I give up...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Panzerschwein

Panzerschwein

member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Messages
8,122
Location
Desert
Hello, well I got a new rifle today and it has good bluing but has a light coat of dark brown rust, almost like someone sprayed it on with an airgun, on top of much of the bluing. I read that this can be removed with 0000 steel wool and gun oil, so I set to work doing this and I had rag after rag after rag covered in dark red as I was wiping it down after rubbing with the oiled steel wool.

But the rust wouldn't stop coming.

Again, this is just a light patina of dark brown rust... no pitting or anything like that. But I scrubbed and scrubbed and used an entire bag of 0000 steel wool and while it does look better, there are still numerous patches of surface rust and it just won't go away. I don't know what to do and frankly it's driving me up a wall. I am using Hoppes Elite gun oil for this projet, and normal Wal-Mart 0000 steel oil.

Does anyone know how to fully remove this rust, or should I just leave it be? Thanks for the help everyone! :)
 
That sounds like packing grease or cosmoline. I'd try cleaning if with absorbent rags and a good solvent.
 
Check the bore good too.

I received a brand new S&W M&P 15 performance center gun in 2012, and the bore was 100% obstructed by brown grease.

I couldn't even get a 22 rod through. Had to break out a 17 cal rod to even THINK about getting it through. It took the better part of 2 hours to get the sludge out of the bore. It was a gritty sort of ultra sticky crud that was seemingly impervious to every solvent I tried.

Was aggravating; I've seen cosmoline tank dipped WWII rifles that weren't that sludged up.

With the recent Remington recall on 700's over the trigger group grease issue, it seems more than anecdotal that factories are starting to go a little overboard on preservatives.
 
Cooldill

If it is rust I have found Flitz to be very effective in removing surface rust without harming the finish underneath. Years ago I had a Beretta Model 70S that had the same recurring rust problem. Beretta even reblued the gun under warranty as they admitted there had been similar problems with other guns. Still the rust returned again so eventually I had the gun hard chrome plated.
 
Thanks guys, this is a Yugo SKS and I already used a ton of mineral spirits and a nylon bristle brush to scrub out the cosmoline. Then hit it with some chlorine free break cleaner. It got all greasey feeling residue off, but under that this remained:

image.jpg

image.jpg

image.jpg

This stuff is STUBBORN, is it really just dried cosmoline? I used steel wool and oil to rub the area then a paper towel to wipe off the stuff and it left dark brick-red residue on the paper towels. I got alot of it off but there seems to be spots where it just doens't want to leave.
 
Cosmoline!? Darn... how do I get it off then!?!?

I'm so confused! Did I damage the finish by using the oil and 0000 steel wool? How do I get that cosmo off now?
 
I've heard of people just leaving their guns outside in the sun on hot days to let the cosmoline melt off. The only gun I've ever had that had cosmo on it I got when I was living in an apartment so that was not an option to me. I found dish soap and hot water to be effective.
 
Saw this on Rimfire Central:

Strip all metal parts off the rifle. Put them in some kind of tupperware container and fill with mineral spirits or kerosene. Cover and place in the sun for a day or two. Remove barrel from stock and slop up barrel inside and out with mineral spirits or kerosene. Place in black plastic bag and place in sun for a day or two. I haven't tried this method personally but the folks on RfC are usually pretty sharp.
 
Use mineral spirits to get it off. Most stores sell a "green" version that smells a little better. Get some plastic bins and soak the metal parts in, piece by piece. Brush around the spirits with nylon brushes, wipe off with a rag, air dry for a little bit, then use oil to prevent rust.
 
The Yugos did a thorough job of dippling those rifles in cosmolene. Maybe the Russians taught them well.
 
Okay sounds good, I am soaking all the small parts in mineral spirits and will leave them for two days or so. I alreayd did soak them last night but only for about 3 hours. God I hope this works... :(
 
Soaking them only gets you so far. You have to work the mineral spirits to break down the cosmoline. Took about 3 hours to clean the cosmoline out of my Mosin, doesn't need to sit overnight or days.
 
