New Mosin Owner

X

XD Gunner

New member
Just picked up a Mosin Nagant, 80 rounds of surplus, the "kit" and a bayonet for $112 OTD. The bad thins is that the gun came with about 13 and a half pounds of Cosmoline as well.

Has anyone tried the dishwasher method for removing this stuff? What would you recommend for cleaning the cosmoline off? I would also like to "repair" the stock some, as it has some dings and uneven staining. This isn't a collectors rifle, it's going to be shot, but I would like it took look good as well. I don't intend to ever sporterize it, but like a Classic Car, it deserves to look it best.

Thanks!
 
Kerosene works pretty well. I wouldnt use the dishwasher unless you want your mom or wife to beat you with it!:D
 
Please read THIS excellent thread


Remove the action from the stock, break the bolt down, and be sure to have PLENTY of shop rags or a roll of paper towels on hand.

Removing the stinky, evil stuff is made easier when the rifle is warm▬over 90*-100*

Non-chlorinated Brake or carb cleaner
Steamer
Heat gun
Hair dryer
Oven with drip-pan underneath

Cosmoline will be in every nook and cranny, and will leech out during your first couple of shooting sessions, so bring paper towels with you the first time you shoot the beast [you'll soon see what i mean :cool:]
 
There are a lot of different methods of removing cosmoline from your rifle. Some use hot water and soap, but that takes a lot of effort. Since you have a lot of cleaning to do, I would suggest you go out and get a gallon of turpentine. It makes removing the cosmoline easier. I would also suggest that you get a couple of brass brushes. One in .32 caliber for the barrel, and the other a 20 ga. for the chamber. Make sure you get the recesses in the chamber and the lug locking area of the reciever real good. This will help avoid the imfamous "sticking" chamber. Turpentine will also help draw out the cosmoline in the stock. Dont forget to tear down the bolt and thoroughly clean it too.

Enjoy your new rifle.
 
Congrats on your Mosin, and wanting to keep it "as issued".

Now if interested, I have the military manual (ORDI 7-101) on the Mosin on .pdf form that covers cleaning and breaking it down for cleaning. The bolt could be tricky without guidance.

Anyway if interested, pm me with your e-mail address and I'll get it to you.

Edit to add side note: Mine came with an excellent barrel, with quality ammo (winchester makes some at reasonable prices). Hand loads shoot better.

Shooting the surplus crap, in my opinion, discredits these old work horses that deserve a chance to show us they still have it in them.
 
Parts washer/soaker w/ kerosene

I soaked a yugo sks in it for 18 hours, scrubbed a little with a paint brush, then blew it off with an air gun. After thoroughly tearing the gun down and cleaning it, it's amazing. No cosmolene to be found anywhere, and I mean anywhere. Left stock off to dry thoroughly.
 
HEADS UP!!

I'd like to point out that it's especially important to remove all traces of cosmolene from any SKS, AK varient, or any com-bloc autoloader bolt, because if the firing pin is stuck forward, the rifle will likely discharge upon closing the bolt!

I've never heard of this happening with a Mosin, but there's always the possibility, so NEVER chamber a round with a firearm coated with cosmolene that hasn' yet been removed
 
Congrats on your new MN! All the advice above is good and I am sure once you get it throughly cleaned and pristine you'll enjoy the way it shoots.

When I got my 91/30 I used mineral spirits...filled an old plastic container with it, disassembled the bolt and trigger guard and let them soak in the container with mineral spirits. I used toothbrushes, lots of rags and qtips to clean out the chamber, stock and the rest of the components. Be mindful that the area where the barrel meets the receiver has a few tricky spots that you should ensure to clean properly...lots of cosmoline can be found there.

I live in AZ so I actually wiped down the stock the best way I could, brushed some of the build up off of it and then left it outside for a few hours in the heat, resting in some rags. Some of the cosmoline came off and was easy to clean up after that.

I personally don't like the sounds of the dishwasher method...it just seems to me like it has the potential to create more problems than it solves. Just my two cents though...i've read of people doing it with success, and to them I say "good job". I am not in a hurry to repair or buy a dishwasher so I pass.

I dunno about you...but I (and most people that i've interacted with here) find it fun to put some work into these old rifles and bring back their naturally given shine. A lot of detailed work familiarizes you with your new purchase and inspires pride in what you end up taking to the range.

Enjoy your rifle and post some pics of it when you can! :D
 
Kerosene works pretty well. I wouldnt use the dishwasher unless you want your mom or wife to beat you with it!
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Yeah, It seems that this rifle would make just as good of a bludgeoning weapon as it would a projectile weapon. It is, in the very least, "robust".

Congrats on your Mosin, and wanting to keep it "as issued".
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Thanks, I would like to make it a little better than "as issued" but I don't want to take away from the "as issued" aesthetics.

Mosin3.jpg

Mosin2.jpg

Mosin1.jpg


That's her. Haven't done anything yet, just pulled it out of the box. Thanks for the ideas guys, keep 'em coming!
 
if you need any ammo let me know..i know a guy that has about 300 rds
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Really? I plan on heading up to the Cass Scenic Railway this fall, we might have to do some business. What kind of money are we talking?
 
You can put Black Trash Bags under the rifle in a Car with the Windows rolled up, It will get hot eneough in there to boil the Cosmo out of the stock, Let it boil out, then wipe it down with alcohol, repeat until no more is boiling out, then refinnish your stock. Works good.
Gasoline will get the cosmoline off of the metal better than anything else I have tried.
Good luck, and welcome to the Mosin Club.:)
 
I prefer the leave-it-in-the-hot-sun-and-keep-wiping-it-off method. A tear down, and deep cleaning with a good solvent does wonders. It never gets all the crap stuck in the tiny crevasses, though. Those impossible-to-reach areas have to have the cosmoline sweated out.

I am absolutely not a fan of hot water dips for the same reason - the water can get trapped in the same areas the cosmoline doesn't want to come out of. If the metal isn't sealed properly, you'll have rust issues.

Sweat it out by baking; whether naturally (sun), or artificially (~150-180 degrees in an oven).

Edit to add side note: Mine came with an excellent barrel, with quality ammo (winchester makes some at reasonable prices). Hand loads shoot better.

Shooting the surplus crap, in my opinion, discredits these old work horses that deserve a chance to show us they still have it in them.
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I completely agree. My M38 hasn't seen a single round of surplus, since I bought it. It has fired 2 rounds of 180 gr SP Hot Shot brand factory ammo, and pierced the primers on both. It was extremely hot stuff. Everything else has been reloads. So far, I have only used .312-.313" bullets. The 174 gr and 150 gr Hornady SPs do well. Right now, I'm fine tuning a load with some 215 gr Woodleigh RN SPs (Weldcore) at about 1,800 fps. My M38 is a "short range, tight quarters" Elk carbine, so I need bullets that work, and work well at low velocity.
 
Some very good advice has been posted. I used a gasoline soak/wipe down for the trigger group and mineral spirits/elbow grease for the rest. Some of these old Russian beauties have a little Americana to them...my 91/30 was arsenal refinished. The main components (even bayonet) had all matching numbers...but the bolt head was Remington made. Go to 7.62x54r.net forums. There's some interesting history involved. And they are fun to shoot....but stick with the light ball or get a MN butt pad.
 
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