A dry film of it on the mags isn't going to hurt anything. Click below for a FREE LESSON! Simple Green has never worked that well for me. Use a hair dryer on the stock and wipe it down until clean. Cosmoline can be dipped or brushed onto the firearm at temperatures between 140 and 160 degrees F. While it can be dipped into hotter melts it's not necessary and is done, generally, to allow more firearms to be dipped without cooling the liquid. Cosmoline is a pain to remove though I found a heat lamp to work well to remove most of it without much effort. This can be done with a simple rag and some elbow grease. I just go to the car wash and hit it with the degreaser setting then rinse setting. For rifles like the SKS with a free-floating firing pin, its a critical place to make sure you got REALLY clean. 2. WD-40 does indeed have 50% mineral spirits, but they are refined and purified for specific characteristics needed to meet todays performance, regulatory and safety requirements. The protective layer was thick, tough and not easy to remove. machine guns to get them ready for action. Cosmoline can create a dangerous situation with your firearm. Physically, Cosmoline is brown in color and comes in various viscosities and shear strengths. Kurt is a Gunsmith, Reloader, Hunter, and Outdoorsman. Acetone, mineral spirits, or kerosene (but avoid the latter when possible, or when your firearm has been painted or blued). There are a ton of ways to do it and most work great. No finish injured, wood stocks like-new (it cooks Cosmoline out of the wood grain), and IT'S CHEAP! When I began removing the cosmoline from my new Precision Matthews PM-1440GT lathe, it was a little daunting. Remove the stock, get a few tooth brushes and start dousing and scrubbing the metal. Dissembling can make the process somewhat easier but it isnt absolutely necessary. We have purchased closed to 20, mostly Chinese SKS"s, all of which were coated with cosmoline. 3. connect4education register; don't be a felix cdcr video; westfield knox redevelopment 2020 We used our same bore brush to ram out the gas tube as well and while its not as critical to get this part as sparkling clean as the barrel, you obviously dont want any obstructions in the cavity that your piston sits within. I use fluid film on all my cars, but fluid film won't hold up under a car for more than six months without re-applying it. (Demonstration video coming soon). If you'd like to consider an effective Cosmoline Remover in aerosol, please see our, RP-342 "HEAVY" Military-Grade Rust Preventive Spray, COMBO OFFER: RP-342 Aerosols (Mix & Match), Cosmoline Direct VCI Paper Rolls (for Ferrous Metals), Cosmoline Direct VCI Industrial Paper Sheets (Pre-Cut). METHOD #2: Soak Parts in Cosmoline Remover. Nylon brush. These two things together will help dislodge and remove the remaining traces of Cosmoline, along with a fair amount of elbow grease. Never miss a post! Weve got a dedicated section for the AR-15 here. He is a firm believer in the freedom of exercising constitutional rights, and that includes the right of every law-abiding citizen to own and carry a gun. Purchased a SKS Type 56 that was so loaded with Cosmoline that the sales person would not even touch it. A lot less toxic than brake cleaner, naphtha, and acetone. Basically this was the in thing to do prior to the plastic wrapping OEM`s use now. We wound up using about ~3 cans of cleaner total per rifle, using a general spray vigorously and begin wiping down method. While our small parts soak, we took the barrelled action and receiver outside to just absolutely douse in brake cleaner. He grew up in Elk County, Pennsylvania, where he became obsessed with the world of firearms. Kerosene is petroleum-based and will not hurt the metal or metal finish. Cosmoline Removal Wd40 ; Conclusion ; What Removes Cosmoline? A couple of hours in the hot seat predictably allowed a ton of cosmoline that had been locked inside of the wood fibers the opportunity to seep out to the surface. The more you wash and rinse the rifle, the more creep will appear. However, it might not be necessary if you have no intentions of shooting it. I generally disassemble the gun into it's primary components first. You would tie an old shoelace to a receiver, a gear, a bolt assembly, whateverdrop it in a pre-prepared tank of boiling water, watch the clock, and remove. After his military service, he attended the Colorado School of Trades(CST) in Lakewood, CO for gunsmithing. Very fast and efficient. There are lots of options and choices you can make, but what we used were: Specifically, weve got 3 surplus Type 56 carbines that we picked up from Palmetto State Armory which are essentially Chinese domestic clones of the Soviet SKS with a few minor tweaks here and there. I'll do better next time. Halogen lamps do the trick or me. A little spark/open flame & gas vapors can be a recipe for personal disaster, even outside. The first step you need to do is to gather the things youll need for this cosmoline removal. A couple of blasts of WD-40 helped out . 1 Place a part in a solvent compatible container and spray down with brake cleaner. The metal gets put through hot boing water and simple green. Here are the stuff youll need: Avoid using gasoline and harsh chemical solvents as your cleaner because that can strip paint and other coatings from the guns surface. Worked great. WD40 is designed to evaporate of surfaces. just cosmoline removed easy. The water will melt the Cosmoline off the bolt, and the Cosmoline will rise to the surface. Cosmoline melts at temperatures ranging from 115 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. If you plan to fire the firearm, it absolutely needs to be removed for the reason stated above. It wouldn't damage the metal bluing either. Also, this is perfect to use in the bore and chamber area as it will not attack metal. Today, you can find literally hundreds of recipes, formulas, tips, trick and strategies online for removing our favorite rust preventative coatingbe careful though, some of these "solutions" are more credible than others. Which is just fine if your gonna leave her as it with the finish. */ It should be treated as a bore obstruction and removed prior to firing. Brake cleaner and acetone will dissolve nearly anything but often they evaporate before you can get the gunk off and you are back where you started. