But I have to wait until 7:30 PM to go and pick her up at UPS when the truck gets back there. Guess there's an FA-10 in my future tomorrow. Will try to get pictures up soon! Do they all come oozing cosmoline?
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My Yugo SKS Has Arrived
- Thread starter tele_mark
- Start date
I have a large blue plastic tub from walmart with 3 gallons of kerosene in it for washing the cosmoline off the metal parts. I just disassemble the sks and into the kerosene the metal goes while i wash the stock with rubbing alcohol to get all the cosmoline out of it too. After the metal parts have been soaking for a while i will use a soft parts washing brush to get the thicker cosmoline off then i let it soak overnite. The yugo cosmoline is soft greasy type cosmo and it does come right off. Once everything is clean of most of the cosmo i wash it again with the orginal G.I. Rifle Bore Cleaner.
The albanian sks's were the worst with cosmoline and it took 4 or 5 days of soaking to get it off with lots of brushing inbetween. This cosmo was old and rock hard on the metal and the wood.
The albanian sks's were the worst with cosmoline and it took 4 or 5 days of soaking to get it off with lots of brushing inbetween. This cosmo was old and rock hard on the metal and the wood.
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take out the bolt and soak it over night to melt out the cosmo...or disasemble it to clean. Soaking is easier. Ya gotta do this to make sure the firing pin is free inside the bolt. After soaking and draining, the pin should rattle around in the bolt.
Firing pin sticking out = slam fires.
Firing pin sticking out = slam fires.
Thanks for the cosmo tips guys. I'm really interested in how bad it is when I se it, but I'm planning on hitting the harware store this week for needed cleaning supplies.
On the firing pin -- I've been lurking on sksboards the last few days, and today I picked up on the following. Would this be worthwile if I plan on using reloads with soft primers?
http://www.murraysguns.com/sksown.htm
On the firing pin -- I've been lurking on sksboards the last few days, and today I picked up on the following. Would this be worthwile if I plan on using reloads with soft primers?
http://www.murraysguns.com/sksown.htm
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
I've been telling you folks for months now.... $30 gets you a hand held steam cleaner from Wal Mart. The steam is so hot it melts/blasts away grease, leaves the metal parts squeaky clean, and the metal gets so hot it dries instantly. Break Free works for getting in there and disolving grease also, plus protects the metal. Both are alot easier on the nose and skin that using Kerosene. I used to use Ed's Red faithfully and now only resort to it when i'm lazy and want stuff to soak clean.
As for small parts like the bolt conponents and springs... put them in an old pot of hot water. Get it to boiling temp and take it off the heat, let it cool and remove your parts which will be completely degreased.
BTW, i've gotten to be a cosmolene connoisseur over the years and find Turkish blend the smoothest and most aromatic when it comes to cleaning and degreasing milsurps. The Yugo stuff on the other hand is bitter smelling and more petroleum type based. After degreasing a stock with steam or hot water, Formby's Lemon Oil works best for restoring finish and keepin it clean +original.
BTW, you also mentioned soft primers and reloads... thats like saying you voted for Kerry. Its just plain wrong and will get you in some trouble. Even the loosest SKS firing pin still rides against a primer and can cause uncontrolable full auto fire when chambering a round. Save your gun, and possibly yourself and invest in some Russian military ammo. Even at $4 a box until you can pick up a case for decent money, you'll be safe and using whats recomended for that rifle.![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
As for small parts like the bolt conponents and springs... put them in an old pot of hot water. Get it to boiling temp and take it off the heat, let it cool and remove your parts which will be completely degreased.
BTW, i've gotten to be a cosmolene connoisseur over the years and find Turkish blend the smoothest and most aromatic when it comes to cleaning and degreasing milsurps. The Yugo stuff on the other hand is bitter smelling and more petroleum type based. After degreasing a stock with steam or hot water, Formby's Lemon Oil works best for restoring finish and keepin it clean +original.
BTW, you also mentioned soft primers and reloads... thats like saying you voted for Kerry. Its just plain wrong and will get you in some trouble. Even the loosest SKS firing pin still rides against a primer and can cause uncontrolable full auto fire when chambering a round. Save your gun, and possibly yourself and invest in some Russian military ammo. Even at $4 a box until you can pick up a case for decent money, you'll be safe and using whats recomended for that rifle.
