wtf cosmoline removal on an sks

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Kryogen

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emptied a whole can of brake cleaner on the barrel and stuff, cleaned parts in hot ultraosnic water with simple green for 2 hours, brushed the hell out of it all, and it's not even all clean yet.

What is the major issue with that crap, how do I get it off my rifle quick?
 
It's not bad for the gun. Clean it reasonably well, shoot it, and clean it after use. Any cosmoline still in there is protecting your SKS from corrosion.
 
If I don't buy a milsurp from TradeEx, which comes cosmo free, I soak the parts, and wipe it down with Varsol.
Then get the nooks and crannies with a tooth brush and Hoppes #9, then spray with WD-40. Don't use your own toothbrush.
 
Surrey Boy said:
It's not bad for the gun. Clean it reasonably well, shoot it, and clean it after use. Any cosmoline still in there is protecting your SKS from corrosion.
Click to expand...

this is what I did, clean the bore and make sure your firing pin moves freely and any surface gunk is removed from the exterior and trigger assembly etc. and go shoot it, after a few range trips and cleanings/oilings it wont be an issue.
I always read about people struggling with cosmoline, it has never caused me any frustration.... at all.
 
Its pretty basic to remove but takes some time. My way is to disassemble, wipe excess cosmo off with a rag, spray with WD40, wipe clean then spray with glass cleaner and wipe dry. The WD40 gets all the cosmo off but leaves its own residue that the glass cleaner takes care of. That way it isn't oily and smelling like WD40 for 2 weeks. Afterwards I wipe everything with oil to prevent rust. I use the same WD40/glass cleaner on the stock. There will still be cosmo in the rear sight base, under the handguard and in small nooks and crannies. It will melt and ooze out when the rifle gets hot. Just bring some rags to the range.
 
if it's in your stock, be prepared to work.

for all the metal parts i removed the cosmo from mine really easily.

boiling water. True Story
 
ZEP concentrated orange cleaner. Buy a 1L spray bottle and a 1 gallon jug.

Works great for cleaning corrosive ammo residue as well.
 
Take the rifle apart, put the parts and kitty litter in a garbage bag and let it sit in the sun. I put the bag behind the living room picture window. In a week there is no grease left. The intense heat will liquefy the cosmo and the kitty litter will absorb it. Then use hot soapy water to finish clean.
 
After my can of brake cleaner emptied its self way too quickly, I boiled some water and then poured it all over the metal parts, and down the barrel, then let it completely dry for a couple hours, then gave it a full coating of gun oil - spray can open nozzle - making sure to miss anything. Then wipe down with my cloth I use for cleaning to get any excess oil off. For the stock, I held it over the boiling water in the steam and kept flipping it over, wiping, flipping... Worked like a charm. I put the small parts directly in the boiling water, giving them constant attention, for about 2 or 3 mins. Then into the bag of rice they go.
 
I have had luck with the old Chu wood stocks and hardware on the M305 by coating the whole firearm in GoJo hand cleaner, (without pumice) then wrapping it in packing paper and then putting it in a black plastic bag in the hot sun for a day or two. It worked very well, and the hand cleaner and gunk all came off with a hot rinse of water.
 
Methyl Hydrate FTW. The procedure:

1) Detail strip
2) Wipe off as much as you can with rags/towels
3) Dip the parts in Methyl Hydrate (cookie sheet is perfect for the application) and go over them with a toothbrush
4) Let them soak a bit longer
5) Take them out and shake them dry

That should get the worst of it. Another option would be Kerosene as it's a top-notch degreaser, but when I use Kerosene, I do a final blast with brake cleaner. All in all, the job takes about 15min (plus the length of the soak - 30min at least) if you know what you're doing.
 
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