cheap substitute for cosmoline?

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cpileri

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For long, looooooooong term storage of a firearm on the order of decades like the russians did with all the cosmoline-soaked sks's and mosins; obviously comsmoline worked very well. As long as you get the cosmo all off/out of the action, there is unlikely to be any corrosion. Might take a couple hours of cleaning to get a workable, greasy, rifle; but it works.

So if a guy wanted to seal up a firearm in a tank, or cache it as the survival guys would say, or for whatever purpose; he coud buy cosmoline and stick with what works... problem is that cosmoline costs WAY too much to fill even a single rifle-sized case with it:
Say your idea was to simply dump a Yugo SKS (disassembled, whatever) and a liter of acetone and a couple toothbrushes and a boresnake, plus say 100rds of VERY VERY WELL sealed up ammo and a couple rags; into one of these: http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&src=iMSTR06&prodID=YN5860 (or these, same thing i think: http://www.galleria-e.com/cgi-bin/Colemans.storefront/en/product/203901 ), and then fill it to full with whatever protectant we come up with, which is 40"x6.75" diameter giving a volume of 23.444 Liters.
I dont know how much space the rifle and toothbrushes would take up, maybe 5 liters (probably not even close) and the ammo, maybe another half a liter, the liter of solvent plus the bottle its in another half a 1.5 Liters? lets go with that...
At ~30 bucks for 64 oz( http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=1134&s= ) or 1.893 Liters you would need (23.444-7)/1.893= 8.687 L. So you have to buy 9 cans for the cosmo, plus pay shipping. At LEAST 300 bucks to get that SKS ready for its journey into eternity!
Too expensive for my taste!

So whats a cheaper alternative? The main constituent of cosmoline is lanolin, I think. And the recipe for Ed's Red also calls for anhydrous lanolin, so it appears safe for firearms. Seen here (scroll down): http://www.thesage.com/catalog/FixedOil.html?mmsID=ebcf1a9a17855828e16e8653d847bb02 we see 25 pounds of anhydrous lanolin is about 140 bucks. 25 lbs is over 12 liters (being 90% the density of water). So now we're down to half the cost! Still alot though.

Ok, lots of people use Mobil 1, even the AR notes page suggests it ( http://www.armalite.com/library/techNotes/tnote64.htm ).
It might be cheaper at $ 8 per Liter x9L= $72.00...

Now i dont know alot about synthetic motor oils. Some contain sulfur and whatever else that could damage the wood, plastic, and/or metal over the years. here is where I could use some education, then.

I sure would appreciate someone with expansive knowledge of synthetic oils letting me know which, if any, of the commonly available motor oils would likely be safe for a rifle taking a bath in it for 50 years! Or, any good substitute for the overpriced cosmoline!

Thanks in advance!
C-

p.s. I suppose, if a much cheaper source of cosmoline IN REASONABLE QUANTITIES exists, i could do that. Please provide a link! C-
 
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12 oz is not much
http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/267557
Brownells is cheaper in larger qtys
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=1134&s=

If you want your creation to match the specifications of cosmoline you should get a copy of MIL-C-11796B and test it to class 3.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmoline

Cosmoline is a yellowish, light-amber, or greenish colored ointment-like mass, having a slight fluorescence, petroleum-like odor and taste. It is similar to petroleum jelly in properties, appearance, and thickness. It is the purified residue obtained from the distillation of petroleum oils.

Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It can range in color from white to yellow, and can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 113°-125°F and has a flashpoint of 365°F.

Its most common use is in the storage and preservation of firearms. Previously, cosmoline was used to preserve other things. Objects the size of entire vehicles could be preserved for future use with cosmoline.
 
I don't know about 50 years but I do know that white lithium grease generously applied to the firearm, which is then stored in an airtight container with some silica gel to absorb any residual moisture will keep a firearm rust-free for at least 5 years
 
Petroleum jelly

Mrmeval: Well, we posted the same link for brownells.

One of the main points of my post was the large quantities one would need. That makes cost much more of an issue.

Thanks forthe link to the milspec on cosmoline. That mad eme think of bulk white petroleum jelly as a cosmo subsititue. So 9 liters of White Petroleum jelly (generic Vaseline http://www.cpr-savers.com/Industrials/antisep oint/lubricating.html ) at $60 per 12 x 15oz cups, or 60 bucks per 5.323 Liters. Have to buy 2 cases, so $120 per rifle in the example given.

Better than the lanolin, but not by much.