OK, I picked her up from UPS a few minutes ago. Please forgive these gruesome pictures, this was minutes after pulling the rifle out of the box. While not as bad as I thought it would be, it's pretty covered in cosmolene, so it's in the most appropriate place right now. Hopefully soon these will be known as the "before" pictures:
Unfortunatly, I can't tell what the bore looks like yet, but I can make out the rifling very well through the cosmoline, so hopefully everything is well in there. What is the best way to clean the bore?
On steamers, I happen to have this:
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=162207
Downstairs, and I have used it as a steam cleaner by pulling the wallpaper plate off and just using the hose, which shoots out a high pressure steam stream.
So Milsurp -- I take it reloading for an SKS is a no no then, even with an aftermarket sprung firing pin? How about if using the CCI milspec primers I read about, #34 I think, or is it just something that's not done?
Unfortunatly, I can't tell what the bore looks like yet, but I can make out the rifling very well through the cosmoline, so hopefully everything is well in there. What is the best way to clean the bore?
On steamers, I happen to have this:
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=162207
Downstairs, and I have used it as a steam cleaner by pulling the wallpaper plate off and just using the hose, which shoots out a high pressure steam stream.
So Milsurp -- I take it reloading for an SKS is a no no then, even with an aftermarket sprung firing pin? How about if using the CCI milspec primers I read about, #34 I think, or is it just something that's not done?
Coyote33 said:
I just mix it in with my drain oil from my car and turn it in at the recycle center oil is oil samey same.
I just washed my yugo stocks with alcohol till they were free of cosmoline/oil. You shouldn't need any steaming unless there are dents/dings.
My wife just purchased me a new clothes $8 iron for steaming. I have been steaming the dings and dents out of my swiss k31 rifle stocks. I never thought that steaming was so easy and they look so good. On the swiss rifles that have hardley any finish left i sand them down to clean wood free of the old finish. Then i boil a sauce pan with water and take the iron with a large towel and a wash cloth. I lay the stock on the large towel and take the wet wash cloth and dip it in the hot water and lay it over the ding or dented area and then apply the iron for a while. I check it inbetween steaming it with a 100grit sand paper to see if the ding or dent is flush with the rest of the stock, once its flush and clean i will move to the next area and repeat till the whole stock is clean and free of most of the small dings and dents. Then it sits maybe for a day or two till its good and dry. Then i apply the first coat of Behlen MASTER Solar Lux stain and resand the stock with fine sand paper 220, while looking for sanding marks from the coarser paper to get rid of them with the finer grit paper, then 320 then stain it again and go with course steelwool, then stain again and use fine steelwool then apply the formby's tung oil finish.
Funny my last swiss rifle had sanding marks on it when i got it and the swiss crown on the wood can just be seen its almost gone from when the swiss sanded it. So these have been refinished already.
Now I know the secret about why some guys on the other forums post pics of all there guns and why they all look so good its because they have steamed the stocks till they got perfection. Now thats why they all look like new/unissued. I beat my head against the wall thinking why does this guy have all the great looking guns? Lets face it its impossible to have them all look so good without refinishing them. Ok i accept a few unissued or rearsenalled but not some of the older ones and not all of them all the time.
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tele_mark said:OK, I picked her up from UPS a few minutes ago. Please forgive these gruesome pictures, this was minutes after pulling the rifle out of the box. While not as bad as I thought it would be, it's pretty covered in cosmolene, so it's in the most appropriate place right now. Hopefully soon these will be known as the "before" pictures:
Unfortunatly, I can't tell what the bore looks like yet, but I can make out the rifling very well through the cosmoline, so hopefully everything is well in there. What is the best way to clean the bore?
On steamers, I happen to have this:
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=162207
Downstairs, and I have used it as a steam cleaner by pulling the wallpaper plate off and just using the hose, which shoots out a high pressure steam stream.
So Milsurp -- I take it reloading for an SKS is a no no then, even with an aftermarket sprung firing pin? How about if using the CCI milspec primers I read about, #34 I think, or is it just something that's not done?
Sure you can reload for any sks using the CCI #34 Nato primers. They are recomended for all military semi-auto's that have floating firing pins so slam fires won't occur. I load all my military semi auto calibers with CCI 34 primers even if i shoot them in my bolt actions too. This way i'm sure no accidents can happen by having two different reloads. I also use IMR 4895 for all of the semi-auto's too it has the correct burn rate for the cycle timing on the military semi-auto's too.
telemark...ive decosmolined so many rifles that i came to love cosmoline...i use it for aftershave every now and then...the best way to get the cosmoline out of the stock is to cook it...yes...thats right...cook it...wrap the stock in el cheapo rags like terry clothe...then wrap it tight with a few layers of aluminum foil...after that put the pieces in your grill...set it to low or even medium and rotate the pieces on the grill every now and then...the process can usually be repeated a few times...youll know when you got all the cosmoline out when the rags are dry and cosmoline free...trust me it works and is alot less messy than most methods...youll realize just how much cosmoline that stock is saturdated with after you see the rags
I don't know why, but something told me I'd better buy one of these now, or I might lose the chance at these prices if I didn't. I can understand a little better now why the ones I see in shops, such as FS, go for $200+. It's because there's quite a bit of labor involved in getting one like this into the conditions you see the "turn key" SKS's in.
