Author Topic: Cosmoline... HELP!!! (Read 860 times)

Coltrane · « **on:** June 11, 2004, 01:21:52 PM »

Just got my Father's Day gift a little early today; a Yugoslavian SKS with grenade launching set up. My wife actually picked it out ('cause it looked NEAT-O :roll: ) so I am NOT complaining!

Here's the deal. As you might know, the thing is soaked in cosmoline. What is the quickest way to get rid of it, as well as the easiest way to get rid of it?

John Traveler · « **Reply #1 on:** June 11, 2004, 01:34:42 PM »

Wash and scrub with paint thinner in an automotive parts cleaner tank. Lue and oil afterward.

Wash and scrub with gasolene (DAGEROUS!!!) OUTDOORS.

patm41 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 12, 2004, 03:49:10 PM »

boiling water... small parts in a pot on the stove,, barrels a little harder to put in a pot.. you can use break cleaner with good results

Peddler Parsons · « **Reply #3 on:** June 12, 2004, 04:45:42 PM »

Do like they did in the service take it to the shower with you or field strip it and take the bigger parts to the car wash and use the hot soapy cycle first works great got pressure to get it out off the nooks and cranes and don't have to worry about the run off to get rid of.

Longcruise · « **Reply #4 on:** June 12, 2004, 06:54:28 PM »

Brake cleaner, carb cleaner both are good.

Strip the stock and run it through the dishwasher!!

1911crazy · « **Reply #5 on:** June 13, 2004, 01:47:19 AM »

Yugo's are ther easiest to clean the cosmoline off you should see an Albanian sks. I went down to Walmart and bought a big blue tub with lid. Then I put in 3 gallons of kerosene take the yugo sks apart and let it soak in the kerosene overnite. Then I take a soft parts cleaning brush and wash all the parts then let them soak overnite again. And repeat until all the cosmoline is off then I dry all the parts off and then do a G.I. cleaning with G.I. Rifle Bore Cleaner. You have to remove the firing pin out of the bolt to clean the cosmoline out of it because it can cause slam fires by the firing pin not free floating and sticking during firing. It has to be removed to clean it properly it can't be cleaned by soaking it only. Even though it seems to be free there is still a lot of crud in the bore that can make it stick at any time so be safe and clean it right. Trust me most think its ok until it happens(slamfires) then its the guns fault. Then lube that baby up with molybdenum disulfide anti-seize inside the reciever/gas system and just oil up the bore and your good to let it fly. BigBill

I like to coat the gas piston with just a little moly to keep it free and it will never wearout. Just make sure you get all of the cosmoline out of the gas tube or it will melt and freeze the gas piston then you have problems. Most problems with sks's is that they don't clean them good enough. These guns are reliable as a stone and will never fail if you do it right. My very first sks since the beginning of their importation has never failed me yet and I'm sure it never will it sits asleep ready to rock n roll at anytime and its a gun I can grab and go directly to the range and just hammer it all day. Like I said dependable as a stone!!!!

securitysix · « **Reply #6 on:** June 14, 2004, 05:05:33 AM »

On metal parts, I've had good luck with Gumout carb cleaner and a rag. On wood, I usually just scrape it off, but it seems to get down into the pores of the wood. Heat will bring it out. Put it in a plastic bag along with some paper or foam to soak up the cosmoline and put it in your car trunk or behind the seat of your pickup for a couple of days, and it will come out. Might be messy, though, I haven't tried this.

savageT · « **Reply #7 on:** June 14, 2004, 07:07:10 AM »

Quote from: Coltrane

Just got my Father's Day gift a little early today; a Yugoslavian SKS with grenade launching set up. My wife actually picked it out ('cause it looked NEAT-O :roll: ) so I am NOT complaining!

Here's the deal. As you might know, the thing is soaked in cosmoline. What is the quickest way to get rid of it, as well as the easiest way to get rid of it?

Congratulations Coltrane......Great jazz musician!!!
Now, for the stock, I would use good 'ole oven cleaner paste and let it soak up the cosmoline and hose it down, couple times. You will undoubtedly discover that the stuff will continue to ooze out of the pores of the wood for years to come! Heating it up helps speed up the process of getting rid of the oozing.

For the metal parts, I've heard Ed's Red works well and you'll need some to clean up the bore. Stop it up and pore in the Ed's Red and let it soak all night, then start swabbing it out. If you want, clean the bore with a good homemade electronic bore cleaner to get rid of the copper/lead and powder residues left behind after years of storage. That's up to you of course!

I'll give you the recipe for Ed's Red:
1-part ATF (red transmission fluid)
1-part K1 kerosene
1-part Mineral Spirits (low odor paint thinner)
1-part Acetone (pick up a qt. at Home Depot or hardware store)
Option: I lb. lanolin (add to the 1-gal. mix for long-term storage)

I elected to forgo the lanolin and use/mix about a 1-quart bottle in a whiskey bottle. Don't put Ed's Red into plastic as the acetone will destroy it! This works great for most bore cleaning and it's CHEAP. It won't touch copper fouling so I recommend the Electronic Bore Cleaner first. Check out SurplusRifle.com for allot of help for the SKS.

Jim

S.S. · « **Reply #8 on:** June 14, 2004, 08:22:10 AM »

I always use Gasoline and nylon brushes (outside of course)
on the metal parts, It takes it right off. Then I spray the parts
with "Break-Free". Stock is a whole different story!
It will "OOoooZE" a greasy film for ever if the wood
is saturated pretty good! I have never been successful
in getting "COSMIC GREASE" out of wood.
Some of those SKS rifles have laminated stocks and the
grease may not have a good hold on it yet.
Try some MURPHY'S OIL & elbow grease on the wood first and see what happens before you resort to more drastic measures such as scraping.

