Cleaning Cosmoline?

[DWS1117]

I will be picking up an SKS that I have on lay-a-way with my next paycheck. When I put it away I did a good look over of the gun. this this is covered in this crud. It took a good 15 minutes of scrubbing to get my hands clean. How the heck am I supposed to get this junk off of this rifle. It is in every nook and cranny. Looking forward to shooting this gun but not cleaning.

 

[280PLUS]

try soaking the metal parts in kerosene over night?

there may be a few more answers from others,

m

 

[Redlg155]

I've used Brake Cleaner with good success. That and a blow dryer to warm parts to get the cosmo to melt and leech out. You'll prabably never get 100 percent out the first couple of times cleaning. You'll find that out on your first trip to the range when she starts "sweating" cosmoline. So make sure you have some good rags handy.

Good Shooting
Red

 

[Carlos]

If you can get access to a parts washer, highly recommended. Solvent works very well.

 

[cpileri]

Like a good Italian sauce...

every recipe is a little different.

Here's mine:

if the cosmoline is soft enough out of the box, take a rag that you dont want anymore (paper towels fall apart) and rub/scrape by hand HARD. just get the bulk of it off by scrubbing with a dry towel/rag.

If the cosmo is not soft, then take the rifle box it cam in and line it with aluminum foil 'shiny' side up. Put the rifle in it (I do muzzle down, but i doubt it matters) and set it to face the hot sun. Come back every once in a while to see how much melts off. Keep wiping the softer stuff away. Dependign on how much cosmo is o there, you may need a new towel by now.

when you are satisfied with the bulk of it being off, then disassemble the rifle and seperate metal from wood. Some parts of SKS cannot be separated, just follow a good plan like on surplusrifles.com or something.

Kerosene works, sure but acetone is much MUCH less toxic. I fact, its not very toxic at all but it is falmmable and the fumes are heavier than air so use it outside. (i've got a cool anecdote about acetone, remind me)

You can soak the parts in acetone (or wd-40 for that matter) overnight and the stuff will wipe right off. but I dont have a big enough tub. So I just get an old toothbrush and rag and soak in acetone and start scrubbing. Really doesn't take too long.
Oh, please wear gloves. Unless you want to spend another half hour cleaning your hands.

As you scrub and wipe, you will see areas that are amenable to q-tip, toothpicks, and even forced air (blower, lung power, whatever) to get it out of all the tiny places. Soon enough, you will have clean and bone dry unlubricated metal. Pt your favorite protectant on it. I do use he acetone in the bore, just like the restof it.

Now for the wood.
Acetoen will strip some finish, all of it if you try hard enough. If you are restaining the wood, then big deal. And there are better strippers than acetone. If you are keeping the finish, then use the acetone on a rag and wipe ONLY until you are happy with the look of the wood.

Realize hat there is still cosmoline soaked into the wood, and on really hot days may ooze out. Maybe not, but be aware.

If you strip it, then check out milsurpshooter.net under the subforum on restoring stocks on some ideas on stains etc.
Hope this helps.
C-

 

[AJ Dual]

Heat works, and I can attest to acetone's efficacy as well. I also like to scrape and wipe all the surface "chunky" cosmoline off with rags first as well.

Unfortunately both heat and acetone methods can be messy, and acetone is such an aggressive solvent, it's very difficult to handle safely. It rots several kinds of plastic, and you'll need a metal or glass tub that's big enough, and solvent resistant gloves tough enough to work with it. Ventilation is such a problem that you really just ought to work outside with it.

I have used acetone too, but only for rescuing and restoring rifle stocks that are oily beyond all other methods.

What I've come to like is Purple Power degreaser detergent. You can get a gallon for about $5 in the automotive section of Wal-Mart. It's incredibly aggressive on oils and greases, but is pretty safe. The worst it'll do is degrease your hands if you don't wear gloves they'll be real dry and chapped when you're done. I just scrub both the metal and the stocks with a soft plastic bristle brush and some Purple power cut 50/50 with water.It will remove oil based finishes from wood, but will leave shellac and varnish finishes alone.

I let the stock dry by itself for 1-2 days. Never try to speed dry a wet stock in an oven or the sun, it's likely to warp or crack if you do. If the stock had a linseed oil finish, no finish other than dirt and cosmo patina, it'll look nasty, maybe even kind of grey, but it'll be fixed later. While the stock is already wet, it's a good time to take some damp cotton cloth and an iron or soldering iron and steam raise any dents or scratches you want to improve.