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Military surplus firearms are typically very easy to fully disassemble with minimal tools, making it a pretty painless job. So if you need to store your firearms long-term and protect them from moisture and corrosion, multiple options are available. Whatever their history was with the PLA prior to being locked in the goo grave for an indeterminate amount of time, they certainly werent babied. We made a trash can cosmo melter. Safety is a good tool for tyrants; no one can be against safety. Took days of cleaning for all the original proofs and markings to become visible. I bake all the stocks in a long homemade oven I made. Just be sure to oil thoroughly as soon as possible because it'll be bone dry when you're done. Saturate a clean cloth with Cosmoline Remover. Thanks! The cleaning process begins with removing as much of the Cosmoline as possible. Its the mess, gross and slimy petroleum that appears to be wrapped in every surface of firearms. Heat is an extremely effective way of removing cosmoline. Take this time to look over and inspect all of the parts for cracks and excessive wear. If you do it right, however, removing cosmoline preservatives can be easier than expected. Wipe off the WD40. This process is simple but very messy and should be done in a well-ventilated area. two weeks ago I used wd-40 to clean off cosmoline off a SAR-80 parts kit, I used it on the plastic stock and metal it worked real well and does not harm the bluing or crackle paint on the receiver stubs. WD40 is an expensive version of mineral spirits. This is obviously going to be one of the more critical parts of your cosmoline cleaning voyage, as any residue buildup you dont address is going to negatively affect the accuracy of the rifle once you get it out to the range. Hand-Picked Daily GUN DEALS, and Exclusive Coupons Codes >>>. Change the paper towel and put back at a slightly higher temp every cycle. Once youve got your barrel and receiver assembly cleaned up, you can check on your sweaty wood bois and see where theyre at. Following a wash-rinse cycle will help coax Cosmoline out from all the crevices and grooves, so repeat the process until your water runs clear and you can handle each part without it feeling greasy or oily. Kroil is known as The Oil That Creeps and has made quite a name for itself in the firearms industry. Because of the general porous nature of wood, chances are pretty decent that a good amount of grease has managed to penetrate the wood fiber itself, even if it retained its original finish. Using a rag, wipe the stock off. Let soak for at least 30 seconds. 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Be sure to re oil the parts. Use it if you don't happen to have kerosene. Is either of these acceptable? Consider this just a primer on how you might tackle a cosmoline cleanup job, but there are tons of ways to go about it. Ken 1942 GPW This is how to remove cosmoline in the most effective and efficient manner from your newly-acquired Moist Nugget or other military surplus firearm. Learn all the important stuff about handgunswith none of the attitude. Posted: 7/20/2014 7:07:20 AM EST [#2] This P17 was packed in cosmoline, wrapped in paper, and shipped to its destination like millions of other rifles. Go check them out at Oldsteelguns.com! Its chemical composition consists primarily of a homogenous mixture of oil-based, non-polar hydrocarbons. Back in the day, ethyl or "high test" gasoline was good stuff. When the grease came to the surface or began to run off, I hit the parts with Brake Kleen then put them back out in the sun again. The car was washed and dried, then taken back to the detail shop where the paint was buffed out, and a protective coating placed on all of the brightwork. That is why it is called CitriStrip. The wood I used Citristrip, it worked really well. Wipe it down with a rag with a little denatured alcohol on it. I know this is not an easy process, its messy, and will most likely cause a little . Heat gun is a total saver. What is Cosmoline? There are few procedures that you can use to remove and clean cosmoline from your military surplus guns. I found some PD680 from a chemical company, but it must be neutured or something because it doesn't smell the same and doesn't work anywhere near what the older stuff did back in the '90's. The Enfield P1917 above is a perfect example. Use an air gun to blow the cleaning fluid off after you finish, then apply lube as needed. This causes an issue as brass expands and contracts on firing. They have an impressive inventory of nearly 1,500 historical firearms and an outstanding selection of uniforms, bayonets, and odd ammunition. You don't realize how many times you say it until you record yourself without ade. Depending on the gun youre working on, this may or may not be a concern. The protective layer was thick, tough and not easy to remove. I've read that I should use mineral oil or WD40. I got a pvc pipe filled it with mineral spirts and soaked the metal. With the Type 56, we broke the guns down into their main field-strippable components: rifle stock, barreled action, bolt carrier, assembly, trigger assembly, magazine, op rod, etc. A & L Cosmoline Remover will quickly and easily remove petroleum-based transit coatings and cosmoline from vehicles. It's thin or thickly applied depending on the monkey with the sprayer that particular day and is either easy or hard to get off depending on which monkey sprayed your car. Afterward, you can dry out your gun and finish it with lube. I cleaned a heavily soiled 37 bSw last week, I use Krud Kutter. We finally discovered the quickest way to remove the cosmoline was to fill up a teapot with water, bring to boil, then slowly pour the boiling water onto the SKS.