Dirty Mauser

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Storm

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Last week I picked up a Russian capture Mauser 98K 1941 bcd with non-matching stock, bolt and trigger guard. I have the action/barrel out of the stock while I am doing a refinish to the hideous Russian red shellac which was chipping like it had leprosy. While the stock is drying I've taken the opportunity to clean the barrel. There is some overall light pitting with good strong rifling. I have sat down in three different cleaning sessions using Hoppes #9 and Hoppes Elite over four hours of brushing and the barrel never seems to get clean. The bore keeps looking better and better but will it ever end? Is there a simple product that will get right down to the bare metal, especially with pitting present?

BTW, I've had a ball working on this gun and as I near the end of this project I am already eyeing another 98K for another project. I can see Mausers being addicting.
 
Welcome to the addiction. I know what you're talking about when cleaning, you always seem to get some level of dark patch when you push them through. Many of these rifles have not been shot for decades. If you plan on shooting it, a few rounds will actually help push some this accumulated crud out and the cleaning after will be easier, believe it or not.
If you let the Hoppes sit in the barrel by plugging the muzzle, wet it down with Hoppes and let it sit overnight, it helps a lot and will not hurt anything. It's tough to get them squeaky clean.
I'm sure others have their choice of cleaners too.

NCsmitty
 
I will try the overnight soak. That sounds to be a good route to go. I agree about a bullet pushing out some of the crud.

Dang they are addicting. This first one will be a shooter, for sure. Towards that end I have done the unpardonable and refinished the stock and used a polyurethane satin finish. I used aneline dyes (a combination of reddish brown and red mahogany) to match the stain inside the stock which I assume to be original but probably darkened somewhat by cosmoline. I couldn't live with the Russian red shellac. As the stock was non-matching and Ruskynated I didn't feel any great responsibility to leave it alone. As penance for the poly I will acquire a second stock and stay true to the original finishing materials, or more closely so.

The next 98K will stay as close to original as possible considering it will be another Russian capture.

I think as a yute I watched too many episodes of Combat.
 
In original configeration the stocks were not coated (No clear coat).

I need a russian capture mauser too! I have a yugo 98k rework and love it. I had the same barrel cleaning headache, but after a series of cleaning, shooting, cleanding and shooting, it did come clean!

Great shooter too!
 
In original configeration the stocks were not coated (No clear coat).
Click to expand...

I've read where a linseed oil or tung oil approximates it. I know there are formulas posted.
 
If you can strip the shellac, then sit the stock in the sun, the embedded cosmoline that permeates these old stocks will bleed out a bit at a time. I just wipe down with a rag every hour or two as it bleeds out. Some use the stock in a black plastic leaf bag to create more heat.
The new finish, (I use Homer Formby's tung oil) will adhere much better and I too like to use satin polyurethane for a final coat.
Some milsurp stocks will surprise you how well figured the wood can be once they're done.

NCsmitty
 
To clean the barrel... try an overnight soak with KG 12.
I have a Vz 24 as well... that still has all of WWII embedded in it.
This weekend am going to let it soak with KG 12.
For the stock what I did was to clean throughly with white spirits.. dry in the sun. And then repolish after sanding is with fine grit sandpaper.
 
If you can afford the price of enough naphtha( which I could not or would not) to soak the stock, it will remove most of the oil,cosmoline,or what ever fluid build up that is trapped in the old stock.

I used white gas, stove fuel on mine and it looks better with every soak, have done 2 now. After the soak, and the fumes are gone a hair dryer works well to bring up the old oils in the wood.

However naphtha, or gasoline poses the ever present fire hazard, and must be used with caution!
 
I haven't tried it but I hear spray on oven cleaner works on stocks. I personally use oderless mineral spirits to remove cosmolene.
 
Thanks for all of the tips.

I just picked up my second 98K, another Russian capture, this one with the major guts 1941 bnz (Steyr) This one's bore looks the same as the other and the stock looks to be much nicer under the shellac. The side plate on the bolt (for lack of a better term) has that copper color which is kind of different, something that I see to a lesser extent on other ones. I think this rifle is going to be sweet and it will allow me to swap stocks with the other one.

Now I know why I got rid of my collector's grade Mitchell's Mauser (couldn't stand to look at it) as this is too much fun.

I recall the old days when I was a "kid" when the newspapers were full of sporting goods ads with milsurp guns for $29. Ah, the good old days when I thought such guns were junk:banghead:
 
+1 on the JBs. Good stuff.

For normal cleaning I alternate between scrubbing with a nylon brush soaked in Sweets (a amonia based copper solvent), and a tight fitting brass brush soaked in a powder solvent (like Hoppes). If need be let the solvent soak over night. If soaking overnight stick a large patch in the chamber to keep any solvent from getting into the action.

Run a dry patch down the barrel after scrubbing. Followed by a patch soaked in CLP or similar oil based cleaner. As your brass brushes wear out their life can be extended by wrappinp them with small amounts of brass-wool.

A good patch jag is also important. I like the Dewey "Parker Hale Style" jag:
image

Used right this jag puts more patch surface area in contact with the bore than any other design.
 
The side plate on the bolt (for lack of a better term) has that copper color which is kind of different, something that I see to a lesser extent on other ones.
Click to expand...

