Noob Q's: Cleaning Rust from SKS

[slamman190]

Hey All,

I am a recent entry to the world of guns, so excuse me if the questions I have are really obvious... After a bit of research bought a 1954 sks refurb silver bolt for my first rifle as well as a crate of surplus. I took it out for the first time to a friends ranch and bang bang it works! Also note that at the time, it was kind of misting on and off, and we were shooting from a covered area, but still lots of moisture in the air.

From reading over the boards, I know I am supposed to clean the rifle after every use as the surplus is corrosive. So I set to taking apart the gun, and cleaning for the first time. (after watching youtube videos of course)
I was recommended to use wipeout for cleaning the gun, which seemed to work fine.

Question 1: I have noticed that when cleaning the inside of the chamber, the qtip/ rag comes out with orange on it, even though I can't see any rust. Is this rust, or some other residue?

If this is rust then Question 2: Is wipeout the right thing to use remove the rust, or should I use something different?

Question 3: It says right on the wipeout not to oil the barrel, is this also true for the other parts of the gun? I know I am not to oil the firing pin to avoid the slam fire issue, but do I oil the bolt carrier etc?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Dan

 

[shredder]

The orange stuff that you refer to sounds like the Cosmoline that protects the gun from rust while in storage. It's supposed to be cleaned out of the gun (that means a detail strip, not just the barrel and gas tube) before firing.

Did you strip and clean the gun BEFORE you fired it for the first time?

Yes, you want to oil the bolt carrier right where the rails are. Those rails are what the carrier moves back and forth on.

 

[MagnumPeanut]

Oil is fine. When cleaning you can use oils in the barrel, just use a dry patch after to get most of it out. You want oil or grease on the other parts. Lube is good, there is always time for lube.

Again the "rust" coming out may have been cosmoline, or actual rust from storage. Doubt it was rust tho as they are packed with cosmoline before storage.