Henry Rifle Forums

Cleaning my Ruger SP101 357 Magnum with sea foam and lubing it with motor oil. Sea foam does not stink like Hopp's #9 does. Hopp's will stink up the house and will probably get you put in the dog house for some time. The good thing about using motor oil is, it will stop the carbon from sticking to the metal. Making clean up time allot smaller or shorter. The trick to using motor oil as a firearm lube is, only apply a thin film of motor oil. Allot of the high end firearm cleaners and gun lubes cost allot of money. A can of sea foam cost about $8 at any auto parts store and a bottle of motor oil cost about $5 as well at any auto parts store. The two will last a very long time. Give it a try, you wont regret it, I guarantee you will like it.

I like Remoil. Motor oil thickens when it gets cold and even a micro thin layer will hang parts up when its zero degrees outside. I put a bottle of Remoil in the refrigerator and at -20 it was still almost as runny as at 70.

I'm a believer in Sea Foam .... I use it as part of regular fuel line cleaning/maintenance in our vehicles .... we also mix some into the gasoline used in our small engines, seems to help them deal with the alcohol blended into it these days ... have never considered it for cleaning a firearm .... suggestion appreciated, will have to do some thinking about it

Sir Henry wrote:I like Remoil. Motor oil thickens when it gets cold and even a micro thin layer will hang parts up when its zero degrees outside. I put a bottle of Remoil in the refrigerator and at -20 it was still almost as runny as at 70.

Here is a good read for you.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... s=271x1301

I only suggested them cause it's what I've used when I was in the service. I have used both all over the world and will continue cause of what I've seen them do first hand. Not bragging or patting myself on the back but I have 25 plus years experience with both products. Not gonna argue or debate them, just post my experience.

I buy the seafoam in a gallon can. I like it for any engines. I put some in the oil before I change it too.

I never thought to use it for a cleaner. If I ever get to the range, I'll try it the next time.

Interesting. I use Seafoam in small emgines. A couple of ounces in the gas in the spring really does the ticket on outboards and other 2 strokes. Just the other days a friend told me he uses "Deep Creep" (Aerosol Seafoam) as a penetrating oil to loosen stuck and rusty bolts. I'll have to try that too.

Inside the gun I often use a little Lubriplate white grease instead of oil. An old friend who was an armorer in the Marines told me that's what they used in cold weather because it doesn't get thick or hang up.

You can use SeaFoam to decarb your outboard motor as well. Disconnect your normal (inboard) tank and connect your outboard to a gas tank with a rich mix of seafoam. I forget the ratio as I no longer use this method, not that there's anything wrong with it, I just use Merc stuff now.

But talk about smoke.............method should have been used for concealing operation Overlord. They would never have seen us comming

Back in the day, I used my mother's sewing machine oil to clean and lube my firearms. When I was deep into Bass fishing in the 70's-80's I used fishing reel oil. I have never owned a firearm that I had problems with rust. The important thing is to keep firearms cleaned and lubed, not so much what you use. People have been cleaning and lubing firearms long before all these "super new and improved" cleaners. A lot of them are just hype, no better than the older stuff.

Lately I've been trying to get a better handle on the various gun cleaners I have...actually I have too many. I re-read several of our previous Forum posts for a refresher on preferences Henry folk have for gun cleaners. This thread is a couple of years old, but I liked the focus of "old school cleaning." In particular, I was searching for one of the cleaners I have in my stash, Sea Foam-Deep Creep. Found this thread and a couple of others, too, that discussed this brand.

So I've changed my cleaning approach (again!) when I got home from the range last Saturday. Needed to clean my BBS .357 Carbine. I had already taken most of the cleaners I had to the hazardous waste recycle center; kept a couple that I've had pretty good results with. I've decided to use Sea Foam Deep Creep. Also tried a little different cleaning approach, by doing a "barrel soak" before I worked my jag and patches. After I finished, I think the cleaning solvent change plus the soaking routine made a huge difference in my results.

With two rolled up patches, I plugged the receiver end of the bore, sprayed Sea Foam in the barrel, then plugged the muzzle end. Put the rifle in my gun cleaning rack, and rotated the barrel 90* every 15-20 minutes or so. After 1-1/2 hours I started my cleaning.

~~First ran a bore snake through 3 times. The last time I had cleaned my SGC, I first started with my jag and patches at the muzzle end, but got a little too much crud into the receiver. Wanted to get a handle on that.

~~~After the bore snake, I cleaned as I regularly do with a nylon bore brush. A bronze brush is my other brush option.

~~~Lastly I worked my bronze jag and patches. The only other solvent I used on patches was RemOil.

"Surprise-surprise-surprise," as Gomer used to exclaim. I used the least amount of patches on this rifle clean than ever before!! And I checked the barrel in the sunlight against a clean white patch in the receiver. The bore was completely clean from muzzle to receiver. It almost looked brand new!! Finally, ran my bore mop through it, although I debated if that step was even needed. The barrel really was a dazzling clean!!

Maybe this clean was a one-time chance happening, but I'm going to stick with the Sea Foam and this soaking routine for a while. It was a cool surprise having such great results.

A final plus on using the Sea Foam for me. There is practically no odor to this cleaner. I like that a lot as compared to most of the other cleaners I've used such as Ballistol, Hoppe's No. 9, and even G96 has a chemical smell to it. All these tend to give me headaches as I live in a very small apartment; not the best place for good ventilation.

Nice to have a good range time followed by a surprisingly good rifle cleaning session! All in a day's work.
PT7

glad you find a method that works for you .. .. I use Ballistol and go by much the same process .... thankfully, I don't have any issues with its smell

Seems like a great routine. Soaking the barrel with a solvent seems to aid in my process as well.

Sea foam does not stink like Hopp's #9 does.

The smell of Hoppes is an enduring scent that for many invokes the nostalgia of the outdoors.
It is the scent that reminds one of fine days afield with a shotgun or rifle and a smell that is associated with fall and and an upcoming deer season.
It is a smell that for many reminds them of a time in their youth with dad on the bench cleaning guns after a day of target shooting.
For many the smell of Hoppes will always be a reminder of the finer, more appreciable and memorable times in their lives.
Hoppes # 9 stinks ? I don't think so!

Mistered wrote:

Sea foam does not stink like Hopp's #9 does.

The smell of Hoppes is an enduring scent that for many invokes the nostalgia of the outdoors.
It is the scent that reminds one of fine days afield with a shotgun or rifle and a smell that is associated with fall and and an upcoming deer season.
It is a smell that for many reminds them of a time in their youth with dad on the bench cleaning guns after a day of target shooting.
For many the smell of Hoppes will always be a reminder of the finer, more appreciable and memorable times in their lives.
Hoppes # 9 stinks ? I don't think so!

Seems like a poem. But, I like the smell also.