Cosmoline crud

[Timbob1]

Hi,
Just bought and recieved a yugo sks, and it is absolutely packed with cosmoline, and I mean everywhere! What is the easiest and most thorough way to get this stuff off and out of all the spaces?
Thanks for the advice.
Tim

 

[SKS Ray]

Do a search for cosmolene here and you'll find threads with tips on removal ideas and there is SKS info in the stickies located in the milsurp section.
For now I can say get a can or 2 of either WD40 or Break Free and lots of rags and a few old toothbrushes.

 

[Thunderbolt]

Hi Tim, what I had done was gone down to wally mart and purchased a jug of mineral spirits. Use a dishpan of some sort to poor some mineral spirits in and drop all the parts of the SKS in it to soak for a bit. A tooth brush does help with the stubborn stuff. Check out www.surplusrifle.com for help with the disassembly, because everything must come apart to do it right.

Thunderbolt

 

[vellnueve]

WD40 works wonders on cosmoline.

 

[OnTheRoad]

Don't know if it was here or another site but if you have loads of cosmoline in the rifle and/or if you plan on buying more cosmo-laden milsurps you can make a cosmoline removal chamber out of a couple metal trash cans and some light bulbs. The light bulbs heat up the inside of the trashcans where the rifle is hanging - the cosmoline melts when the temperature gets over like 120 degrees or so and drips right out. Once the heavy stuff is gone, go at it with mineral spirits, rags and old toothbrushes.

Someone here probably has a link...

 

[SKS Ray]

The last parts gun Yugo 59/66 I got had so much dried and caked cosmolene http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27565&page=7 that I figured I'd never get it all out. Luckily we were slow at the bdoy shop the last few days this week so with the help of the kerosene blow heater, some compressed air, a detailing scrub brush and some WD, I had the rifle's main areas clean in a half an hour.
I suspended the barreled receiver from a stand by wire and placed it about 5 feet in front of the blow heater. After around 5 minutes the cosmolene was loose and dripping off.

 

[Thor67]

I baked mine out. Smaller parts in a tinfoil "pan" in an old toaster over outside. Stock in the real oven inside (again, tinfoil "pan" to catch the cosmolene run-off).

Low temp - 125 degrees or so. Wiped down the stock every 10 - 15 mins.

No, it won't spontaneously combust at those temps.

Break the rifle down throughly before doing this, and there's almost no other effort with this method. Gun shoots and functions beautifully.

 

[Timbob1]

Thanks for all the input, it is appreciated, looks like I have some work ahead of me.

 

[dwarven1]

Hate to resurrect an old thread, but will SimpleGreen cut through the cosmoline?

My "new' IBM seems to have some seriously solidified and ancient cosmoline on it... and I've never dealt with this stuff before.

 

[vellnueve]

Is it like it's red on the metal and almost like some sort of weird finish? My Underwood has it too. I just shoot it anyway.

 

[SKS Ray]

Hate to resurrect an old thread, but will SimpleGreen cut through the cosmoline?

My "new' IBM seems to have some seriously solidified and ancient cosmoline on it... and I've never dealt with this stuff before.

Simple Green works but try some Break Free and an old toothbrush. At least of any Break Free seeps into hard to reach areas, its not a water based cleaner.

 

[redrandy]

Disassemble and put it into a dishwasher (including stock) add dishwasher detergent run full cycle with heat. My friends and I have done this to several SKS's with great results.

 

[dwarven1]

Disassemble and put it into a dishwasher (including stock) add dishwasher detergent run full cycle with heat. My friends and I have done this to several SKS's with great results.

Uh... I think my wife would shoot me with it once it's cleaned. If I can wait that long, I'll try it when she's on travel.

Ray, I thought that BreakFree was just a teflon based oil. It works to clean this stuff, too? (I can hear Dan Ackroyd in my head going "It's a gun cleaner; it's a dessert topping - it's both!)

Or maybe I'm thinking of TriFlow?

 

[JonJ]

Please don't put a wood stock into the dishwasher. Don't use EasyOff oven cleaner either.

 

[vellnueve]

- signed, Mrs. JonJ

 

[SKS Ray]

Uh... I think my wife would shoot me with it once it's cleaned. If I can wait that long, I'll try it when she's on travel.

Ray, I thought that BreakFree was just a teflon based oil. It works to clean this stuff, too? (I can hear Dan Ackroyd in my head going "It's a gun cleaner; it's a dessert topping - it's both!)

Or maybe I'm thinking of TriFlow?

You're thinking TriFlow.
Trust me on the Break Free. It has properties much like WD40 that helps it disolve glue from sticky price tags and removes other stuck on gunk including cosmolene.
I switched to using it as a milsurp clean up go to because like mentioned, any residue left over that seeps into the tight spots is just protectant and can be wiped away without re-oiling the area.

 

[SKS Ray]

Disassemble and put it into a dishwasher (including stock) add dishwasher detergent run full cycle with heat. My friends and I have done this to several SKS's with great results.

I've heard of people using the dishwasher method and have heard good and bad stories.
I know my local water is loaded with chemicals and sucks, but I myself would never put something like a gunked up milsurp rifle in my dishwasher. Not only because cosmolene is just plain nasty, but I can't count how many rifles I've cleaned that still contain heavy fouling in the gas tubes and bores. I'd buy an ultra sonic dunk tank before I chanced my next day dinner utensils tasting like Ivan's cosmolene dip.
Not only for those reasons but unless you have compressed air on hand to blast away left over water, its still in tight areas left to dry and to me that just spells bad.
The only hot water method I've used on barreled recivers (and this is with compressed air and oil nearby for follow up) is a hand held steamer that blasts steam to power wash cosmolene off a rifle. I may also simmer SKS parts on a pot of near boiling water on top of my wood stove if I'm cleaning one during the winter, but those are parts that I know I can dry and oil completely.

 

[LoginName]

Non-chlorinated brake cleaner works great for cleaning out cosmoline (I also use it as a general purpose gun cleaner for carbon fouling/deposits... followed by a wipe down with CLP).

Rags, tooth brush, Q-tips and tooth picks with cleaning patches for getting in the tight and hard to reach areas.

One other idea (I've never tried), is using a heat gun (the type for stripping paint).

Don't use EasyOff oven cleaner either.

I've read a few incidents about EasyOff discoloring the wood.

I've used it a number of times without any problems... spray it on, let it soak in no more than 5 minutes, wash and rinse it off with hot water and a scotch-brite pad in the tub.

I never use more than two applications (the second application I let soak in 2-3 minutes at most).

 

[SKS Ray]

One other idea (I've never tried), is using a heat gun (the type for stripping paint).

I did a rifle one day at work. Can't remember what type of rifle, maybe a Yugo K98 or Turk Mauser.
What I do remember is using a heat gun to melt away cosmolene. Of course I was also busy doing regular work and wound up suspending the barreled reciever on a parts stand above our kerosene blow heater.
It worked in the same way a heat gun does and literally melted the cosmolene until it was dripping off and all I had to do was wipe the gun down and brush out the small areas when I got home later that night.