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How to slick up a Mosin

SoreShoulder
The protectant the guns come covered in is probably not a grease but some form of petroleum wax. Probably the heavier end of the distilling, just above asphalt.

I doubt it contains any of the friction modifiers or other additives they put in grease.

Another thing is grease is not really a thick petroleum fraction at all. It is an oil in a thickening agent. Oil in thickener probably works better than petroleum wax because they could use the heavy petroleum fractions to make grease but they don't.

So I just cleaned a bolt and receiver out with hot water and put a very thin coat of white lithium aerosol grease on it where needed. It was noticeably slicker. If you don't use too much hot water you are left with a slight film of protection on nonmoving metal parts from the leftover protectant.
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Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • buschmaster
    have you never heard of Cosmoline??? welcome to Soviet Russia comrade!

    take off all the wood and put the rifle parts in an oven low temp to melt it off.

    no, it' not a lubricant. it's a cross between axle grease, beeswax and toe jam with a little creosote to spice it up. the sole purpose is rust prevention and it does it well. they probably joked with each other about this stuff working until the Year 2000... well.... :D
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  • SoreShoulder
    It's probably some form of natural paraffin which still smells of real wooden barrels that it was stored in, or maybe the prehistoric coniferous forest which became the petroleum it is made from. I found hot water is plenty adequate to clean it off.

    Cosmoline is a brand name. I don't know if this is the same stuff. The old non-Soviet surplus guns I've seen with a protectant applied had thicker, more solid, more transparent stuff than this light brown paste.

    I suppose it could be actual Cosmoline.
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  • KenK/84Bravo
    buschmaster wrote:
    have you never heard of Cosmoline??? welcome to Soviet Russia comrade!

    take off all the wood and put the rifle parts in an oven low temp to melt it off.

    no, it' not a lubricant. it's a cross between axle grease, beeswax and toe jam with a little creosote to spice it up. the sole purpose is rust prevention and it does it well. they probably joked with each other about this stuff working until the Year 2000... well.... :D



    Read my mind.



    Cosmoline. Good stuff.
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  • buschmaster
    huh! wiki isays
    Cosmoline was developed by Houghton International in the late 1800s as a pharmaceutical product. The original Cosmoline was an ointment and was used for many different cosmetic and medical purposes. It was kept in homes to disinfect wounds and was used by veterinarians to treat cuts, abrasions, bruises and sprains. Cosmoline could even be found on the farms, where it was used to relieve swelling in cow's udders.

    melts at 113-125F and flash point is (catches on fire) at 365F
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  • 35 Whelen
    acb.jpg
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  • TRAP55
    SoreShoulder wrote:
    It's probably some form of natural paraffin which still smells of real wooden barrels that it was stored in, or maybe the prehistoric coniferous forest which became the petroleum it is made from. I found hot water is plenty adequate to clean it off.

    Cosmoline is a brand name. I don't know if this is the same stuff. The old non-Soviet surplus guns I've seen with a protectant applied had thicker, more solid, more transparent stuff than this light brown paste.

    I suppose it could be actual Cosmoline.
    They were dipped into a barrel of hot cosmoline. Warm, it's like heavy motor oil, pulled out of the barrels, it takes a moment to turn into heavy axle grease. What you're probably seeing is the remains diluted with what ever the pore sob used to clean it out with. That will leave anything from an oily film, to rock hard remnants. The hard stuff is what causes the firing pin in a SKS to lock up and go F/A. Boil the small parts in a coffee can, that will melt the harden stuff too. It'll all float to the top, pour off before you remove the parts, dry, and oil them. Barrel and receiver, wash em down with gas like the military did. The wood, pack and wrap in paper towels, stick it in a black plastic garbage bag, leave in the car trunk for a few days out in the sun. Winter, leave it close to the heater or fireplace,...if you can stand the stink. :mrgreen:
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  • Ricci Wright
    Trade it for an 03A3??
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