Cosmoline

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fleabaggins

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Hi all,
Does any one have any suggestions as to how to get old and hardened cosmoline off parts? Preferably this would be something none toxic and none corrosive. There is both the gooey cosmoline, and older, hardened cosmoline that I need to remove. Would soap and water work? Or Break Free? Or Hoppes solvent?
Thanks for any suggestions!
 
I just used Hoppe's oil and a nylon toothbrush to get most of the cosmoline off of my K98, along with toothpicks and q-tips... For the stock I just dabbed it was paper towel soaked in soapy (dish soap) water and immediate dried it. I didn't want to take a chance of warping anything. That won't get the cosmoline out of the stock, but it will at least clean off the stuff on the surface so that you can handle it. (Afterwards my stock got a more thorough treatment using whiting and solvents to leach the cosmoline out of the wood.)
 
Put varsol in a capped pipe. Letsoak overnight, wipe off, immidiatly soak in 5w30 synthetic oil overnight. Varsol works great but metal will be bone dry after so don't skip the oil. Like, insta-rust.
 
Literally just hot or boiling water on the metal parts then give a quick wipe down and a coat of oil. The hot water is above the melting point for Cosmoline and it just floats to the top. There might be a little bit left on the metal parts but very little in comparison to how much was on it.
 
Well, a buck at the car wash pressure cleaners cleans everything up extremely well. No mess to clean up either.

I usually wrap the firearm in a piece of plastic screen so that nothing comes off.

Then, I take it home, disassemble the rifle into its component parts and put the small stuff into a pot of boiling water. Remember to take the bolts apart as well.

The stocks go back to the car wash for another rinse. That pink soap in the foaming brush is great stuff. It completely gets rid of all the cosmolene and doesn't remove any of the original finish if any is left. The stock may have a bit of drying but a quick wipe with Linseed Oil will take care of that quickly.

DO NOT use the pressure wand any closer than about a foot. What I like about this method is that it really shows up all the defects without making them worse. Small cracks get cleaned out and larger cracks usually get cleaned out well enough to be able to fill or glue them to almost invisible status.

Some discretion is required when doing this of course. Having a pressure washer at home helps but then you have cosmoline to clean up.
 
Leaving the woodwork out in the hot sun on a summer day is great for sweating out the the last little bits of the cosmoline. Keep wiping and turning between beers. Great lazy day chore.
 
Bubba Yugga said:
Leaving the woodwork out in the hot sun on a summer day is great for sweating out the the last little bits of the cosmoline. Keep wiping and turning between beers. Great lazy day chore.
Click to expand...

the problem is, you'll have to wait 6 months before you can start.
 
Personally I use nothing but kerosene for this purpose. Not terribly volatile or toxic and available anywhere. I put a few inches in a long, narrow wall paper pan and set the barreled action in it for a few minutes. Use a toothbrush on recesses where gobs of grease may be stuck. A rag dipped in kerosene will clean off the wood quickly but if its a valuable, collectable piece I often just use raw linseed oil on the wood for cleaning.

milsurpo
 
You can steam clean the metal parts, and stick the stock in the oven at about 200 deg F (not advisable if your wife uses it :d). The other option is a kerosene-based solvent (or gasoline - just do it in a well vented area and do not strike sparks).

If the oven isn't a option, you can use a heat gun on the stock, but it can be tricky. The stock must be heated evenly so the cosmoline will ooze out, but not so hot that the wood scorches. Another method is to stick the stock in a black plastic bag with the stock wrapped in paper towels. You then set the bag in the sun (obviously works best in summer) for hours, letting the heat inside the bag work on the compline.
 
steps ive used that work and are easy
supplies needed
- air compressor
- cardboard box (ie box rifle came in)
-plastic container
- degreaser, mineral spirits, non beech Tilex, dish soap, natural wood stain remover
- scrub brush, plastic scouring pads, steel wool
- garden hose
- gun oil spray and rag

Disasemble your rifle completely via instructions online.
Metal parts go in mineral spirits scrub clean debris then rinse in water dry with air compressor then oil and place in box for storage.
Stock first rinse with water and dishsoap, then spray alternating degreaser/Tilex and allow to break down cosmo off the stock rinsing with garden hose every 5 to 10 mins. Once cosmo on surface is out apply wood stain remover and keep moist scrubbing with scouring plastic sponge/brush as appropriate until desired stain/cosmo is removed. Neutralize with copious water and allow to dry completely.
Use steel wool to buff a small tack into the wood and make it as smooth as desired this will preserve stock marks depending how hard you buff. Then stian/and ply layers of tru oil with steel wool.buff in between till your stock looks amazing.

Pls if wanting to reblue metal parts do do dmaller batch in mineral spirits andpplynd prior to oiling after drying the first time apply some gun blue wait several minutes spray with hose and repeat blue/hose/dry steps until blued enough for you then oil up as before
Then reassemble.... metal and wood beautiful

Example
Pre

Post
 
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