Are you speaking of the extractor, a long flat steel piece that runs a fair length down the side of the bolt and grips the groove in the back of the cartridge case? I've seen some with a reddish cast similar to a tarnished penny. If that's the case, the color comes from the temperature of the steel when hardened.
 
Old mausers are absolutely addicting.

JB paste is powerful good, But first I'd cap the end of the barrel and soak overnight with a good cleaner as stated in previous posts. (I use butch's bore shine) As for stocks, the oven cleaner trick works well to remove crud and grease, just soak in a tub of hot water (at least 3 water changes) for @ 10-15 min apiece to rinse. Then allow to dry for a few days. This also helps to raise dents. Sand very lightly with 400-600 grit then a couple of coats of thinned linseed oil for finish, if it looks too shiny, steel wool lightly to dull. If the metal needs work, Oxpho blue works great. With practice, you can clean up an old war horse without "restoring" it. :D
 
All great tips, thanks.

Yes, I guess that is the extractor! I'm new to bolt actions. I've seen that color more often on the bolt release lever (ejector box?). I've also seen it on various older European semi-auto pistols and even the slides of HK's which can take on a plumb color. I kind of like it on the Mauser. The first time I picked up this Mauser a month or so ago I passed on it as I though that there was something wrong with it, but once I realized that the coppery color is normal I realized that it made the gun more interesting.

As to the stock, I had denatured alcohol on hand and the shellac wiped off surprisingly easily. The wood underneath (both my stocks are solid wood) is pretty darn good and I am now applying Formby's tung oil to protect the wood.

One thing that was nice is that parts of the barrel and receiver seemed to have been painted. The denatured alcohol took this right off leaving blued steel underneath.
 
BTW, I am considering sticking at two coats of tung oil as it seems to have the wood about where I want it in terms of penetration with little sheen to the finish. Are there any advantages in continuing to coat the stock? I figure the more I coat it the more of a glossy sheen that it will get and that is somethings that I'm trying to avoid. I'll try and get a photo.
 
Here's the stock with two coats of Formby's tung oil. There has been no sanding or dent removal. The actual color is a bit lighter than the photo shows.

mstock.jpg
 
I ended up putting a third coat on the stock. It made a difference. The nice thing about tung oil is that it can be wiped on without taking the rifle apart. I hate taking off and putting on that sight hood. If you get oil on metal it wipes right off.

One thing that I like to do with a battlerifle is to carrry it extensively to get an idea of what a soldier would have experienced in never being far from his rifle. Last evening I carried the rifle whether I was around the house. Yeah, my wife thought I was nuts, but it gave me an idea of the true weight of this rifle. I hope to be able to carry it through brush in the field. I was amazed at how light this rifle actually is and rather compact in size size. It's actually a great size and seems to be extremely well balanced. My little excercise has given me a new appreciation for this rifle. It ain't pretty, but that's okay. It now looks pretty much like it did the day that it was captured, Russian mix and match and all.

Next to shoot it after my smith has a look see.
 
Here's a photo of my two 98K Russian Captures, pretty much done. The cleaning rod and sight hood for the one should be here tomorrow or the next day.

The top one is the bnz 1942 Steyr, and is finished in tung oil. Other than removing the Russian red shellac nothing else was done to the stock other than tung oil. The coppery red colored extractor is clearly visible.

The one below is is the 1941 bcd Gestloff-Werke. The stock on this one was very lightly sanded and dyed to match the wood inside the stock where Russians didn't get at it. This one is coated with polyurethane but shows the years of battle. To do it over again I would use the tung oil or boiled linseed. I may strip it down the road.

A fun project. To do it over again I would do the bcd exactly as I did the bnz, removing the shellac with denatured alcohol and evaluating the wood. Live and learn.

img5652i.jpg
 
They look nice. The bottom one looks like a nice russian capture, I wouldnt sweat it.

Looks good.....shoot them yet?

A local gun shop is selling russian captures for 270. is this a good price?
 
They look nice. The bottom one looks like a nice russian capture, I wouldnt sweat it.

Looks good.....shoot them yet?

A local gun shop is selling russian captures for 270. is this a good price?
Click to expand...

They are both Russian captures. The upper one I left stock except for tung oil on the stock. The lower one actually had a reddish brown pre-capture original finish that I picked up from the inside of the wood where I think I was seeing close to the original color (taking cosmoline in to account). It wasn't/isn't nearly as red as the Russian Capture shellac although the photo makes it appear similar. That stock was lightly sanded and the dye mixed to match the inisde of the stock.

I hope $270 is a decent price as that is what I paid for mine from a local shop.

I haven't fired them yet. Soon, I hope. The cleaning rod and sight hood for the one should be in today's mail.
 
$279 is a good price. Dunham was selling them for (I think) $499. It has been a while since I boought mine, but that is what I seem to recall was the price.

Geno
 
$279 is a good price. Dunham was selling them for (I think) $499. It has been a while since I boought mine, but that is what I seem to recall was the price.
Click to expand...

I just checked my receipt and it was $279, not $270. A while back they had a few that were priced at $379 that were in what I recall to be better condition, at least as to the wood. They might have been Yugos for all I know. $279 from a shop seemed a very fair price. I plan on owning few more of I see the right ones. I wouldn't mind having a Yugo M48.

Another shop has a Gewehr 88 for $200 that is now on my mind.
 
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