Cosmoline

bob347

bob347

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Super GunNutz
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I tried a search for this and came up dry. Can any one here give me the best way and cleaner to do a complete removal job of this stuff from a coated Mauser. I read somewhere that it should be fully taken out of the stock wood before shooting?:confused: THKX Bob
 
Take the stock off, bolt out and drop the whole thing into a vat/tub/container of Varsol(any grease remover will do, but Varsol is cheap) for 24 hours. Then wipe off the gunk with clean lint free rags, clean as per normal and oil the steel and BLO the stock.
Do not dump any of the sludge down any drain. It's toxic.
 
There are many different ways, you just have to settle on one that you feel most comfortable with. If you can afford it or own one, a steam jet cleaner works well for both wood and metal. Make sure it heats the metal enough to allow the water to evaporate quickly.

Some will say running just the wood through the dishwasher works well.

Others will say mineral spirits on the metal will wash it up nicely.

I know a fellow who left a rifle in the sun at the range in a garbage bag wrapped in paper towel and allowed the cosmo to melt off.

Break free powder blast works, but beware of flash rusting if you don't oil up. This applies to alot of cleaners and old metal.

If anything you have to make 100% sure the action, trigger, chamber, bore, bolt is clear of cosmo, for your own safety. The stock is secondary but it is highly recommended to take everything apart to clean.
 
Last one I did I used a heat gun(To strip paint) to melt the big globs, used some boiling water down the barrel, then blasted the crap out of it using Break Free Powder blast which worked great, and as mentioned just before me, make sure to lube things up after that because powder Blast contains no lubricants.
 
Best is a batch of Varsol (paint thinner) and a paint brush. For a stock, sock it in triclorethylene or varsol and cover in cat litter. Or store for a long period in cat litter.
 
Cats

CanAm said:
Best is a batch of Varsol (paint thinner) and a paint brush. For a stock, sock it in trichlorethylene or varsol and cover in cat litter. Or store for a long period in cat litter.
Click to expand...
And put a lid on it or keep the cats away lest you want to deal with "cosmofeline"... those critters even have a liking for vibratory bowls full of case cleaning media; makes funny "bullets";)
PP.
 
Well I read all the posts and links and thank all the members who have given their expertise on this subject. I have came to the conclusion that it is not to bad of a job as long as I have the time and a few beer to help me out. THKX to all the members. Bob
 
When I bought my Garand last year, I was faced with the same problem....It was caked in the stuff, but I thought that there had to be a better way than using chemicals, and heat guns are slow....I then thought, "why not one of those portable steam cleaners?"....I had one that I bought earlier (only about 60-70 bucks) for the wife....I got a five gal bucket, placed a fine wire mesh over the top, then placed the parts on the mesh....The pressurized steam blasted away all the cosmoline, even in the hard to reach places. And given the way it heats up the metal, it will dry in minutes...No mess, no fuss, no harsh chemicals, no smell....Just have a beer each time you re-fill the steamer, wait for it to heat up, and you`ll be done in an hour (depending on the amount of beer you have)
Barman.gif
 
I bought a yugo sks 59/66 covered in the stuff . I found the best way was to fully disassemble and drop the parts into a bucket of varsol. The stuff just melts away . Just use a small paint brush and brush the other parts with it. It works with very little effort. I thought i would never be able to get the stuff off of it. I checked out GANDERITE'S article and that's exactly how i did it. Very easy for a first timer like i was.
 
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I got a SKS last year that was bad and I went to XS Cargo and bought a $10 steam cleaner. Worked great and like the above mentioned no chemicals and barely much of a mess.
 
I did, there was a bunch of it glopped on. I have heard a few different ways to get it really clean.
The easiest was probably to put the wood just by itself in a bag with kitty litter and leave it on the dash or your car while in the sun. Suppose to leach it out. I didn't bother doing that with my last one though.
Actually haven't even shot that SKS since I bought it and cleaned the cosmo off.
 
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