Brand New SKS, how do i get rid of the smell of cosmoline 😂

[canuckbacon]

Just bought a brand new SKS from G4C and I opened it up to check it out, dumb me didn't open the windows or wear any PPE and now I can't get the smell of Cosmoline out of my nose.

It's late at night so I don't have the time to clean the rifle yet but damn I can't stand the smell its irritating the back of my throat and sinuses. Is there anything to do?

And on a second note, I know I'm probably fine but does cosmoline normally have a sickly sweet smell to it?

Also pic of the rifle

 

[SteyrM69]

Just bought a brand new SKS from G4C and I opened it up to check it out, dumb me didn't open the windows or wear any PPE and now I can't get the smell of Cosmoline out of my nose.

It's late at night so I don't have the time to clean the rifle yet but damn I can't stand the smell its irritating the back of my throat and sinuses. Is there anything to do?

And on a second note, I know I'm probably fine but does cosmoline normally have a sickly sweet smell to it?

Also pic of the rifle

Learn to love it

 

[Grove]

 

[jbmauser]

Ah the sweet smell of cosmoline! Why on earth would you want to get rid of it?

 

[canuckbacon]

Further info: it's a french tickler with a wood coloured upper ribbed handguard (no idea if its bakelite or poly or something else, it sounds plasticky but doesnt look like other bakelite handguards I've handled).

rom the serial number it appears to be an 1979-1980 SKS from arsenal /26\ with all matching numbers.

I'm not a gunsmith I dont know for sure but it seems like it could be un-issued from my initial inspection

 

[canuckbacon]

Ah the sweet smell of cosmoline! Why on earth would you want to get rid of it?

It's kind of burning the back of my nose and throat

 

[Redneck Hippy]

The smell starts to fade after you run a case through it.
But by then you will have learned to love it

 

[canuckbacon]

View attachment 1066586
The smell starts to fade after you run a case through it.
But by then you will have learned to love it

Gotta say, the speed at which you can get a response on this forum, truly phenomenal

And I'm sure this won't be my last sks and I know it hasn't been cleaned yet. But damn does the smell bother me. I had to reseal the cardboard box it came in

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

When I have a greasy rifle to clean, my go-tos are HOT tap water or boiling kettles and citrus engine degreaser. Lay out the newspapers. Get a stiff paint brush and rags. Put on your old clothes. And let physics do the work.

Wipe the worst of the grease off. Then dose the greasy parts with degreaser. Agitate with the brushes. Then rinse with HOT water. The combination should remove the worst. My preferred preservative against flash rust is red Automatic Transmission Fluid. It is petroleum, anti rust, cheap and it doesn't evaporate like other oils.

For stocks the most brutal degreaser is Spray 9 cleaner. Do not use it on any authentic boiled linseed oil stocks, like on a Garand or Lee Enfield. It will float off 80+ years of patina oxydized finish faster than you can say, 'What the heck?' But I've used it to deep clean grubby finger oils off unfinished wood before applying finish.

 

[Veritas et Libertas]

Dishwasher

 

[westie]

Learn to love it

It's a powerful smell forsure, as far as getting the smell out of your nose not sure but the rifle itself should be left somewhere out of the house tell clean. The off gas is toxic

 

[pangit]

Dishwasher

The legendary thread. https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/dishwasher-m14-warning.302306/

If you're desperate, I suggest mineral spirits. The ticklers don't actually have a lot of cosmo on them, compared to other norinco guns I've come across. Did a few of them pretty easily with isopropyl alcohol.

 

[Deathrawt]

If the smell of cosmoline on a Chinese rifle bothers you DO NOT get a yugoslovian rifle as you will most likely die

 

[MosinMan13]

Wild, I’ve thought about sourcing cosmoline so I could make my non-smelly rifles smell.

 

[collector67]

Love the smell of Cosmo. They should make a cologne that smells like it.

 

[noway123]

Smell of Kanadian freedom - why would you want to get rid of it.

.

 

[scotteboy]

I like the smell. It's very nice on toast too

 

[Aniest]

Just bought a brand new SKS ... Is there anything to do?

Some excellent advice here and I second all of it enthusiastically:

When I have a greasy rifle to clean, my go-tos are HOT tap water or boiling kettles and citrus engine degreaser. Lay out the newspapers. Get a stiff paint brush and rags. Put on your old clothes. And let physics do the work.

Wipe the worst of the grease off. Then dose the greasy parts with degreaser. Agitate with the brushes. Then rinse with HOT water. The combination should remove the worst. My preferred preservative against flash rust is red Automatic Transmission Fluid. It is petroleum, anti rust, cheap and it doesn't evaporate like other oils.

For stocks the most brutal degreaser is Spray 9 cleaner. Do not use it on any authentic boiled linseed oil stocks, like on a Garand or Lee Enfield. It will float off 80+ years of patina oxydized finish faster than you can say, 'What the heck?' But I've used it to deep clean grubby finger oils off unfinished wood before applying finish.

The big thing is to get the cosmoline out of the bolt and trigger assembly. I watched someone take a SKS out of the box, wipe it down, load it up, and have a major malfunction attributed to cosomline buildup in the bolt and trigger assembly.

I had an old video bookmarked, something someone took old millimetre film and digitized it, but it was taken down: it showed Russian or Czechoslovakian military dunking rifles in warm vats of cosomline before hanging them to drip. That is why it gets everywhere in a rifle and is hard to remove.

 

[1bigrn]

I will give you 1/2 of what you paid. Problem solved, you will never have to smell it again!

 

[Ryan Smith]

I also just bought one wiped it down and got rid of most of it. I opened it at my office and quickly adapted to the smell but over the next few days I helped people look for a dead mouse in the building and didn't realize what everyone was smelling.
i have already learned to love it. lol