O/T:How to Remove Cosmoline?

[CowboyTutt]

Hey guys, got a new rifle I can pick-up next week covered in the stuff. I've been told to remove the wood and spray the metal with brake cleaner and it melts off pretty good.

Any other suggestions?

How do I get it off the wood safely?

Any help is appreciated.

-Tutt

[txpete]

don't use brake cleaner on that wood .
what kind of a rifle is it??

what I do on my milsurps.
lots of paper towels and get most of it off then hoppes #9 and more paper towels and elbow grease.in the summer here in tx you could just put in in a black trashbag and let it sit outside @100+ and the stuff will drip off it does work.
pete

[Andrew]

An article using a steam cleaner.

Part 1 of a set of articles using ovens.

[2ndovc]

Kerosene works well.
Used to buy lots of Enfields and Nagants. They were full of the stuff.

And LOTS of rags and paper towels.

jb

[brucew44guns]

Got an old Mauser once, Chech model I think it was, just slobbered with protective gunk. I removed the wood, and washed the whole metal in gasoline. Took gas on clean rags and wiped down wood. Tried to be careful so I didn't burn the town down, it's all I had that day so I did it. After the wood dried out and aired out for awhile, I re-oiled the wood with gun oil, just beautiful wood to see. The metal cleaned up good and after some fresh oil, I thought it was good to use once again. Still sets in the vault unfired by me with a lot of 8mm ammo to blast with. But gas vapor is very dangerous, don't necessarily think it's wise to use it for cleaning. Mineral Spirit solvent would be safer.

[KCSO]

1 Gal of soluable Carb cleaner and 3 galllons of Kero or liike proportions. Put it in a big waste basket if you doon't have a dip ttank and go to work with a parts brush. This will clean about 10 mil surp guns before it gets weak. I have a parts washer and use 10 gallons of Kero and car cleaner mix and can get 25 -30 guns cleaned.

[morgan in nm]

I have used gasoline which is not the safest but it does work. Years ago, I was reading about using gloves and oven cleaner so I tried it. It worked good but took all the finish off of the stock. Raised a bunch of fibers too that had to be steel-wooled but it looked like a new one. Also have tried coleman fuel when it was cheap but I still have that rifle and if it gets warm, it still bleeds.

Kero does work the best but try not to let the wood soak as it swells the stocks and takes about 4-6 weeks to evaporate. What is really good about kero is that it leaves a thin oily coat on the metal and prevents it from rusting.

[tom]

Detergent and Hot Water:

detergent was developed at Pueblo Army Depot before WW 1 to remove cosmoline. industrial is best but the cheapest home detergent (the one with the least additives) will work also.

hot water is the key, like for black powder.

Tom

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I use Auto Zone brand brake parts cleaner for most guns. But, if the gun has a hig gloss finish I test first with a tiny amount on an hiden area of the stock

[edwardyoung]

what I do on my milsurps.
lots of paper towels and get most of it off then hoppes #9 and more paper towels and elbow grease.in the summer here in tx you could just put in in a black trashbag and let it sit outside @100+ and the stuff will drip off it does work.
pete

Put cat litter in the bag to absorb the stuff that drips off.

[Gary]

For the patient; wrap it in paper towels and let it sit somewhere where it gets hot. Like your garage during summer.

For the impatient: Soak it in Mineral Spirits. Get some PVC pipe & put the gun in it. Plug the ends and fill er' up.

[marlinman93]

Tutt,
Cosmoline cuts very easily with those citrus based cleaners and lots of rags. It wont leave your gun or the area smelling like a gas station either. Once you've cleaned it well with citrus cleaner, be sure to wipe it down with linseed oil, as the citurs really removes any oils in the wood! This stuff just melts away the wax and oil from the cosmoline.

[kirkwood]

Be very careful with citrus cleaners like orange-glo and stuff like that. They can ruin some wood finishes easily. Test before using.

[CowboyTutt]

Wow, lots to ponder here. I really liked the steam cleaner article that Andrew posted. Couldn't find one today, so went and got a hair dryer instead. These puppies have 1800 watts of power now! I think I can melt off a fair amount of it that way. Then hot water/detergent and rags and finish with the hair dryer, maybe even a perm and some highlights!

I'll still take off the wood if I can. I already ordered the tear-down manuals. I've used kerosene to clean motorcycle chains as well as citrus cleaners and the modern brake cleaners on items. They all work well and should be fine on the metal. Steve, I'll be sure to try a test spot first!

-Tutt

[mescalero1]

What did you buy?

