Cosmoline... How do I get rid of it?
- Thread starter AR Man
- Start date
Blue Duck357
New member
Just chyming in for "Simple Green" too. I used Automotive Simple Green for my last gun and it worked fine with no harm to the woods finish, but you might want to test a small spot on yours first. The fact that it has virtually no smell is it's biggest advantage over most of the stuff mentioned.
Good Luck, Blue Duck
PS not to be nosey, but what kind of Mauser did you get?
PS PS is your wife happy with you? Does she like Ducks?
Good Luck, Blue Duck
PS not to be nosey, but what kind of Mauser did you get?
PS PS is your wife happy with you? Does she like Ducks?
I just went through the same thing with my 8mm. I used turpentine and a foam paint brush, to coat everything really good, and a toothbrush for the detail and nooks and crannies. Let it sit for a bit.
I then used a hose to spray off what I could.
The best part, my dealer has a 155,000 BTU kerosene heater, held the parts in front of that and heck, we even got the wood pretty cosmoline free.
I then used a hose to spray off what I could.
The best part, my dealer has a 155,000 BTU kerosene heater, held the parts in front of that and heck, we even got the wood pretty cosmoline free.
Just came across a post about how Simple Green causes hydrogen embrittlement on highly stressed steel parts.
The example given involved USAF landing gear failures!
I've lost the specific link, but a Google search turned up a few mentions of this phenomenon.
In short, don't use simple Green on firearms. Stick with kerosene, paint thinner (mineral spirits), WD-40, whatever. Just not Simple Green.
The example given involved USAF landing gear failures!
I've lost the specific link, but a Google search turned up a few mentions of this phenomenon.
In short, don't use simple Green on firearms. Stick with kerosene, paint thinner (mineral spirits), WD-40, whatever. Just not Simple Green.
AR Man - Hands down the best way to remove cosmoline from wood is as follows (done this on over 30 rifles): Douse all wood parts with boiling water. Then spray liberally with oven cleaner, the stuff without lye. Let this soak in for 15 minutes, then scrub with a toothbrush. Rinse the wood with boiling water and rub off the surface wetness with old rags. Let the stock air dry for about an hour, then rub it down with acetone (be carful not to breath the vapors or get this stuff on your skin). Let the stock again sit for an hour or so. Then lightly go over the entire surface with 0000 synthetic steel wool (has no oil residue). Don't ever use sandpaper on an old military stock; that can remove any cartouches and other "character" marks. The hot water soaking will raise many if not all dings in the stock. Any remaining dings that are not too deep can be raised by placing a wet cloth over the ding and applying a hot steam iron to it briefly. When done, let the wood sit for a week so that it dries completely. For a real nice authentic military finish on your Mauaser, apply three to five coats of boiled linseed oil, rubbing is briskly and waiting at least 24 hours between each coat. While you are waiting for the last coat to dry, mix up the following: equal parts of boiled linseed oil, turpentine and bees wax. This you will apply as a finish coat and it will give the wood that real nice satin sheen and provide great protection. Apply this mixture to the stock at least once a year or sooner if exposed to adverse weather.
Have fun!
BTW - Kerosene works great in removing cosmoline from metal, as does brake cleaner, carb cleaner, gun scrubber, etc. - all hydrocarbon based. Please dispose of the residue safely.
Noban
Have fun!
BTW - Kerosene works great in removing cosmoline from metal, as does brake cleaner, carb cleaner, gun scrubber, etc. - all hydrocarbon based. Please dispose of the residue safely.
Noban
Roadrunner
New member
I've got another method of cleaning off the cosmoline, no noxious fumes or boiling water to deal with. Try using 90% Isopropyl Alcohol. You can pick up a bottle at most drugstores or supermarkets. I used it on my M-1 Garand and H&R M12 .22 rifle, both from the CMP.
If possible, removed the stock from the rifle. Soaked a rag with some alcohol and rubbed down the stock. It took a couple of applications, but I was left with a clean stock to refinish.
If possible, removed the stock from the rifle. Soaked a rag with some alcohol and rubbed down the stock. It took a couple of applications, but I was left with a clean stock to refinish.
Blue Ducks 357
Blue Duck you wrote
Just chyming in for "Simple Green" too. I used Automotive Simple Green for my last gun and it worked fine with no
harm to the woods finish, but you might want to test a small spot on yours first. The fact that it has virtually no smell
is it's biggest advantage over most of the stuff mentioned.
Good Luck, Blue Duck
PS not to be nosey, but what kind of Mauser did you get?
PS PS is your wife happy with you? Does she like Ducks?
She gave me one of those Yugo 48's can't say to much about it right now trying to get all the cosmoline off! It is in good mechanical shape bore is excellent, I am a little dissapointed in the stock it is very dark. I am looking for more info on mausers and parts do you know of any.
Sorry my wife is happy with me and she prefers phesants over ducks especially the ones I shoot!
My sister lives in Missouri (Lebanon) is that near you?
