoam is used mainly in the automotive industry to loosen up shellac and rust from gas tanks, carbs, anything fuel related. I have used quite a bit of it in old cars that have not been started or run really crappy from old gas. Also for seafoam to really work effectively you have to put it in and let it soak. It has a rust inhibitor in it so I would be afraid to put in on anything that is blued or stainless. You might try some Flitz with a dremmell tool and a cotton type swab on the end of a drill. Another suggestion is to try some Kroil and 0000 steel wool and lightly brush the area. I once had a rifle that had blood on the end of the barrel after I shot a coyote, not paying attention, I didn't get it off right away. The blood, when I did remove it actually took some of the bluing off. Not cool! Tommy
Took the words right outta my mouth Tommy...blued or nickel guns could be compromised. OP has stainless revolver...might work. Flitz works well on stainless and nickel revolver cylinder faces and muzzles...that I DO know.
I gotta go with the other posts here on Flitz or SemiChrome polish and a little elbow grease. I know it works. Jm
From what I have recently read Flitz can remove bluing but your gun is stainless so it might be okay to use it. Any cleaner that has an abrasive can cause problems for blued guns. They can be used but sparingly so as not to remove blued finishes. You might try using Never Dull wading. I like it better than Mothers because it is less messy and I think it actually does a better job cleaning. ND does wonders cleaning aluminum and chrome. I would test on a small area first to be sure it doesn't damage your metal. Stainless is exceptionally hard but it is better IMO to do a test area first. I used some metal cleaner/polish called Master Formula Metal Gloss on my totally messed up chrome rims on my pick up and really did a great job cleaning the rims. The rims were so bad I had no idea whether they were chrome or what. Actually cleaned quicker than Mothers or chrome polish. This cleaner is made for cleaning/polishing aluminum, chrome, brass, stainless and more. My rims were totally covered with contaminates that were not washing off with soap and water. They look very nice chrome now. I just used this Metal Gloss on my Marlin 336 to take off the BLO and clean the blued metal. It did a very good job and the bluing looked very good. I then ren waxed it and it came out looking very good deep blued finish. Dang it I do have a few small pitting spots on the receiver and the lever. I think I am going to try the copper penny to remove or lesson the pitting. They don't look deep.
I don't think I'd chance it. How about Butch's Bore Shine? It shouldn't hurt the metal, should it? After all it doesn't hurt the inside of a stainless barrel...
Taking the time to find a product, scrub, scrub, scrub only to shoot it again and repeat? That said, use SeaFoam in the truck occasionally, but it's a staple in the bike and both snowmobiles and for all gas cans that get filled for the yard equipment.
I am yet to find anything that GUN SCRUBBER can't clean or remove and anything left over on my pistols, shotguns, and rifles evaporated very quickly. As far as Sea Foam , and I take it that is a gas preservative to prevent 'gas jelling' inside your carbs and gas tanks, etc. for storage.> If it's not made for what I need to do, I would stay away from it. I don't know if you can harm the metal or what not but some experimenting could prove costly. Can you damage Stainless Steel other than dropping it on a concrete floor or other hard surface? Anyway, IF you use Gun Scrubber, you must lube or oil necessary areas afterward. It is NOT a lube and will evaporate. IF you use the Sea Foam.....I'm listening and waiting for results....:Cooltu:
I will try a dab of sea foam on a q-tip and I will follow up. I tried Gunzilla, Pro-Shot 1 step, and 40-X bore cleaner. I will try to post a pic showing how it looks right now. It isn't hurting anything, I just thought it should clean off.
Since I can't post websites here, I at least brought this quote out of many sites that found Sea Foam perfect for cleaning guns! "Well, I tried Sea Foam on some stubborn carbon build up around the bottom side of the bolt as well as the chromed inside of the bolt carrier. Sea Foam wiped away that stubborn carbon like it was just spilled milk!!! I dabbed a rag into some Sea Foam and then covered the carbon to let it soak on the parts. I then proceeded to clean the other components of the gun. About 10 minutes total, I went back to the Sea Foam saturated parts and was amazed how easy the carbon residue came off. Ive tried them all.... Hoppe's #9, Tetra, Flitz, Brownells "Ed's Red," J-B, etc.... Name it and I've tried it. The Sea Foam seemed to work best. I did NOT apply a small amount on the plastics, nor have I tested it on fine rifle wood stocks (yet). That's next. I probably will use this now for stainless, bores and the internal gas tubed weapons (AR's and AK's) that get really dirty. I'm betting that it will clean up the nasty fouling of .22 rimfires at the chambers of my stainless 10/22's. Anyone else try it on guns????"
And another....>> JUST GOOGLE Sea Foam for cleaning GUNS<< "Deep Creep is the spray can version of Seafoam fuel additive. It's more solvent than lubricant. Haven't seen any long term test results about it's lubrication or corrosion preventative abilities. It's an auto product a lot of mechanics use to clean out throttle body idle air valves. Strangely enough, WD40 has a new Lubricant out (the original ain't,) which has done well in tests. It's part of their new "Technical" line and it is expressly labeled as a lube and penetrating oil. You can teach an old dog new tricks - even Rugers come with hi cap mags now . . ."
Well, OK, that's why we hang around ...to try and learn something new. I have never tried Sea Foam on any of my guns for cleaning carbon.. Sounds like WM^^ has tried it and it worked. Now I have learned something new. Jim
The whole video is informative but around the 2:00 mark states it is also for cleaning guns and metal protector. ... AMAZING! [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0ZLrJCyufM[/ame]
I guess you can learn something new everyday. Although I must admit, I am still a bit skeptical. But who knows? Tommy
I know I was, but, I never give up on ideas that sound strange. Sea Foam, who woulda thought?! I do know that there are a lot of folks who refuse to use this in their gas tanks for reasons I can't think of. I guess you'll just have to go read those reviews. I am always amazed at what I first read, as in Post #1 and think wtf? But then after I play with Google, I'm a believer and would be even more so with hands on experience. I can't wait to hear from lovestoshoot and his personal experience. It would be great if this didn't bother the bluing but I am sure there are many old guns out there with so many pits in the bluing that it wouldn't hurt to test it. Maybe a wipe on and wipe off on good bluing. I hear nickel is a no-no to use this on for some reason. Discoloration? I know that even stainless can stain as well under certain circumstances. We bought all stainless matching appliances and we are constantly wiping them down! Never again. But their usually 'brushed' stainless. Never had a problem with my stainless guns, shiny or satin. And a satin stainless revolver is gorgeous! These are on my wish list! OHHHH a .480!
Sea Foam has many products, did you use the Deep Creep? For the problem you are addressing I have always used a wire brush and elbow grease.
I used a version called top engine cleaner and a wire brush. I will have to try the deep creep. Maybe some brake cleaner?