Just to clarify, this stuff looks like a dark reddish brown coating that is really clinging to the metal. Even after rigorous scrubbing with 0000 steel wool and Hoppes oil, it won't budge. This is AFTER soaking the barreled action and all other parts in mineral spirits for over 3 hours... it looks like rust to me.

I have a hard time believing this is cosmoline. One thing I've noticed is that it really shows up in sunlight and looks sort of iradescent. Is there any easy way to get rid of this stuff?

When I was scrubbing it it would come off, leaving brick red residue on paper towels. I read somewhere someone said soaking it with Kroil will make it to were you can just wipe it off... is this true?? Also do you think I damaged the bluing by using the steel wool?
 
I have a hard time believing this is cosmoline. One thing I've noticed is that it really shows up in sunlight and looks sort of iradescent. Is there any easy way to get rid of this stuff?
Click to expand...

I agree it's likely cosmoline. I had a run in with it a decade ago on a Yugo M48. Had to do the whole mineral spirits thing which did remove some of the finish but I finally got it all off.
 
CZ's used to come with this gunk on them. IIRC, Orange GooGone cut it pretty good.
 
Well I tried a heat gun to see if it would remove the stuff... it didn't, but it did scortch my front night sight so that is ruined. Great. Plus the stuff is made out of radium so I'm pretty sure I absorbed some of that when I tried to salvage the front sight.

So now after all this work, the brown crap on my gun is still there... and... I'm irradiated.

I'm going to bed.
 
Cosmoline is a petroleum product.

Now, I'm no chemist or cosmoline specialist, but I've messed with a BUNCH of petrolium products that have gotten old and become a problem.

It happens all the time in carburators.

In that case, the petrolium product in question starts off as gasoline.

It sits for a while, and then for a while longer, and then it starts changing.

It appears that the lighter parts evaporate first, and the remaining parts of the petrolium go from being liquid, to a dark liquid, then a greasy goo, then a hard film that looks for all the world like varnish.

Like I said before, I'm not a chemist or cosmoline expert, but it's not too difficult to imagine that some 50 year old cosmoline could go through a similar drying/hardening process and produce a similar varnish like substance.

If that is the case, then it's understandable that what used to be cosmoline now looks quite different and is difficult to remove.

In the case of the carburators, we soak them in a special solvent and sometimes it's a whole day before the varnish finally gives it up.

For what it's worth, I have also seen quite a few rifles with rust on them.

Rust is rarely uniform like shown in your pics. It happens where the finish is compromised, and not where the finish is intact.

That's why a rusty rifle is usually damaged here, but not there and also why it pits here but doesn't there.

So, with all that in mind, I'm going to agree with everybody else and say it's cosmoline. (Or more correctly, it was cosmoline 50 years ago and it's varnish now)
 
I have a hard time believing this is cosmoline
Click to expand...

No offense, but WHY do you have such a hard time believing that, when you've described, in detail, the issue, and several people experienced with cosmoline had offered up their opinions that it is indeed cosmoline? Just because its stubborn, nasty, stuff that doesn't seem to go away no matter how much you work with it.... doesn't mean its not cosmo...in fact, thats a pretty good indicator that thats EXACTLY what it is.
 
Yes, after further research I've found cosmoline can make a varnish like coating such as this.

Also in the process of using a heat gun to try and melt the cosmoline off, I burned off the bottom range marking on the grenade launcher sight.

The woes continue. :(
 
Probably best to put it down and walk away for a week or two since the task seems snake bit at this time.

Take the thing out of the wood, dunk it in diesel, let it soak, and scrub it with a stiff nylon brush. Avoid anything using too much energy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Rust prevention.
Replies
5
Views
462
scythefwd
S
G
  • Locked
removing surface rust
Replies
5
Views
553
bigfinger76
B
F
  • Locked
If I don't remove all the rust, but oil it well, will it continue to rust?
Replies
13
Views
1K
Vern Humphrey
V
BSA1
  • Locked
Magazine keep rusting
Replies
23
Views
4K
BSA1
BSA1
A
  • Locked
Which gun oil?
2 3 4
Replies
93
Views
4K
Mark1964
M
Back
Top