Blue Duck you wrote
Just chyming in for "Simple Green" too. I used Automotive Simple Green for my last gun and it worked fine with no
harm to the woods finish, but you might want to test a small spot on yours first. The fact that it has virtually no smell
is it's biggest advantage over most of the stuff mentioned.
Good Luck, Blue Duck
PS not to be nosey, but what kind of Mauser did you get?
PS PS is your wife happy with you? Does she like Ducks?
She gave me one of those Yugo 48's can't say to much about it right now trying to get all the cosmoline off! It is in good mechanical shape bore is excellent, I am a little dissapointed in the stock it is very dark. I am looking for more info on mausers and parts do you know of any.
Sorry my wife is happy with me and she prefers phesants over ducks especially the ones I shoot!
My sister lives in Missouri (Lebanon) is that near you?
Scrubbing Bubbles!
Dow Bathroom Cleaner AKA "Scrubbing Bubbles" is an easy way to take the cosmoline out of the wood. It requires almost no effort at all. No scrubbing and it does not discolor the wood. Just stand the stock up in the bathtub, spray and let sit. Rinse and let dry. Apply again as required. Money-saving hint: the generic versions of the Dow cleaner are exactly the same thing and cheaper. About 99 cents per can.
I haven't tried it on the metal parts, but there's no reason it would harm them, since cleaning metal and porcelain is what the stuff's designed to do. I'd remove the action from the stock before dousing, however.
Dow Bathroom Cleaner AKA "Scrubbing Bubbles" is an easy way to take the cosmoline out of the wood. It requires almost no effort at all. No scrubbing and it does not discolor the wood. Just stand the stock up in the bathtub, spray and let sit. Rinse and let dry. Apply again as required. Money-saving hint: the generic versions of the Dow cleaner are exactly the same thing and cheaper. About 99 cents per can.
I haven't tried it on the metal parts, but there's no reason it would harm them, since cleaning metal and porcelain is what the stuff's designed to do. I'd remove the action from the stock before dousing, however.
fedl68, I hope that was a Russian SKS, you know how them chinese get 
.
Now I haven't tried this method, but it sounds good: Buy a wallpaper tray (it's long and narrow and perfect for soaking a gunstock), and a couple of gallons of Coleman fuel. Soak your stock in it (outside of course). Then while the stock is still wet, bury it in lime (the same kind they make lines with on football fields). The lime will leach the solvent and cosmo right out.
I too got an M48 for Christmas, but it wasn't that bad as far as cosmoline, so I just soaked it with a little mineral spirits, and scraped off the finish with a carbide scraper, then rubbed it with #0000 steel wool. If you use steel wool, be sure you don't get the stock wet with water though, because any steel wool residue imbedded in the stock will rust and cause spots on the wood.
.Now I haven't tried this method, but it sounds good: Buy a wallpaper tray (it's long and narrow and perfect for soaking a gunstock), and a couple of gallons of Coleman fuel. Soak your stock in it (outside of course). Then while the stock is still wet, bury it in lime (the same kind they make lines with on football fields). The lime will leach the solvent and cosmo right out.
I too got an M48 for Christmas, but it wasn't that bad as far as cosmoline, so I just soaked it with a little mineral spirits, and scraped off the finish with a carbide scraper, then rubbed it with #0000 steel wool. If you use steel wool, be sure you don't get the stock wet with water though, because any steel wool residue imbedded in the stock will rust and cause spots on the wood.
Blue Duck357
New member
Hey AR, before you go trying to put this duck in a pot you're gonna have to get all that cosmiline out of the bolt too. If you don't break down the bolt and clean it out good your gonna get a lot of misfires (my Yugo was having about 90% dud's until I realized what was going on.) Cleaned the bolt really well and now have only had 2 misfires in 140 rounds of 50 year old ammo.
Visit http://www.mitchellsales.com there you can download the whole Yugo 48 manual for detailed instructions on how to take the bolt down (it's real simple).
If even after cleaning, your stock is not up to your expectations you may want to post back before doing anything drastic. I was about to refinish mine when I got posting with a gentlemen who did wood working for a living and he warned me that nearly all of these guns have teak stocks which apparently requires a different procedure than most common woods we deal with. Something about the wood "balling up" instead of turning to dust when you try to sand it but I don't remember exactly.
As for your sister I'm about 140 miles south east of her. Is she married? Does she buy Yugo's for X-mass? Does she like Ducks?
Regards, Blue Duck
Visit http://www.mitchellsales.com there you can download the whole Yugo 48 manual for detailed instructions on how to take the bolt down (it's real simple).
If even after cleaning, your stock is not up to your expectations you may want to post back before doing anything drastic. I was about to refinish mine when I got posting with a gentlemen who did wood working for a living and he warned me that nearly all of these guns have teak stocks which apparently requires a different procedure than most common woods we deal with. Something about the wood "balling up" instead of turning to dust when you try to sand it but I don't remember exactly.
As for your sister I'm about 140 miles south east of her. Is she married? Does she buy Yugo's for X-mass? Does she like Ducks?
Regards, Blue Duck
you mit like to look at this it call De-Solv-It you can find it at http://www.botachtactical.com