Mosin 91/30 Barrel band removal

[mosinmaster]

Mine are stuck on tight, but I don't want to scrape the shellac finish by forcing them off. What do you guys recommend to loosen them off? I heard dish soap should let it slide off..

 

[ciphery]

My M44 needed a little expansion with a pair of expanding C-clip pliers. I inserted th tip into the split on the band and squeezed the pliers to expand the band then slipped it off.

 

[mosinmaster]

I got them off using some soap, heating the area with a blow dryer for a couple minutes, and then used the handle of a screw driver to hit a thick hi-lighter pen angled on the band. Dislodged the stubborn rear barrel band.

Now to the cosmoline removal!

 

[ghostntheshell]

Mine scraped off shellac. I'm not sure you can really remove it easily