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I had good results cleaning cosmoline off surplus mags with hot water. I just got a nagant all covered with cosmoline. The question is will boiling water method mess up the wooden rifle stock?

If not, what will be the best drying method in this case.

Sorry for posting this question here, but I don't have anywhere better

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On the wood, it's how long you put water on it. Let it soak and it WILL warp. I have a laundry sink and use a short hose and a paint brush with 1/2 the bristles cut off. Scrub quick and wipe dry. Several fast cleanings with time in between to dry will keep the wood from warping.

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I had good results cleaning cosmoline off surplus mags with hot water. I just got a nagant all covered with cosmoline. The question is will boiling water method mess up the wooden rifle stock?

If not, what will be the best drying method in this case.

Sorry for posting this question here, but I don't have anywhere better

 

Hot water is a great way to clean the metal. I have cleaned two completely cosmoline soaked rifles this way. They were both SKS. This also worked on other filthy enfields that I found at gun shows. Here's my method that works great for me and my buddies.

 

1. Dissasemble rifle. Bring a bunch of pots of water to a boil on the stove.

2. Place small parts in the pots. Pour the boiling water on the receiver through the barrel over the sink. It may take several pots. The cosmoline just melts and goes down the drain. (Sorry Mr. Dolphin) Oil parts immediately after drying.

3. To get it out of the stock you put the stock in the oven. (It sounds crazy but it works) Turn the oven to warm (lowest setting). Keep the oven door OPEN!

a.) If the cosmoline is gobbed on the stock then try and wipe some away first, place stock in oven with a tray underneath containing shop towels

b.) If the cosmoline is just in the stock then wrap the stock with shop towels place in oven. The cosmoline will sweat out. This takes several times, of oven, then wiping.

 

c.) Slow way, put the stock wrapped in shop towels in a black trash bag, and then into the sun. (I do the oven)

4. Buy purple power degreaser from walmart. Once the cosmoline is no longer sweating out of the stock, then take your stock to the empty bathtub. Go nuts with the purple power and a green scrub pad.

5. Rinse stock well. Dry with towels, then either put in sun, or oven again with door open.

6. Once stock is dry, finish how you want. I like simple BLO, or tung oil.

 

P.S. Your wife will hate you after you do this once. There is a "smell" that comes from cooking cosmoline in the oven. 000.gif

Edited by TheMantis
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I have always used a hand held steam cleaner( I paid about 50 bucks for the "shark " brand one), and I use it on the metal and wood stocks on my milsurps, with out any issues.

Easily removes all cosmo without using harsh chemicals. Simply toss the rags in the trash when done!

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There's guys who have made cosmo ovens out of metal garbage cans with a couple of light bulb fixtures inside for the heat source, a rack to lay the stock on and set it up so the melted cosmo will run down and out of the can. My Mosin was very light on the cosmo, all I had to do was a normal cleaning for the most part, but I did tear down the bolt and toss it in an old pot full of boiling water, it didnt look like it had much on it but there was more than I thought, I had a pretty good slick of it on top of the water by the time ten minutes had passed.

 

Some have wrapped the stock in multiple layers of newspapers then put it in a black trash bag and set it out in direct sunlight, I think that would work pretty well especially if you put it in the back window of a car with all the windows close on a hot day.

 

Mineral spirits work great on the metal parts but as soon as I touched the wood with a rag wetted with it, I could see the shellac start to dissolve so I stopped. I wiped it down with a rag soaked in Simple Green then rinsed it with water and set it out in the sun to dry completely before reassembling it.

Edited by mogunner
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There's guys who have made cosmo ovens out of metal garbage cans with a couple of light bulb fixtures inside for the heat source, a rack to lay the stock on and set it up so the melted cosmo will run down and out of the can. My Mosin was very light on the cosmo, all I had to do was a normal cleaning for the most part, but I did tear down the bolt and toss it in an old pot full of boiling water, it didnt look like it had much on it but there was more than I thought, I had a pretty good slick of it on top of the water by the time ten minutes had passed.

 

Some have wrapped the stock in multiple layers of newspapers then put it in a black trash bag and set it out in direct sunlight, I think that would work pretty well especially if you put it in the back window of a car with all the windows close on a hot day.

 

Mineral spirits work great on the metal parts but as soon as I touched the wood with a rag wetted with it, I could see the shellac start to dissolve so I stopped. I wiped it down with a rag soaked in Simple Green then rinsed it with water and set it out in the sun to dry completely before reassembling it.

 

Dont forget to dilute your simple green.....I have used full strength to strip stain off a deck.....

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I see you're in Georgia. Wait until summer swings into high gear, wrap your rifle in paper towels, wrap that in black plastic trash bags, and put the whole shebang in your car on a sunny day. No need to worry about stinking up the oven (if you can call the smell of smoking cosmoline a "stink").

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I see you're in Georgia. Wait until summer swings into high gear, wrap your rifle in paper towels, wrap that in black plastic trash bags, and put the whole shebang in your car on a sunny day.

 

Or attic.

 

I had good results cleaning cosmoline off surplus mags with hot water. I just got a nagant all covered with cosmoline. The question is will boiling water method mess up the wooden rifle stock?

 

Remove the stock before applying the boiling water. Make sure to oil up the rifle well afterward.

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I will do boiling water on all metal parts and oil them, and just out of curiosity i will try the trash back and the heat for the stock. Yea I'm in GA and it can get real hot down here, we already hitting the high eighty's.

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i use steel wool, krud kutter, and hot water. i use a rag with hot water and run it over the stock, let it sit a moment then spray it with krud kutter and take some 0000 steel wool. seems to remove the shelac finish as well. when im done i take fine grit sandpaper to it when finished. turns out nice.

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Kero or diesel will smell for EVER! Deodorized mineral spirits are available from big box hardware stores and paint stores. The same thing is also sold as varsol. Charcoal lighter fluid is the same stuff too.

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