Kosmolene

Z

zxcvbob

New member
The Tokarev ammo and spare magazines that I ordered came today. Holy moly. The mags were *packed* with brown cosmolene and wrapped in greasy waxed paper. I've got most of it out with gasoline and a chip brush, then a blast of cmpressed air. But how to really get them clean without taking them apart?

If I put them on a piece of newspaper and slowly heat with a hair dryer, will the stuff melt and drip out? (I don't want to hurt the spring with too much heat.) I could also use boiling water or my wife's steam-jet cleaner if that would work better.

Or I could soak them in some clean gasoline...
 
zxcvbob, I will do nothing to encourage you to use gasoline in an open container, I have plunge cans I have never used, (plunge can: fancy way to put gasoline on a rag without risking a spill)

In the old days rifles and Browning 50 Cal and 30 Cal MGs went to the shower, the petrol- chemical based cosmolene? was caught in the the grease trap, then the weapons were taken apart and oiled. The hair dryer should not produce enough heat to damage the springs, the air flowing through the heating elements is not in the dryer long enough, the hair dryer should have a thermal protection circuit that protects against overheating.

F. Guffey
 
If they are all steel then you can melt it off with a propane torch. the problem is that you used gas on them, so that probably isnt too smart.
 
Denatured alcohol dissolves the lanolin (the main ingredient) in cosmolene. If it's the main ingredient in Kosmolene is a different issue.

Try dunking & shaking in a container of it (Taking all fireproofing precautions.)
It may need to soak a little if it's really hardened.
 
Try soaking it in a tub or bucket of mineral spirits - it's an excellent solvent of cosmoline without being as poisonous or flammable as gasoline.
 
wogpotter,

"Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It is always brown in color, and can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 130-150 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flashpoint of 365 °F (185 °C)".

and if I wanted to burn cosmoline I would ignite it with a torch, it melts between 130-150 degree F.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmoline

F. Guffey
 
Thanks. I didn't remember if cosmolene (sp?) had any soap in it to prevent it from melting, like axle grease, or if it was just thick nasty vaseline.

(I'm using a small amount gasoline where there's no source of ignition; not even a lightbulb. But I'll switch to something less volatile now that I've got most of it under control.
 
Hair dryer won't come anywhere close to the heat needed for damage. Submerging them in boiling water would heat them far more, and still be nothing.

I don't like the hot water approach because I don't trust myself to get it all out of every nook and cranny. Any liquid petroleum distillate is going to act as a solvent; you could use diesel as it's less volatile than gas.

Taking apart the mags is very simple. Push up the little tab in the bottom and then slide the plate off the front. I know someone will complain, but I just used WD-40 since I didn't have any mineral spirits around, and then wrapped each piece in a paper towel to blot the residue off before reassembling.

Take apart the mag that came with the pistol and wasn't packed with cosmo, because it likely still has it underneath the follower and such.
 
The Tokarev ammo and spare magazines that I ordered came today. Holy moly. The mags were *packed* with brown cosmolene and wrapped in greasy waxed paper. I've got most of it out with gasoline and a chip brush, then a blast of cmpressed air. But how to really get them clean without taking them apart?

If I put them on a piece of newspaper and slowly heat with a hair dryer, will the stuff melt and drip out? (I don't want to hurt the spring with too much heat.) I could also use boiling water or my wife's steam-jet cleaner if that would work better.

Or I could soak them in some clean gasoline...
Click to expand...

Use a hairdrier
 
Zep Orange Peel Spray

I use it all of the time. My first experinces with it were at work cleaning industrial parts for conveyor motors, and forklift parts (all of which come slothered in cosmoline.) It is organic so no fumes, smells like oranges, does not mar plastic or wood, and can be purchased at Home Depot. I took a can home to clean up an SKS that my neighbor bought and it worked like a charm. Just remeber to oil all of the metal parts when you are done.
I buy it by the case because I use it on a lot of suff, so I always have a can handy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top