help with cleaning
my son bought an SKS and it is full of cosmoline how is the best way to get this crap off and out of this firearm.
i have never had to deal with this stuff befor
i have never had to deal with this stuff befor
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There are lots of ways people do it I will tell you how I did it. Keep in mind there is no easy clean way to do it. You need to COMPLETELY dissasemble the rifle not just field strip. One be key to cosmoline is heat will make it soft or "melt" it. Since I was only doing 2 I did them in my shower, do at your own risk. I have a shower head on a hose so I turned the hot water on all the way. Using the water and a nylon brush I scrubed the big spots away on all the major pieces. Next comes lots of gun rags and gun cleaner, I perfer CLP. Pick a part and start cleaning. Make sure you get all of the trigger parts and the big one is the firing pin and chanel. Many people dont clean the firing pin area well which can lead to a stuck firing pin causing the gun to go "full auto" in a not safe way. Even worse then going FA is that the gun could fire before the round is all the way in the camber real bad deal.
Here is another GREAT source of info: http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/cosmoline/index.asp
Here are my two before cleaning, I dont have an after pic:
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I have done them in the bath tub with the hottest water you can get and some dirtex or TSP detergent.
Scrub with a old tooth brush and or a scotchbrite.
Don0 -
I can't help you with the wood. I haven't heard any "magic" for the wood. However, metal parts will clean MOST quickly with diesel fuel. I saw hundreds of AK-47's cleaned that way by the Iraqi police. 0 -
First of all, the stuff you want to remove probably isn't Cosmoline. Cosmoline is purplish and has the consistency of wax at room temperature. It was used to protect military equipment, not just guns, for very LONG term storage. Probably what you are dealing with is grease. Anything that will cut grease will do it.
I once sold five greasy SKS rifles to one guy, right out of the crate in which they were imported. He took them to a car wash. He laid down a plastic tarp, opened the actions, and laid out the rifles on the tarp. Then he got after them with the car wash wand. I don't necessarily recommend this method, but it worked for him.
He said that with the first couple of rounds he fired, dirty water shot out the gas ports.0 -
gasoline for the metal parts. 0 -
Thanks for the replys
i will tear it down tonight[:(]0 -
I used laquer thinner, it made the stuff dissolve. And for the wood we did a few things, We put carb cleaner on it, then washed it and srubbed it with dish soap. We let it dry buy a wood burner. After that sanded it down and finished and sealed it, I wish I had a pic of my sks, because it looks great now. 0 -
I did 2 of them with a lot of rags, some hoppe #9, wd-40, & carb cleaner.
Just did one with/for a friend last month. Put some kerosene in an old oil drip pan & use one of those round degreaser brushes (available at auto parts store) for a parts cleaner. Used the kerosene on the stock and all & then used some brake cleaner and compressed air on the small parts after the kerosene-worked pretty good and took a lot less time.
Fastest way is to buy one already done and I will be auctioning at least one of mine shortly. Gave it to my son a year or 2 ago for Christmas and he is now saving up for a high school trip to Europe. Man, I want to go back to high school!0 -
I also use Gasoline and a brush on the metal parts but I use a pre mix gas and it leaves an oily film when it dries. Also a user of compressed air for the hard to get to places around the sights and trigger group. 0 -
surplusrifle.com has a good bit on building your own heat remover. Myself, use mineral spirits or varsol (less likely to blow self up) strip rifle, scrub parts. Be SURE to clean the bolt/ firing pin very well- chance of slam fire if gunked up. Pressure cleaner not kind to wood stock. 0 -
Fill a 5 gallon bucket about 3inches full of Kersosene and dissasembal it...slosh the parts around in it...it melts right off 0 -
I used lacquer thinner on the wood with a stiff nylon veggie brush. It worked great. I was stoned out of my tree when done but it sure worked great.
I disassembled the entire gun down the the last screw. I used a brass brush and a pick tool to clean it. It took a few hours to get it completely done.
My wife has no idea where her big tupper wear salad bowl and veggie scrubber went [:I]. I ain't gonna try to explain how and why they reek of lacquer thinner [:0].0 -
Taken from an article I read on cleaning up old M1 Garands. "Be careful when using something water-based on the wood, it can make the wood swell and split." Just my .02. 0 -
Mineral spirits and linseed oil on the wood??????????? 0
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