Cosmoline removal

I have four Tula SKSs with laminate stocks . I just took them apart and used varsol and rags to clean them , and then lightly re-oiled them . I used household woodcleaner to clean the stocks ; and I never had a problem , but I would be leary of putting any wood stock in the kitchen oven....USE EXTREME CAUTION if you choose that method....Maybe different batches of SKSs had different amounts of cosmoline on them....but mine were not so that bad that varsol could not clean them.
 
Field strip and drop the whole thing (lock stock and barrel) into a vat/tub of varsol. Leave it for 24 hours and wipe the cosmoline off. Even though the Russians didn't use real cosmoline. Grease is grease. Do not dump the resulting crud down any drain. Grease is petroleum based and is toxic.
 
When I need to clean out / prep 02 tanks of all organics - I used boiling / hot water too - with the addition of some Simple Green or Ivory Liquid.

Nothing dissipates oil and grease like those two ...

Make sure you oil your 'pride an joy' up afterwards though!

Abby
 
FreedomIsn'tFree said:
When I refinished my stock I wrapped it with paper towel and put some tape around it. After the paper towel I wrapped it in a black garbage bag and put it on my dash in +35 weather with the windows rolled up. I had to repeat this about 10 times because the paper towel was covered each time. I also packed paper towel in the stock and inside the butt stock where the cleaning kit goes. It took some time for the cosmoline to come out, but it worked awesome. As for the rest of the rifle I used a hair blower to heat up the cosmoline and wipe it with paper towel.
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I know this sounds like a lot of effort, but its more about being patient and let is soak out slowly rather than using chemicals on your stock finish. THe problem is that if you do not do it thoroughly, the rifle will ooze cosmo every time it heats up from shooting. Just give it lots of wraps with newspaper or paper towel and move it to a warm place. It will soak out by itself, and then its done.
 
... Do not dump the resulting crud down any drain. Grease is petroleum based and is toxic...
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True. Best to safe it and pour it over the garage apron. No more weed whacking between the cracks :evil:
 
Resurrecting this thread, cause I need some ideas.

I'm planning on de-greasing a colletor's source M44 (love the charachter of it btw!) and am going to use the steam cleaning method. Anyone got an idea of what to do with the cosmoline & water mix I'm gonna get after I finish? I feel bad just pouring this chemical concoction down the drain, contaminating the water supply and killing some little fishes, is there something better I could do?
 
Cleaned one with WD-40 and one with regular boiling water. Water is definitely the better approach as long as you completely dry and oil it up after.
 
Use 2 or 3 cans of brake clean for all the metal parts works excellent and very quick to boot. Put the stock in the hot sun on a towel wipe and flip. So easy my 4 yr old helped me do it :)
 
I disassemble it down to individual parts, use boiling water and HD Simple Green. I use smaller trays for the parts, and blow them off with compressed air, then use a Deep Rubbermaid tote for the barreled action. All the used water and Simple green go into the tote during the process. Then while I let the water cool I spray all the metalwork with gun oil to be sure all water is displaces from all nooks and crannies, then wipe the excess oil off and reassemble. Then when the water has cooled, you will notice all the cosmo is floating and congealed on the top of the water. Use papertowels or oil absorbant rags and skim the surface and the edges where it clings to the sides. Then pour the water out and wipe the final grease residue off the sides of the tote and dispose of those in the trash. Easy, and no worry for the environment as the Simple Green is biodegradable and you have skimmed the grease off and disposed of it...
 
Anything that produces heat....or Goo gone I would think would work alright with a q-tip or toothbrush you can find that fits in those small spots.
 
...strip it

...boil water

...put on rubber gloves

...take it outside

...pour boiling water in great quantities

...bring back inside

...wipe down with gun cleaner (Butches) ...i have a pile of rags and cheap (dollar store) Q-tips to help

...oil lightly

...reassemble

...go shoot

(...be sure to disassemble your bolt and clean that pin and hole)

BOIL THAT PUPPY! (...second boiling inside...was -40 with this one outside...so decided to do it again after 99% was removed and my hands thawed!)

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Thiopento said:
Resurrecting this thread, cause I need some ideas.

I'm planning on de-greasing a colletor's source M44 (love the charachter of it btw!) and am going to use the steam cleaning method. Anyone got an idea of what to do with the cosmoline & water mix I'm gonna get after I finish? I feel bad just pouring this chemical concoction down the drain, contaminating the water supply and killing some little fishes, is there something better I could do?
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Sure. Put it in a ice cream pail (or two :D) and drop it off at your town's Hazardous Material facility. They'll take care of it from there.
 
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