Now about those Nagants that are so "plentiful".
Oh crap......
Now about those Nagants that are so "plentiful".
Oh crap......
I think the affordablility and the supply of Yugo sks's is holding the overall prices down on the other sks's right now. Once the supply of yugo's runs out i'm sure you will be glad you purchased yours at the right time and i think there will be a big increase across the board on all the sks's. Right now you may want to grab a Yugo M59 sks too there are still some around if you want to collect a few different sks's. Yup there are some purdy mosins around right now too at very affordable prices too. With the supplies of the surplups running low more and more now is the time to make a move and get what you want while its not too late yet. I can't wait to see the current gun show prices soon at the BIG E.
I have a yugo m59 sks that was used in the last war over there and its 1 out of 3 that continues to bleed cosmoline out of the stock to this day. While i repeated to wash it many times it still is wet when i take it out of the safe. But it bleeds less and less and i may try the black plastic bag in the sun trick next when it gets hot here again. I also have an enfield No1 MkIII that is the sameway too. These stocks remind me of the garand and '03 stocks that are well preserved. During the winter another trick is top put them near the wood stove too just close enough to heat the stock but you need a drip pan and th estock has to be elevated in the pan so the butt won't suck it back up as it flows out. I doubt i'll ever be able to tung oil up these stocks but thats ok as long as i got some of the cosmoline/oil out of it.
On any sks we buy we must remove the firing pin from the bolt and clean out the bore in the bolt and clean the pin so slam fires won't occur. Some are lazy and just soak the bolt overnite and yes the firing pin feels free but it can stick at anytime and go into full auto. I clean every sks i buy wether its used or new. Most of the used sks's i have seen still had cosmoline inside the receiver and gas system that means the firing pins/bolts were never cleaned too. We must respect these little sks's and clean them correctly so no accidents will ever occur. That little shoe type keeper on the bolt that holds the firing pin in location can be a real bugger sometimes to get out too. I place the bolt on two pieces of oak wood with a space (opening inbetween) so the keeper can come out when we hit it with a punch to take it apart. If its tough hit it a tad harder and it will come out. Remember the shoe part down and the end that is round up so thats the part we have to push out. We also have to watch which way the firing pin comes out and goes back in too. We also have to watch which way we put the recoil spring back in too. The snake curved part goes in first so the straighter part is towards the back(shooter).
I like to moly up all my sks's too. I put moly on the bolt carrier, bolt, inside the receiver, trigger sear and on the piston and gas tube too just a little will do. Moly can take the heat and when its gone inside the gas tube its still in the pores of the metal protecting it against wear.
Moly eliminates all wear, reduces friction, prevents galling, stays wet and were we put it, it fights corrosion, it doesn't attract dirt and its ready to rock n roll anytime even after long term storage. The gun will cycle faster and smoother and it can lessen the trigger pull by up to 50% right away and even more as it works in too. Moly works into the pores of the metal and actually wears against itself there is no metal to metal contact thus the wear is completely eliminated. With no metal to metal contact there is even less friction too. The bottomline is if your seeing wear and more wear everytime you clean your gun with your present lube that your using lets face it your lube isn't working. In my orginal sks from the late 80's the rails were the bolt carrier rides still is blued there is no wear to be seen to this day and its my favorite sks to shoot all the time too. I use moly in all my guns, rifles, semi-auto's and bolt actions, in my revolvers and pistols too. On the trigger sears its like getting an expensive trigger job just by using a lube. Once you try it you will never use anything else. There is no lube that can do what moly does its the best lube on the planet. Its sad that i see so many used guns that have wear and it could of been prevented by using moly. Your guns will last forever, well past your lifetime.
In our sks's and AK's that have chrome lined barrels of course the receivers will wearout in time first and by using moly it brings up the life of the receiver parts equal if not better than the life of the barrel.