Another step I like is a teakettle of boiling water to rinse any metal parts. It melts and flushes cosmoline out of little nooks and crannies in rifle actions quite well. And it steams itself dry. Use a pliers to handle any metal since it'll be 212 degrees after this

It's also important to wipe and rub-down any exposed metal inside and out with a light gun oil once you're done. With parts that clean and dry, flash rust can happen within a day.

I like to re-finish wood stocks with a tung oil like Formby's. I usually just rub in 2 coats 24-48 hours apart, and polish to a dull matte or satin finish with some 000 steel wool. I feel it's the best of both worlds as it dosen't look like a modern commercial sporting rifle's finish, and allows the military character of the wood show through, but it feels smooth and clean like a commercial finish.

 

[Gunhamr]

When the Marine Corps issued me an 03A3 in boot camp in '42
they also issued me a bucket of gasoline and a paint brush.
It worked and nobody get blown up or burned. Wonder what
they use today. Or do they still have cosmoline on them?
Semper Fi

 

[Moparmike]

Use Mineral Spirits. I have used acetone in the past and I had some singed arm hairs that will attest to acetone's volitility and flammability. You dont want your freshly purchased rifle being set aflame by an inadvertant spark.

Mineral spirits and brake cleaner. Worked well for me.

 

[Cosmoline]

Generally I get a tub of really hot water, put in some nice bath salts, and soak for about three hours. At the suites in the Spenard Motel, you can adjust the tv so you can watch it from the big tub. Pretty nifty. I reckon once a month bath is plenty good.

 

[Bob41081]

If you are going to try soap and water I would recommend using Dawn dishwashing soap. I work in an oilfield fluids testing lab and have from time to time test6ed different rig washes. The last time I tested any I mixed a 0.5% solution of Dawn and it cleaned as well as any of the washes I tested.

Bob

 

[Brian Dale]

Great stuff here - thanks, everybody, from me, too! DWS1117, if you also want to clean up the stock, there's a related thread from greyhound in Rifle Country called "Moisin Nagant for $99?" at

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43174

Down the page, Okiecruffler started the "Cosmoline cleaning tips" part of the discussion. Warning: I was kinda long-winded about refinishing wood.

 

[jhisaac1]

cpileri,

(i've got a cool anecdote about acetone, remind me)

Well?

 

[P95Carry]

Just to add to what is already here .... I de-cosmo'd my Yugo using WD40!! I do not like the stuff that much and normally it does not come near my guns . BUT .....

Spray it on cosmo laden parts and aggitate with a toothbrush ..... cosmo softens fast and then wipe, and wipe and wipe ..... kitchen paper will do.

This makes for me a great first stage for main removal ....... the basic ''de-clagging'' of the yuk!!

Following that then mineral spirits do well ... again I find old toothbrush good, plus odd metal tools to use gently as ''picks'' to ease the crud outer tight spots like round sights etc.

Once wood is basically de-cosmo'd ... a careful application of heat from a heat gun om lower setting .... will bring that stuff to surface ... keep heating and wiping and after a while the ''weeping'' outa the wood will decrease.

I would not favor acetone for simple reason that it is so aggressive a de-greaser ...... and is so volatile.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Mineral spirits, Nylon-bristled brush, elbow grease, and lots of patience—plus the expectation that no matter how well you clean the gun, there's still a little left here and there for next time.

 

[Matt G]

I'm another in favor of brake cleaner. (NOT carbeurator cleaner; it often has additives.) Be sure to take it out on the back porch first. Shop it at auto parts stores, and it can be very inexpensive when they put it on sale. (2 cans for $2.50 is a good deal, and cleans a lot of guns.)

 

[cpileri]

ok, ok

My anecdote:

A nice visual efects story.

So I'm living in Omaha at one time and I have this nice old brick and cement place with a nice brick and cement front porch that we often sat out on and cooked with out little hibachi.

See where this is going?

Anyway, I have the little thing filled with coals and sitting up on the wall where I am wasting alot of matches trying to light it in the wind and cold. Remembering that I had a can of acetone and getting quite impatient, i dump some on the briquettes. Serendipitously, I set the can well aside.

