[FN_man_08]

I just bought a surplus "arsenal reconditioned" m91-30 mosin nagant... now to clean it. I was hoping for some advice with removing the cosmoline from the wood and metal surfaces. Any solvents or soaps that worked well for anyone in the past?

thanks

 

[Texas Armadillo]

Google search for "cosmoline removal" and you will find a lot of info. I have found heat a good friend. Others like brake fluid. There are many ideas, all are time consuming. But it's worth it to get a veteran firearm at a great price.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/cosmoline/index.asp

 

[Zhurdan]

H O T W A T E R! Works wonders.

Zhur

 

[FN_man_08]

Well I am a little concerned about putting water on the stock. I do not want to raise the grain and have to sad it down. I don't want to take away any history from the rifle.

For the metal I plan to use either hot water or a solvent. The wood is what I am concerned about.

 

[FN_man_08]

I have heard that Murpheys oil soap will clean the cosmoline off the stock without damaging it.

 

[Texas Armadillo]

We had a steam wallpaper remover machine that we used on the bathroom during a remodel project. It was a little cheapy version... about 30 bucks I think. I just took the "paddle" part off the hose and just used the hose to apply the steam. It let the steam out too slow though because of the large opening. It worked eventually though. I'm going to use one of those higher pressure versions next. One that is similar to the one in that link I posted above. Read the article I linked to, really. It will help.

 

[Zhurdan]

You could probably use a hair drier or heat gun to get most of it off.

Zhur

 

[FN_man_08]

Thanks TA. That article has a lot of good methods to try. I will read through it more thoroughly later.

 

[O'Neill]

That crap is a pain in the ass to remove!

 

[iCeMaN]

I used a heat gun on my Nagant and it worked well for me :? Good luck!

 

[powermad]

I have never had to degoop a wood stock rifle but have messed with that nasty stuff enough to know that heat is your friend.

A large metal garbage can or 55 gal barrel makes a quick oven using a 1000 watt Halogen light. It starts to melt and ooze out of everywhere. Then it just collects on the bottom and you don't have to touch as much of it.
Whatever clothes you wear are gonna stink like cosmo, so if ya toss your clothes in the hamper with the rest of your laundry there is a good chance your ol lady's favorite sweater will be in that batch. AMHIK :evil:

We have a large gas fired parts washer at work that gets to 190* and the soap solution in it cleans that stuff off of metal and plastic parts in no time flat.
All ya have to do when you pull stuff out is let it flash and then spray it down with some oil so it don't rust.

But for those without a large dishwasher the can oven works well.
I have used the hair dryer method and that can be rather messy, especially if it is just loaded with it. You wind up with a giant reeking pile of rags.
I use carb cleaner to finish removing it. Don't waste $$ on brake clean, the new stuff on the market isn't good for anything.

 

[FN_man_08]

thanks everyone :?

 

[FN_man_08]

There was very little if any on the gun itself when i picked it up. Lucky me huh? It looked like it was oiled pretty heavily and sat in storage for a while collecting dirt. Took me a few hours to clean it but not too bad.

The few parts that did have cosmoline on it, I put in an oven to melt most of it off. To get the rest that stuck around, I put the parts in a heated ultrasonic cleaner and it took it all out. :?

I used Murphys oil soap for the stock. It was pretty clean though so all I had to do was just wipe it down.

Now I cant wait to get to the range to try it out. :-x

 

[Texas Armadillo]

PIC'S!!!