Cosmoline removal?

[MarkA]

Cosmoline removal? I have four Romanian Trainer 22LR’s to restore for my Grandsons. Three of them are covered SUPER heavy in cosmoline. I have used boiling water in the past on light coatings, this stuff is HEAVY! I was thinking about using my turkey roaster with light vegetable oil. I can get it to 400 degrees that will help melt this stuff and not have a damaging fluid on the weapon. Your thoughts and or advice or alternatives are welcomed.

[hunter3109]

Mark
I used varsol in a parts washer and then used 0000 steel wool on the stock. It came out okay. Used paper towels to wipe off varsol and then sprayed metal with brake cleaner or carb cleaner. Metal is no longer sticky with grease.

TR

[Joe]

Sometimes plain old gasoline works very well......but as with all solvents, they are VERY flammable, be careful....

[Bobcat]

Cosmoline Removal & Detailed Cleaning

Cosmoline is the dark sticky substance that is present on just about every military surplus rifle ever built. It was designed to seep into every crack and crevice to preserve the rifle wood and metal parts against rust and moisture. Once you manage to strip it off, you will see that it worked as intended.

First step in removing the cosmoline is to separate all the wood furniture from the metal parts. Once separated the wood and metal parts may be cleaned in one of several ways.

Wood Furniture

Dishwasher method

This method is best done when the better half has gone out for the day. Simply load all the wood into the dishwasher, add the normal amount of detergent and run it on the normal setting. Note: DO NOT allow the dishwasher to run through it's DRY cycle, as this may cause the damp wood to split or crack. Once completed the wood furniture is ready for refinishing.

Oven cleaner method

Less dangerous than the dishwasher method, unless you are single. This method simply involves spraying all the surfaces of the wood with oven cleaner, let sit and wash off. Repeat if necessary to get the wood completely clean and it is ready for refinishing.

Hot water and solvent method

This is the method that I use personally. It involves soaking the wood in near boiling water. The laundry room sink works best, it is large and deep enough to immerse just about all the furniture at once. Leaving it soak for a good half hour or so, will leech out most all of the cosmoline, oil and other assorted age old crud. Once this step is completed, using a clean shop rag, in a well ventilated area, rub down all the furniture inside and out with automotive paint reducer or acetone. This process will pull out any remaining cosmoline and residue oil. Let the wood air dry at room temperature for a day or so and it will then be ready for refinishing.

Metal Parts

All the metal parts including the barrelled receiver are easily stripped of cosmoline, oil and the Tunisian desert sand , by first soaking them in near boiling hot water. The laundry room sink works well for this step also. While soaking, use an old toothbrush to scrub all the parts down. Remove the metal parts while the water is still piping hot, this will cause the remaining water to evaporate off, thus preventing rust (soldier's gold). If you bought a really well preserved rifle, it may be necessary to soak and scrub the metal parts with reducer or acetone. CAUTION Later manufactured Lee Enfields were factory finished in an enamel type paint. You would be well advised to test a small hidden area of the weapon before going hog wild with the acetone, it may strip the finish off of your rifle.

Now that the metal has been cleaned, care should be taken to well oil all parts and surfaces. Any brand of gun oil can be use for this purpose. During this phase of the cleaning operation I spray down the entire rifle with WD-40 or LPS 2, mainly because it displaces moisture, which may have accumulated while hosing the various parts with hot water. Then finishing the job with a liberal application of gun oil, remember most all the metal parts are covered by the wood furniture after assembly and not easily re-oiled.

MPro7 will also remove cosmoline: www.mp7.com/NCleaner.htm
M-Pro 7 removes these stubborn protectants quickly. Wipe off excess protectant. Then liberally spray or soak parts and stocks in the cleaner and wipe clean.

[doorgunner]

I used gasoline in the "old $59.95 Chinese SKS days". Probably wasn't the smartest move that I ever made, but then again paying over $40 for an SKS wasn't either.

[mark shubert]

Diesel is much safer, BUT you WILL be outdoors; if not at the start of the project, once the lady in your life gets one whiff, the rest of the project AND considerably more time WILL be spent in the great outdoors!!
Mark

[Ricochet]

Gasoline's all I've used. Works pretty well. Be careful.

[BigNate]

We used kerosene when I was in the Navy. We used a dry cleaning solvent on the wood. It isn't the neatest thing to get off but it does do it's job.