I lit the match and dropped it in, sure enough "whoop" it lit right up.

Then picture if you will the fluid-like motion of the flames that followed as they dropped out the bottom vent hole, splashed with the effervescent swirls of the sun onto the bricks supporting it.
The river of flames cascades over the edge and gracefully down the wall with an ever increasing "Whooo-OOOOO-OOOOOOOOP" as they gently kissed the cement upon which I had my perch and sought to embrace me. in an ever expanding ring of fire did this scintillating wave encroach upon the one who gave it life.

I leapt, my heart filled with... nevermind.

Hanging in mid-air, frozen in time and space, I tucked my feet underneath my 'oh-please-dont-fry-my' @$$ for as long as possible, and the burning wave passed underneath me and then was gone, extinguished, vanished into the nothingness whence it came.

Whew!

It was pretty cool.
C-

 

[P95Carry]

It was pretty cool.

Hmmm ... potentially ...... pretty hot I'd say!!!

Lesson learned and safe to tell the tale!!

 

[cpileri]

ha

Not as hot as it COULD have been!

Picture Wile E. Coyote grabbing his burning kiester, after a foiled attempt at ensnaring the Roadrunner!

Dragging his flaming backside on the ground by his arms, digging a trench in the dirt with his butt, in an attempt to extinguish the flames.

Goes on and on...

C-

 

[Jack19]

The easiest and cheapest way to clean cosmoline from the metal parts is by using mineral spirits. It won't de-blue your rifle as will some other solvents.

If you have a solid wood stock, as opposed to a laminate, heating the stock itself will cause the cosmo to leak oout of the wood. I built a stock heater out of a six foot piece of furnace pipe and run hot air through it with a small ceramic heater. Lots of wiping involved but it does get the cosmo out of the stock in a few sessions. A heater with a temperature control will allow you to keep the air in the 150-175F range.

 

[RustyHammer]

Mineral spirits, heat (hot sunny day -- let parts sunbath for a while), popsicle sticks (for nooks and crannies) and lots and lots of elbow grease.

And, like Standing Wolf said, there'll always be a little bit left for next time!

 

[Kharn]

I use a heatgun (hair dryer with a super charger), it seems to work ok.

Kharn

 

[feedthehogs]

Kerosene works, sure but acetone is much MUCH less toxic.

Acetone gets absorbed thru the skin into the blood stream and right to the liver. Not Good!

What ever solvents you use, wear protective gloves and have plenty of ventilation.

 

[TrapperReady]

The last time the CMP sent me a care package, I did the following:

1) Field strip the rifle
2) Clean off as much gunk as possible by wiping down with newspaper and paper towels.
3) Detail strip the rifle and remove all the metal pieces from the wood.
4) Boil a few gallons of water in a pasta cooker (the kind that has an integral removable strainer.
5) Place all the small metal parts in the strainer and let them cook for 5 or 10 minutes.
6) Remove the small parts onto newspaper and let them dry.
7) Larger metal parts can be dunked and held in the water until they're clean.
8) After everything is cool to the touch, clean as normal with solvent.
9) Clean the bore with brass brushes, solvent, patches and a little bore paste.
10) Clean the stock with mineral spirits over a large bucket. Do this in a well-ventilated spot and wear heavy chemical-resistant gloves. This may take a while, and will result in the stock needed a refinish job. I usually do this over a couple days, letting it dry between scrubbings.
11) Once the stock appears to be in decent shape and no longer oozing goo, I'll use an iron and a wet towel to lift any dents, VERY lightly sand it (if there are any markings on the stock you wish to preserve, be extremely careful and mask them off during this process).
12) Finish by rubbing with boiled linseed oil (at least 3 coats).

It sounds like a lot, but really isn't too bad. The best thing is that the boiling water cleans the gunk out from all the nooks and crannies without scrubbing or using dental picks and the like.

 

[cpileri]

acetone

I didn't say it was Non-toxic, just alot less.

Your body makes acetone and other ketones, just in smaller quantities. So while your body can deal with acetone easier, please do wear glovesand do it outside.

And don't light a match! (REF: my anecdote)
C-

 

[Engineer]

For cleaning cosmline off of wood, I use trisodium phosphate, which is available at any hardware store. For metal, it's brake cleaner.