30-40kragdude: exactly which 'regular' oil are you meaning?

commygun: white lithium grease. A 5 year, verified track record of success. Ok, worht pursuing. lets see: best I could find quickly http://www.soyclean.biz/shopping/productsdetail.asp?cat=LG was 100 bucks for 30x14oz= $100 for 12.42 liters. OK, now we're getting somewhere!! Even though we'd have to buy all 100 bucks worth, to be fair if we could only bought 9 liters it would be abt 75 bucks.

On target with the motor oil.

Thanks all. keep em coming!

C-




C-
 
You don't need to completely fill the container with cosmo. You just need to make sure all the metal is covered. I'm sure a 4 pound can (1/2 gallon) of it would do several firearms.

Vacuum sealing sounds like a good idea too. Dessicant and an air tight container, and it should be good for a long time.
 
The storage tube is unlikely to have seals that will survive long term exposure to acetone.
As noted above, you paint cosmoline on the item, not drown it in the stuff.
 
well sure...

30-40 and bru- Sure. Just painting liberally with any 'normal' gun oil, or grease, or cosmoline then sealing it up would be fine. It sure would make for easier clean-up!
But what about the guys who either for historical reasons want to do what the russians did; open barrel, fill with rifles, pour in melted cosmoline, close barrel, put somewhere safe; or who don't have a vacuum sealer; and therefore may need a huge amount of the stuff?

brickeyee- sorry i confused you. The acetone isnt going to be poured into the tube with the other stuff. it gets a sealed jar of its own, say just as purchased from Home Depot, and stuffed down inside the larger tube.

C-
 
Do not use old motor oil!

Lots of contaminants in it that are not metal friendly. You can filter out the sludge and metal particles, but not the acids that are a byproduct of combustion gases leaking into the oil.
 
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I don't think I'd want to be the one walking up to the counter to buy two cases of petroleum jelly.... :rolleyes:
 
Or, any good substitute for the overpriced cosmoline!
Click to expand...
Axle grease.

No, not "gear oil" -- axle grease. The stuff we used to put in wheel bearings back in the days when mechanics actually packed wheel bearings with axle grease, rather than maybe giving them a squirt of whatever comes out of the pneumatic lube gun in the shop like they do now-a-days.
 
Cosmo can be thinned with mineral spirits and sprayed like paint. Spray the weapon, inside and out, then roll in the wax storage paper from Brownell's.
Seal 'er up! good as you're gonna get.
 
I think you can contact a chemical company that deals in oil and grease products and they could find a reasonable substitue based on the mil spec. Shell oil might have something.

This popped up when I was looking for something that matched the description of it.

Carnation Tough Grease

Nox Rust 509

Something from Ashland Chemical Company
 
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GOOD LINKS!

Hey that Nox Rust looks just about perfect. the data sheet says no rust for 15 years, non-reactive with steel, magnesium, aluminum and lots of other metals.
I will definitely be contacting them for cost on that item! If its fairly easy to order from them, then it will meet the 'commonly available' criterion even.

Thanks for the link(s)
C-
 
If you've got vacuum seal ability here's what I'd do.

1. Thoroughly clean weapon. Spray bore and action liberally with CLP.
2. Place three or 4 packets of silica gel near or in the action and wrap it all tightly in aluminum foil.
3. Vacuum seal weapon with plastic seal.
4. Wrap sealed weapon in aluminum foil - tightly. NOTE: Plastic is gas permeable - foil is not - you want to keep out air.
5. Vacuum seal again.
6. Repeat for Ammo though 1 wrap of foil and no silica gel would probably be enough to preserve it.
7. Place weapon and ammo in hermettically sealable case - these are actually quite easy to acquire in various sizes at military surplust stores. Toss in some silica gel - about a pound ought to do it.
8. Close and seal the case with some good caulking compound.
9. Bury in safe place and record GPS coordinates for easy location in the future.

Why do it this way - when you dig it all up you'll be ready in a minute or two to use your buried weapon.

Of course there are those who claim that if it is time to bury a weapon then it is time to use it.
 
Seems like a good method on the vacuum seal. You can throw an oxygen pack in there along with the silica same as you'd do for food storage. I'd think about flushing it with nitrogen but it would seem excessive. I wonder if you could seal a bunch of the vacu-packed guns in a PVC drum with oil or grease?

It would make preparation very nice.

I would bury the ones I could not use. The locations would come in handy to give to those in need, those you need stuff from.
 
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