Jack Crevalle · « **Reply #9 on:** June 15, 2004, 01:23:43 AM »

Quote from: S.Sumner

Stock is a whole different story!
It will "OOoooZE" a greasy film for ever if the wood
is saturated pretty good! I have never been successful
in getting "COSMIC GREASE" out of wood.

Try some Purple Power available at Walmart for oil soaked stocks. It will take off any finish though and raise the grain so you will need to redo it with linseed oil or whatever, and light sanding. Follow package directions completely, gloves, eye protection. Use a green scrubber.

Industrial strength Easy Off oven cleaner is also supposed to work well but I've never tried it.

Runs with Scissors · « **Reply #10 on:** June 15, 2004, 07:10:52 AM »

I use kerosene on the metal parts and brake cleaner on hard to reach areas.
On the stock, I use industrial strength Easy Off oven cleaner followed by a day in my car parked in the sun.
It generally takes several treatments over a week's time to quit oozing.
I finish it off with a citrus cleaner, water rinse, sun dry and a final cleaning with acetone or denatured alcohol.
As mentioned before, this does raise the grain of the wood. I sand very lightly and finish the wood with 3-parts boiled Linseed Oil and 1-part Mineral Spirits. The Mineral Spirits thin the Linseed oil a bit and really helps it dry more rapidly.
Its unbelievable how much stuff bubbles up through the oven cleaner.

Bill

PaulS · « **Reply #11 on:** June 15, 2004, 06:24:14 PM »

go to your local hardware store and pick up a gallon of "stoddard" solvent. It will clean the most stubborn cosmolene even from wood. It will air dry but it is better to wash the solvent off with hot saopy water (use the local U-wash car wash with the pressure gun. after you are done at the car wash use Ed's Red to lubricate and protect the metal parts. Use your favorite stock oil to preserve the wood and then reassemble.

PaulS

savageT · « **Reply #12 on:** June 16, 2004, 04:30:08 AM »

Paul S,
You said "Stoddard" Solvent........Is that known routinely in the U.S. as Mineral Spirits, low odor, for paint thinner?

Jim

1911crazy · « **Reply #13 on:** June 16, 2004, 01:54:34 PM »

My yugo M59/66 stocks aren't that bad since their in like new condition its one of my yugo m59's that just keeps on oozing oil/grime out of the stock I wash it and wipe it down and the next day its back and it never stops. I may have to try the putting the stock in a black plastic bag in a hot car in the hot sun treatment next if we get some steady hot weather here. BigBill

PaulS · « **Reply #14 on:** June 16, 2004, 04:43:26 PM »

SavageT,
It is used as parts cleaners in most garages (commercial). It doesn't work well for paint thinner - it causes "fish eye" because it leaves a bit of a residue. It is just slightly flammable though less so than kerosine.
PaulS

rickyp · « **Reply #15 on:** June 17, 2004, 04:38:35 PM »

Where can I get some cosmoline? and how would I apply it?
I have several fire arms that will never be taken out and shot (one is an old 12 ga shot gun looks to be home made from an old trap door and the other is and very old stevens target pistol in 32 centerfire) and I have a few others that only get taken out one or two times a year ( Browning auto 5 made in belgum, 96 mauser)

Coltrane · « **Reply #16 on:** June 17, 2004, 05:39:45 PM »

I tried out a couple of things today to clean off the SKS. First, I disassembled the rifle and sprayed all parts with engine degreaser.

Then I filled a plastic wallpaper soaker tub with Kleen-Strip paint thinner with mineral spirits and let all parts soak. After a few minutes, I took an old pot scrubber and started scrubbing. Periodically, I would add more thinner and slosh the parts around.

I scrubbed the stock with Murphy's Oil Soap with the same scrubber inside and out. There is still some cosmoline in the crevices, but I got most of it out. The outside of the stock appears to be a little cleaner, as well as a little dried out. I did rinse the stock with the garden hose and scrub the wood down to remove the oil soap.

Overall, the bulk of the cosmoline is gone. I still need to clean the chamber and bore (it could stand a good scrubbing). I will hit it in the morning. I will be test firing the gun tomorrow.

Also, I removed the rear sight and replaced it with a Williams aperture sight. I discovered the folding big dot sight is very visible, especially when you unscrew the aperture from the sight. This will work as a ghost ring sight; more like a poor man's AO express sight system! :idea:

More on this as follows. Thanks to all who posted with suggestions, I couldn't have done it without you.

Coltrane

1911crazy · « **Reply #17 on:** June 17, 2004, 10:56:36 PM »

Don't forget to clean inside the gas tube really good its the most important part to get all the cosmo out because the heat of the gas causes the cosmo to melt and glue the piston op rod after shooting it when it cools off. BigBill

I get my G.I. Rifle Bore Cleaner and G.I. Weapons Oil from colemans surplus he's got the best prices around. Be FRUGAL!!!!!

These is ammo at AIM SURPLUS its russian madeand cheap too(frugal)

ajj · « **Reply #18 on:** June 18, 2004, 03:10:39 AM »

Rick: Just get some RIG (Rust Inhibiting Grease), an old firearms-specific product which will get your guns ready for long term storage without making a big mess.

1911crazy · « **Reply #19 on:** June 18, 2004, 05:49:26 AM »

I would put them in one of those silicone gun socks from sportsmans guide.
BigBill

rickyp · « **Reply #20 on:** June 18, 2004, 08:03:58 AM »

I did just put a very heavy coat of grease on the two very old ones last night inside and out of the barrels and I put a very heavy coat of REM oil on the others the rem oil will evaporate in a few months and is easy wo whipe off if i should need to take one of the others out for some reason.