Creative ways to get cosmoline out of an SKS hardwood stock? **update**

.22LRGUY

.22LRGUY

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Hey guys..got my first SKS five days ago and I've spent more time tinkering with it than I care to admit. Reminds me of being a kid and taking neat things apart just for the sake of doing it. Better than growing up with an XBox! :)

I got it torn down to the point where the barrel/action should come out of the stock without too much of a fight...but gave-up and put it all back together. Any tips welcome there. I suspect a little "elbow grease" and a firm talking-to will be the answer. lol

With respect to the stock~without a doubt...there is cosmoline in it and when I asked a buddy of mine how I ought to get rid of it, he said; "put it in the oven when your wife isn't looking". Apparently, sitting in the sun on a hot day will achieve the same thing...but hey, it's February and Southern Ontario decided it's time for winter to start. So....with those 2 options not possible, what are some other ideas? Can you (carefully) use a heat gun to warm it up a little? Looking for ideas...

Thanks!

7.62x39GUY
 
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I made a hot box with cardboard and a hair dryer. I would avoid a heat gun the heat from them is a little too direct.
If you can wait wrap the stock in newspapers and a black garbage bag and leave it in your car on a hot day.
 
I've used a heat gun on my mosin and plan on doing the same to my sks. Just don't get it too close for too long in one spot. If you do it can start to blister or even potentially burn if you were really negligent. Go slow have a bunch of paper towels and rags. I found more comes out from inside where there is no or little finish. Get what you can and more may come out on a hot day with lots of shooting. Bring more rags just in case. I've heard it called Devils snot. Enjoy!
 
Shoot it a lot, it will seep out on its own. I've honestly never really noticed either of mine have much seep out while out shooting and I've got them plent hot, hot enough to bubble shellac lightly.
 
Get a product called PST. Looks like laundry detergent. Get a container big enough to submerge the stock and add hot water and PST and stir it up. Put the stock in it for 1/2 or so (probably best to take out the action first ha,ha). When you take it out the stock a scum will have formed on it. Remove it with steel-wool and submerge again.
 
longbranch* said:
Get a product called PST. Looks like laundry detergent. Get a container big enough to submerge the stock and add hot water and PST and stir it up. Put the stock in it for 1/2 or so (probably best to take out the action first ha,ha). When you take it out the stock a scum will have formed on it. Remove it with steel-wool and submerge again.
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OP please don't use steel wool on wooden stocks. just shoot it, it will be fine.
 
Ebola said:
Dishwasher works great to get the cosmo out....
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I hope you're kidding about that.

To the OP, I have used a heat gun, but like another poster said, it is too direct. I stuck mine in the oven at the lowest setting and wiped it down every 10 min or so until it stopped oozing out.

If there is enough direct sun, wrap it in paper towels, stick it in a black plastic bag, set it in the sun, just make sure to seal the bag.

Other than going to a sauna with your gun stock, I am not sure what else I would try. The oven option is great as long as you don't let it drip inside all over.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys...greatly appreciated. Feels oily to the touch, and after I THOUGHT I'd wiped it all off with a rag...I left it on an old ratty T-Shirt overnight. The next day, that rag had orange-y stains on it from the cosmoline. It isn't terrible, but I'd like to get some out to minimize the oozing the first time the rifle actually GETS hot, so I may try the cardboard box idea.

Thanks again!
 
I used a heat gun on the low setting, the cosmoline bubbles to the surface and you have to wipe it off with a scottowel immediately before it soaks back in. It helps if you have a vice so both hands are free. Be careful not to scorch the wood.
 
longbranch* said:
Get a product called PST. Looks like laundry detergent. Get a container big enough to submerge the stock and add hot water and PST and stir it up. Put the stock in it for 1/2 or so (probably best to take out the action first ha,ha). When you take it out the stock a scum will have formed on it. Remove it with steel-wool and submerge again.
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Are you thinking of TSP, that is the cleaning product. Ive never heard of PST unless I'm in a checkout line.
 
Sorry I should explain that I had stripped the finish off first, not sure that is what you plan on doing in this case, here is what the naked laminate looks like with no cosmoline...

 
No, not planning on stripping/refinishing...just reducing the oily feel a little. :)

No comments on getting the barrel/action out eh? :)
 
Wrong time of year for this, but you can file it for "future reference" because once you start on the Red Rifle Road, you're usually in for a long drive (you will be buying more commie guns... it's inevitable).

Last few red rifles I've gotten, I stripped them down to clean the metal, and threw the stock into the rafters of the garage. Gets pretty hot up there in the summer. I'd pull it down in the late afternoon, give it a quick wipe down, then chuck it back into the rafters. Repeat it once a day for a week.

Bit of an "I'm not in a hurry" process, but very effective at sweating out the cosmo.
 
grelmar said:
Wrong time of year for this, but you can file it for "future reference" because once you start on the Red Rifle Road, you're usually in for a long drive (you will be buying more commie guns... it's inevitable).

Last few red rifles I've gotten, I stripped them down to clean the metal, and threw the stock into the rafters of the garage. Gets pretty hot up there in the summer. I'd pull it down in the late afternoon, give it a quick wipe down, then chuck it back into the rafters. Repeat it once a day for a week.

Bit of an "I'm not in a hurry" process, but very effective at sweating out the cosmo.
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Well...I am fighting the urge to buy an SKS-D gelmar..and I haven't even shot this one yet. :) Thanks for the tip! No warm garage this time of year of course, but no panic to do this either. If I can improve things even a little with a hair dryer, a cardboard box and some paper towels~I'll start there.

If anyone owns an SKS-D and would take a trade for some high-end fly fishing gear~please don't message me. I'm feeling weak. :)
 
Mine is probably the harshest way but it works great. I wiped mine down with Lacquer thinner and that cleaned it up great. Stunk to high hell but wiped that crap all off. I needed it clean enough to paint and that worked like a charm.
I needed it to Hydrograhpics 2 stocks and it worked great on both of them.
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Wiping stock just removes cosmoline and dirt from outside. Laminated sks stock that I butchered had finish removed and lightly sanded... but even then, after 3.5 hours in the oven at 170F, it kept oozing cosmoline, oil and I don't know what else. I had to stop because my wife was ready to decapitate me :]
 
Once the trigger group is removed (remember to have the safety lever all the way up in the "on" position) the magazine might require wiggling
to get it to pull out and then the barrel - receiver should be loose or just need a bit of wiggling to make it separate from the stock.

When putting it back together, wedging a shim between the stock and the back end of the reciever will push it up tight to the front cross bolt
and that seems to help with accuracy.
 
Magellann said:
Are you thinking of TSP, that is the cleaning product. Ive never heard of PST unless I'm in a checkout line.
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Sorry you're right. Worked really well on old misurp Enfields and Mausers I was collecting years ago. Light rubbing with steel-wool after to collect the scummy cozmo won't hurt a milsurp. Better than sanding.
 
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