[CowboyTutt]

Lee Enfield #4 Mark 1 made in 1942 by Savage Arms for Britain. Good condition and has all the accessories! I'll post pics after I get her home and cleaned up on another thread.

-Tutt

[Old Time Hunter]

Geez! Nobody has tried my hot water mixed 1-4 with Murphy's Oil Soap? Cleans the wood slicker than snot, cuts the cosmoline and lifts the dirt, never harms the wood...that is what it is made for. 'Course this is after you take off all the hardware and then wash the metal with brake cleaner. Every one of these has been done this way:



Oh yea, lots of rags and wipe off with MS after the stock dries. Then I prefer to rub in a few coats of BLO (let dry after each coat), rub'n the wood with 00 steel wool between coats, final coat of Casey Tru-Oil (has Tung oil in it besides BLO so it makes a harder finish), then wax with carnuba/beeswax combo.

[CowboyTutt]

Old Time, I was actually thinking Murphy's Oil Soap might be a good choice for the wood! I had thought about it this morning but forgot. Thanks for reminding me.

That is quite a collection. I wish you weren't so far away from me (I'm in CA) as I would dearly love to see it up close.

Sorry to sound so dense, but what is MS (Murphy Soap?) and BLO? I do have some steel wool around for polishing guns.

-Tutt

[Old Time Hunter]

MS- Mineral Spirits...denatured whatever that means, Wal Mart stuff, really, really cheap

BLP- Boiled Linseed Oil, again bought at Wal Mart, the Kleen Strip brand in a blue container. Make sure this stuff dries between coats (I wait 24 hrs) and if it is sticky after it dries, you are just past your limit. Wipe off the sticky stuff with a MS dampened cloth. The next coat can be the Casey/Birchwood True Oil. Generally one coat and let dry overnight, then wax.

The Tiger Striped Mosin in the picture is the only one that got more than one coat of the True Oil, because I wanted to add some depth. The M96 Swedish Mauser on the right did not get any True Oil, just the BLO. The Enfield, fifth from left has three coats of BLO, one coat of True Oil, and wax.

[Bullard4075]

I think you meant to say Denatured Alcohol or maybe just Mineral Spirits. I don't believe one would need to
denature mineral spirits.
Could be wrong.

de·na·ture (d-nchr)
tr.v. de·na·tured, de·na·tur·ing, de·na·tures
1. To change the nature or natural qualities of.
2. To render unfit to eat or drink without destroying usefulness in other applications, especially to add methanol to (ethyl alcohol).

As in Denatured Alcohol.
They add methanol to grain alcohol (White Lightnin) so you can't drink it.

[Old Time Hunter]

Oops, thanks for straightening me out. Try'n to read the can from across the room, had the wrong can. It is Oderless Mineral Spirits I use, but right next to the can of Denatured Alcohol.

[CowboyTutt]

I think I will just clean her first before applying linseed oil, tongue oil, True Oil or anything like that. My 71/84 Mauser is a BEAUTIFUL gun as is. Can't say 100% for sure she is original, but she looks good as is. I can go back and refinish the Enfield wood anytime.

-Tutt

[JReed]

Lee Enfield #4 Mark 1 made in 1942 by Savage Arms for Britain. Good condition and has all the accessories! I'll post pics after I get her home and cleaned up on another thread.

-Tutt

Good job. When I get back to Ca. we will have to meet up with our enfields and have some fun. Is it a 2 grove bbl?

When I first got mine I used furniture stripper to get the cosmo off works great all you need is a tooth brush didnt take to long it will take the finish off the wood but boiled linseed oil will get it back to the right finish.

[awp101]

in the summer here in tx you could just put in in a black trashbag and let it sit outside @100+ and the stuff will drip off it does work.
pete

BTDT!

I've used that method, a heat gun for defrosting refrigerators and mineral spirits. All of them left some residue that would come out during firing or during the summer.

I've read of guys putting the smaller wood parts in the dishwasher as well as the smaller metal parts in a bag. it works, but as a former dishwasher repairman I cringe everytime I read of that method...

[mescalero1]

That's cool, just traded a Star BM for one of those; obviously I think I got the better deal.
I imagine some people would think otherwise.

[CowboyTutt]

J. Reed, I have no idea yet about the barrel. I get to bring her home on the 18th of November. I would very much like getting the two of us together to shoot our Enfields! I remember yours from our previous posts.

I will slug the barrel after I'm sure it is clean and tell you what I find out in a good report.

I don't want to remove the original finish if I can help it. I will try the hair dryer, hot water/Murphy's Oil Soap and see how she cleans up first.

-Tutt