One more time for us newbies, how to clean a greased rifle?

chrisluh

chrisluh

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I know that everyone is tired of getting asked this question and that it has been posted before but I can not find any threads left on the subject so I need to ask again. I just got a Carcano that is just packed with grease and the wood looks like it needs a cleaning as well so I thought that I would ask again as I have bought several surplus rifles but have not had to really clean any yet (although my K98 could use a stock cleaning as it is a Russian capture and has not been cleaned yet). I have asked several guys here about the K98 and have been told to use mineral spirits (what would this be called in a store and which store could I find it in by the way?) but I have never really asked about packing grease before. The packing grease is sticky and gets on everything so I have just left the rifle in the box for now but it is so thick, I just can not figure out what is best to use. If you post to this thread, first let me say thank you for your help and second, please use name brand stuff I can find and not abbrevations as I am still learning this stuff. I remember a thread on what everyone did with their new surplus purchases to clean them up but can not find it so I guess that is kind of what I am looking for.
Thanks,
Chris
 
Mineral spirits is an oil based paint thinner, you can get it at crappy tire or any hardware store, same thing basically as varsol. It works well for cleaning stocks as well as removing cosmoline (that thick grease you speak of :lol: ). If there is dried on cosmo that doesn't want to come off with the mineral spirits, try some laquer thinner.
 
For the metal parts remove the gross amounts with newspaper and then clean with "Simple Grean Auto".
 
For REALLY oil soaked stocks, you can leech alot of it out with furniture stripper (like Poly Suppa Strippa gel) or acetone, but only do this in extreme cases as it will eat up patina and original finish like butter. For mildly dirty stocks, I like a light scrub with a nylon brush and ivory soap in hot water. Go easy - don't want to water log the grain. Let stand for at least 48 hours to dry when done. If any grain is raiser lightly rub with extra fine steel wool or wet sand VERY lightly with 600 or 800 grit - stay well away from cartouches.

For metal I like brake cleaner, acetone, or even hot boiling water. Combined with a light steel wooling, all can be effective. I knew one guy once who used hot water pressure washers to clean barelled actions - aprently it worked well. I'd suggest a good oiling after to displace any water. Something water soluble like ballistol would be ideal.
 
Are you married?

Do you own a dishwasher?

:D

Neal

I'm only partly kidding.... Just don't run any wood through the dry cycle, or it may crack.
 
I have used a pressure washer on the metal parts, and it really works well. Make sure the steel is dried and protected afterwards. Pressure washers are cheap enough that if you ask around, you might find a friend with one. Incidentally, make sure the bore is clear; never fire a rifle until the grease has been removed from the bore. Also, if there is grease in the bolt or firing mechanism, the rifle could freeze up in cold weather.
 
I used the gas from my lawnmower to clean a nagant's metal parts. Is this wise? Its didnt seem to to anything negative.. yet
 
another method i use because i live in an apartment is boiling water. hang the rifle parts with a coat hanger over the tub, boil up a few pots of water and then slowly pour them over the rifle. it works pretty damn good considering. the water evaprorates real fast and then let it cool for a bit and then oil down.
 
I second the boling water method. When I was de-cosmo'ing my sks I boiled most of the metal parts in water, then cleaned them up with some solvent (Hoppes). Really does work well, and it's cheap and easy to clean up when you're done.
 
I've cleaned two rifles now, an MN 91/30 and a Yugo SKS. Neither was really nasty, but the 91/30's cosmoline had hardened.

I disassemble the rifle and drop the small parts in paint thinner. Then I'll scrub the bigger metal parts with a toothbrush and paint thinner.

Wipe down the wood with naphtha. When the metal is dry, spray down with CLP and wipe off the excess.

Works pretty good.

NN
 
Varsol is a Canada only brand name for mineral spirits.(if you post on any U.S. forum, they won't have a clue what you're talking about if you call it varsol) Cosmoline is thick vaseline-like grease. Oil based. The best and easiest way to clean it off is to take out the bolt and drop the whole rifle into a tank of varsol and leave it there for 24 hours. Then wipe or brush it off with rags or a plastic brush. A tooth brush will get the hardened cosmoline off. Then do a regular cleaning for the steel and re-oil. Let the stock dry and apply some Boiled Linseed Oil(BLO). Both are readily available in any hardware store. No dumping any resulting sludge down the drain. It's toxic. Take it to a Hazardous Material disposal place.
Gasoline, aside from being far more expensive than Varsol, isn't a good thing to use. Nor is naptha. Neither will harm a firearm, but their both made for burning, not cleaning.
 
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