On any sks we buy we must remove the firing pin from the bolt and clean out the bore in the bolt and clean the pin so slam fires won't occur. Some are lazy and just soak the bolt overnite and yes the firing pin feels free but it can stick at anytime and go into full auto. I clean every sks i buy wether its used or new. Most of the used sks's i have seen still had cosmoline inside the receiver and gas system that means the firing pins/bolts were never cleaned too. We must respect these little sks's and clean them correctly so no accidents will ever occur. That little shoe type keeper on the bolt that holds the firing pin in location can be a real bugger sometimes to get out too. I place the bolt on two pieces of oak wood with a space (opening inbetween) so the keeper can come out when we hit it with a punch to take it apart. If its tough hit it a tad harder and it will come out. Remember the shoe part down and the end that is round up so thats the part we have to push out. We also have to watch which way the firing pin comes out and goes back in too. We also have to watch which way we put the recoil spring back in too. The snake curved part goes in first so the straighter part is towards the back(shooter).
I like to moly up all my sks's too. I put moly on the bolt carrier, bolt, inside the receiver, trigger sear and on the piston and gas tube too just a little will do. Moly can take the heat and when its gone inside the gas tube its still in the pores of the metal protecting it against wear.
Moly eliminates all wear, reduces friction, prevents galling, stays wet and were we put it, it fights corrosion, it doesn't attract dirt and its ready to rock n roll anytime even after long term storage. The gun will cycle faster and smoother and it can lessen the trigger pull by up to 50% right away and even more as it works in too. Moly works into the pores of the metal and actually wears against itself there is no metal to metal contact thus the wear is completely eliminated. With no metal to metal contact there is even less friction too. The bottomline is if your seeing wear and more wear everytime you clean your gun with your present lube that your using lets face it your lube isn't working. In my orginal sks from the late 80's the rails were the bolt carrier rides still is blued there is no wear to be seen to this day and its my favorite sks to shoot all the time too. I use moly in all my guns, rifles, semi-auto's and bolt actions, in my revolvers and pistols too. On the trigger sears its like getting an expensive trigger job just by using a lube. Once you try it you will never use anything else. There is no lube that can do what moly does its the best lube on the planet. Its sad that i see so many used guns that have wear and it could of been prevented by using moly. Your guns will last forever, well past your lifetime.
In our sks's and AK's that have chrome lined barrels of course the receivers will wearout in time first and by using moly it brings up the life of the receiver parts equal if not better than the life of the barrel.
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You can get alot of imfo on sks at sksboards.com also if you take the bolt apart besides cleaning you might want to polish the firing pin alittle with some steel wool to smooth it out some.You DO NOT want the fp to stick, enjoy, SKS are alot of fun for so little $$.
Well, I blitzed this thing when I got home today. I didn't think it would go so fast, but I'm pretty sure I have a rifle all ready to go to the range now, after . I stopped at a hardware store and looked for all the stuff that was mentioned in the various posts in this thread. I couldn't find and Break Free or Formby's Lemon Oil, so I settled on a couple squirt bottles of Simple Green, a gallon of paint thinner, and Gunk Out. The gun came apart pretty easily, and I dropped all the small parts into a large plastic tub and filled it with 1/2 the paint thinner. The entire gun wasn't even that bad cosmoline-wise. I didn't feel I needed to break out the steamer, everything was cleaning off fine with the Simple Green, an old paintbrush, and rags.
I couldn't find any evidence this gun was ever fired as I cleaned it off. The gas piston was spotless and new-looking, and except for a tiny amount of cosmo in the gas cylinder, it was spotless. Even the bore wasn't as bad to clean as I thought it would be, although the brush got fouled pretty bad on the first pass through after running solvent thru it. The bore actually looks awesome. I'm not sure if it's unfired, but it must be close. It's bright and shiny, and the lands are high and pronounced. I broke the action apart and cleaned the firing pin and the individual parts, but it really didn't need it. There was only a small amount of cosmo in the cavity the extractor spring sits in.
I didn't do too much to the stock because I was running out of time and wanted to get the gun back together. I just squirted it down real good with imple Green and used some thinner in the receiver cavity for the stubborn cosmo deposits, and then dried it with apaper towel and let it air dry. Then I went over it with Murphy's Oil Soap, which I had, and let it dry again. The stock still smell like cosmoline, so I'm sure it needs more work, but I think I have a shooter. Is there anything I'm overlooking or is it safe to say I could try this at the range tomorrow?
Question on the rear sight -- when you set range, what is the reference mark on the slider you match up to the graduations? Is it the top or the bottom edge of the slider?
