- Location
- The Pit of Hell
I'm floating in a sea of cosmolene...
- Thread starter Claven2
- Start date
..Many years ago, I used a vapour phase degreaser in the plating shop at Prestolite, Sarnia. Worked in the plating shop, the cable shop, and on the 2.75" rocket warhead line. A friend had one of these degreasers in his electric motor rebuilding shop, too. I do not know if these are still around. They are a deep rectangular tank, with solvent in the bottom. The solvent area is heated, and the solvent boils. Higher up the wall is a cooling zone, and the solvent condenses and rains back down into the vat. You place the items to be degreased in the condensation zone. The solvent, which is being constantly cleaned by evaporation and condensation, condenses on the objects, and dissolves any grease or oil. The flushing action continues as long as the part is kept in the vapour. The parts come out warm and absolutely grease free. Looking down into the tank, it looks like something out of Dante's Inferno. Boiling in the bottom, a cloud layer of condensing solvent above. If a horrible, battered, blackened oil soaked stock is processed in one, it comes out looking like a new, battered stock. The soaked in grease is gone. The system is vastly superior to a dip tank.
Heaven only knows what solvent was used, or if these devices are still available or permitted. In a facility like yours, John, one would be a great asset. The results are impressive, and are achieved rapidly.
Heaven only knows what solvent was used, or if these devices are still available or permitted. In a facility like yours, John, one would be a great asset. The results are impressive, and are achieved rapidly.
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I've done that before too, but I don't like scrubbing oily scum off my slop sink and I can do a better job with toothbrushes, dental pics, towels and solvent than I can any other way
And believe me, I have LOTS of experience degreasing rifles. This way works best for me.
fair enough,
For me, I do the boiling water thing blah blah,
and THEN, use boiling water to clean the sink or tub.
no fuss no muss...no mess
well, the gun is totally clean and back together. My methodology is pretty simple and works well for me. For someone else? Perhaps not. Reason I don't use boiling water on Mausers as has been suggested is that it's VERY easy to get water under the rear sight collar which could leech out in the future and cause pitting below the woodline.
1) Total disassembly. This includes removal and detail stripping of EVERYTHING isn't soldered, brazed or welded to the gun. I use a methylated spirits soaked rag to scrub off all the big cosmolene. Then I use a screwdriver tip wrapped in a heavy rag to get the stubborn deposits. Next I go to methylated sprits on a paper towel and buff everything I can get at. Then I use a pipet of meth spirits and toothbrush and dental pick to get all the harder to reach places. Finally I liberally coat everything in ballistol and reassemble.
The stock is another story. Meth spirits on a rag and LOTS of elbow grease till all the surface cosmo is gone. Then I wrap it in paper towel or newspaper and put it in black paper garbage bags and place the whole afair in the rear window of my car for a few days while I drive around in the summer. Every day or two I take it out and wipe off the accumulated gunk.
After it stops leeching in appreciable quantities, I give it one more buff with the meth spirits on a cotton rag and then give the stock as many hand-rubbed coats of linseed oil as I see fit and reassemble the gun when done.
This M48 is as nice as any, it just took me longer than on any one I've had before to clean the darn thing up.
Also, as I said, this M48 is no exception to the rule. The metal is ROUGH compared to the M48A's and M48BO's. The M48's were made right after the war when the Yugo workers were still learning how to make guns. The poorer finishing on the metal and somewhat more generous fit are a result. By the time they made M48A's, on the other hand, fit and finish had improved markedly IMHO. This opinion is based on having owned a few examples of each now, and having handled many more.
As for my cleanup methods, perhaps badgerdog will chime in and comment. I've cleaned up a yugo or two for him before - perhaps as an impartial comentator he can judge the end result
1) Total disassembly. This includes removal and detail stripping of EVERYTHING isn't soldered, brazed or welded to the gun. I use a methylated spirits soaked rag to scrub off all the big cosmolene. Then I use a screwdriver tip wrapped in a heavy rag to get the stubborn deposits. Next I go to methylated sprits on a paper towel and buff everything I can get at. Then I use a pipet of meth spirits and toothbrush and dental pick to get all the harder to reach places. Finally I liberally coat everything in ballistol and reassemble.
The stock is another story. Meth spirits on a rag and LOTS of elbow grease till all the surface cosmo is gone. Then I wrap it in paper towel or newspaper and put it in black paper garbage bags and place the whole afair in the rear window of my car for a few days while I drive around in the summer. Every day or two I take it out and wipe off the accumulated gunk.
After it stops leeching in appreciable quantities, I give it one more buff with the meth spirits on a cotton rag and then give the stock as many hand-rubbed coats of linseed oil as I see fit and reassemble the gun when done.
This M48 is as nice as any, it just took me longer than on any one I've had before to clean the darn thing up.
Also, as I said, this M48 is no exception to the rule. The metal is ROUGH compared to the M48A's and M48BO's. The M48's were made right after the war when the Yugo workers were still learning how to make guns. The poorer finishing on the metal and somewhat more generous fit are a result. By the time they made M48A's, on the other hand, fit and finish had improved markedly IMHO. This opinion is based on having owned a few examples of each now, and having handled many more.
As for my cleanup methods, perhaps badgerdog will chime in and comment. I've cleaned up a yugo or two for him before - perhaps as an impartial comentator he can judge the end result
PS: as an added bonus, while many of the Yugo Mausers Marstar brought in were, in fact, refurbished at one time or another - this M48 is not (!).
Wanna know how to tell? (aside from looking for old serial numbers in the wood that have mostly been sanded away and then stamped over - duh!)
Disassemble the gun. On the barrel below the woodline is a three digit number with none, one or more punch marks after it. Under the bolt handle is also a three digit number. This number is the assembly number. If the bolt assembly number is not matching to the barrelled receiver assembly number, it's DEFINITELY a refurb, and probably a rather late refurb. If the numbers match and have no punch mark after them, it's probably not a refurb. If there are one or more punch marks and the assembly numbers match, it is a refurb and possibly also a rebarrelled refurb.
Clear as mud, huh? And in case anyone is curious, I got the info a few years back from Branko Bogdonovich who recently wrote the book on yugo mausers and works as the historian at the factory that made them We speak from time to time over e-mail.
EDIT: revised the above info after looking over my notes. It's accurate now.
Wanna know how to tell? (aside from looking for old serial numbers in the wood that have mostly been sanded away and then stamped over - duh!)
Disassemble the gun. On the barrel below the woodline is a three digit number with none, one or more punch marks after it. Under the bolt handle is also a three digit number. This number is the assembly number. If the bolt assembly number is not matching to the barrelled receiver assembly number, it's DEFINITELY a refurb, and probably a rather late refurb. If the numbers match and have no punch mark after them, it's probably not a refurb. If there are one or more punch marks and the assembly numbers match, it is a refurb and possibly also a rebarrelled refurb.
Clear as mud, huh? And in case anyone is curious, I got the info a few years back from Branko Bogdonovich who recently wrote the book on yugo mausers and works as the historian at the factory that made them
We speak from time to time over e-mail.EDIT: revised the above info after looking over my notes. It's accurate now.
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The only problem is, guess where all that cosmoline has congealed . . .