Here's the pictures:
I couldn't find any evidence this gun was ever fired as I cleaned it off. The gas piston was spotless and new-looking, and except for a tiny amount of cosmo in the gas cylinder, it was spotless. Even the bore wasn't as bad to clean as I thought it would be, although the brush got fouled pretty bad on the first pass through after running solvent thru it. The bore actually looks awesome. I'm not sure if it's unfired, but it must be close. It's bright and shiny, and the lands are high and pronounced. I broke the action apart and cleaned the firing pin and the individual parts, but it really didn't need it. There was only a small amount of cosmo in the cavity the extractor spring sits in.
I didn't do too much to the stock because I was running out of time and wanted to get the gun back together. I just squirted it down real good with imple Green and used some thinner in the receiver cavity for the stubborn cosmo deposits, and then dried it with apaper towel and let it air dry. Then I went over it with Murphy's Oil Soap, which I had, and let it dry again. The stock still smell like cosmoline, so I'm sure it needs more work, but I think I have a shooter. Is there anything I'm overlooking or is it safe to say I could try this at the range tomorrow?
Question on the rear sight -- when you set range, what is the reference mark on the slider you match up to the graduations? Is it the top or the bottom edge of the slider?
Here's the pictures:
I have used murphy's wood soap sometimes too in the past and on the cosmolined & oily stocks i let it sit on the wood straight out of the bottle after washing it once and some of the grime will raise up out of the wood too. Some stocks i have washed 3 or 4 times in a row by letting it sit and soak too.
With the cleaner stocks i like the rubbing alcohol with paper towels.
With the cleaner stocks i like the rubbing alcohol with paper towels.
Fooped
Resident HK Guru
Yikes,
Now I'm a little nervous about getting my 59/66 range-ready. Even with the wealth of experience and knowledge on this board, and the well-written instructions in this thread, it still seems like a daunting task to get this rifle ready to fire safely. Mine is an un-issued minty-mint gun that came with all the original factory accessories, and is in beautiful shape. It's one of the Cherry's N.C guns and I paid a premium for it. It has had most of the cosmoline removed from it, but I'm quite sure that the bolt and trigger group have not been sufficiently "de-gunked", and this runaway-gun slam fire thing kinda freaks me out... I know every one's going to have their own opinion on the best way to get this gun safe and ready to shoot, but what is the best course of action for me, the handy hands-on guy with lots of tools but very little gunsmithing experience, to take?
Thanks as always!
Now I'm a little nervous about getting my 59/66 range-ready. Even with the wealth of experience and knowledge on this board, and the well-written instructions in this thread, it still seems like a daunting task to get this rifle ready to fire safely. Mine is an un-issued minty-mint gun that came with all the original factory accessories, and is in beautiful shape. It's one of the Cherry's N.C guns and I paid a premium for it. It has had most of the cosmoline removed from it, but I'm quite sure that the bolt and trigger group have not been sufficiently "de-gunked", and this runaway-gun slam fire thing kinda freaks me out... I know every one's going to have their own opinion on the best way to get this gun safe and ready to shoot, but what is the best course of action for me, the handy hands-on guy with lots of tools but very little gunsmithing experience, to take?
Thanks as always!
Most importantly is to check the SKS section on surplusrifle.com and get proper info on taking apart the bolt by driving the pin out that holds everything in place. It goes in a certain way and the firing pin sits a certain way to pay carefull atention to how they come out so you can put them back in the same. You want the inside of that bolt squeaky clean so the pin is free. Someone here mentioned buffing up the pin with some steel wool, good idea.
Also, that long coiled spring and piston inside the receiver cover should be disasembled and celaned inside and out as well. Lots of gunk hiding in there. Just make sure it goes back inside the rifle the right way or else the bolt will be too tight, i've made this mistake before, right JayG?![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
And make sure the mechanism that holds the bolt open is free of dirt and cosmolene. Theres a catch that slides up and prevents the bolt from moving forward. Thats your hold open feature after the last shot. You can drop a little oil in there at the range if it is sticking.
Also, that long coiled spring and piston inside the receiver cover should be disasembled and celaned inside and out as well. Lots of gunk hiding in there. Just make sure it goes back inside the rifle the right way or else the bolt will be too tight, i've made this mistake before, right JayG?
And make sure the mechanism that holds the bolt open is free of dirt and cosmolene. Theres a catch that slides up and prevents the bolt from moving forward. Thats your hold open feature after the last shot. You can drop a little oil in there at the range if it is sticking.
