Returning cosmoline-covered SKS's to working order

[Joe Link]

During the 'Great Scare of 2013' I purchased three Chinese SKS's from Keith's, figuring I'd like to have them purely for the utility should they be banned. These things were so packed with cosmoline that the bolts wouldn't close, but they were all there and the numbers matched (not rare but kinda cool). When I got home I disassembled them, planning on stripping the cosmoline and returning them to working order. I got busy, the project got shelved, and that's how they've sat since.

Fast forward to today; I'm ready to get these things going

Removing the cosmoline is clearly the first step. I've read quite a bit about it but I've never done it myself. My original plan was to boil the metal parts and build one of those garbage can easy bake ovens for the wood. I even bought a dedicated pot so the missus wouldn't get mad. I'm not opposed to running to the store to pick up a trash can, but I've also heard sunshine, a black plastic bag, and a roll of blue shop towels works well for sweating it out of the wood. Lastly, I have a shop full of chemicals; brake cleaner, gasoline, acetone, simple green, etc. though I'd prefer to not have to break those out unless absolutely necessary.

Looking forward to hearing thoughts and opinions on the first stage of this adventure











SKS 1 - 446



SKS 2 - 945



SKS 3 - 263

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[11Charlie]

First step is lighten your load and sell one to me!

 

[aflineman]

Black plastic bags and shop towels for the entire rifle. Should have hung them outside in the sun LAST week. Hot weather and the sun is your best friend in this.

 

[GOG]

I know it's frowned upon, but I soak all the metal bits in a tank of gas. I use the garbage bag technique for wood.

 

[peternov01]

I cleaned mine back in the 90's with a parts brush and a bucket of gas, and the wood i just put out in the sun for a week

 

[notazombie]

I did a mosin years ago. Improvised a trough lined with a Hefty bag. Bathed all the metal parts in mineral spirits and let it all soak overnight. Worked great, no scrubbing. They say it's safe for the wood too but mine came without any furniture so it ended up in Boyds.

 

[mike1281]

Black plastic bags and shop towels for the entire rifle. Should have hung them outside in the sun LAST week. Hot weather and the sun is your best friend in this.

Agreed! I have done this with two rifles... I put them in a black garbage bag (disassembled) and lay em in the sun, then wipe it down, again and again. Boiling water will get most of it out of the barrel as well as receiver. Good luck to ya

 

[etrain16]

I've de-cosmoed several guns, a couple of SKS's and several Mosins. I learned the process I used from someone and it works really well. There are two parts - the metal and the wood.

For the metal, I use boiling water with Simple Green. It will strip that cosmoline really easily. I strip the rifle completely and put the smaller parts into a plastic tub, add some Simple Green, then pour in boiling water and let it sit for a few. Using gloves to protect yourself from the hot water, then I use a tooth brush to get into nooks and crannies - then give a quick rinse under hot water and set aside on some paper towels to dry - and since they're still really hot, any water left behind evaporates quickly. Once dry and cooler, they get a light coat of oil.

For the bigger parts, such as the barrel, I take them outside and pour boiling water/Simple Green over the parts and down the bore - it does the job very quickly. Again, once dry, a thin coat of oil on all metal parts.

For the stock, I like the sun method. Wrap the stock in newspaper, then put it in a black plastic bag and set it in the sun. After a couple of hours, pull the stock out, wipe it down and wrap it with clean paper. Repeat the process, several times, until the cosmo is basically gone.

Reassemble the gun and go have fun!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Some of these Ideas sure beat the way we clean 'em up in the army... Lots of gas , "infantry language" and elbow grease...
Andy

 

[Stomper]

Throw the things into a faraday cage with a large microwave oven rigged to run with no door on it and let 'er rip!

Whalah!!

 

[MasterChief]

Throw the things into a faraday cage with a large microwave oven rigged to run with no door on it and let 'er rip!

Whalah!!

and then you can watch your house burn down greens and blues maybe some red flames!....plenty of smoke

 

[Stomper]

and watch then you can watch your house burn down

That's what the FARADAY CAGE is for.....

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

I know it's frowned upon, but I soak all the metal bits in a tank of gas. I use the garbage bag technique for wood.

i was gonna say soak the metal in the gas too!

 

[Tully Mars]

I've used diesel in the past and it cuts it really quick. Nowadays I just put the weapon in my parts washer with safetykleen solvent.

 

[MrNatural]

No need to make it harder than it needs to be. Do it the easy way!

Mil-spec cosmoline liquifies at 125deg F.

Get a sheet of black plastic and a sheet of clear plastic. Black on the bottom, a layer of cheap, absorbent paper (newspaper works fine) field-stripped rifles on top of the paper, clear plastic over the the top. Your own little greenhouse.

Set the whole works in the bright sunshine on a sunny day.

Next day rotate the parts and do it again. To keep the cosmoline from pooling in any pockets.

Retrieve them in the afternoon while still hot and wipe them down with WD-40 or other penetrating oil and you should be done.

Easy, cheap and effective - the trifecta!

 

[11Charlie]

I still say three is to many to do. I'd be happy to take care of that for you.

Just sayin!

 

[308]

Nothing makes me more giddy than a whiff of cosmoline on my finger tips.

 

[Joe Link]

Great comments guys, thanks for the tips! Sorry @SKrueger, believe it or not I have some silly sentimental attachment to these guns and I'll be keeping all three

I was out in the shop till 10pm last night working on these things. I have to say, I really have a newfound respect for this stuff. Sure it's nasty, but I'm incredibly impressed with how well these guns have been preserved. Put on a little Zeppelin, poured some Maker's, and I actually enjoyed doing it. I decided to try the garbage bag method for the wood and the boiling method for everything else.

I missed the peak sunshine yesterday so I didn't get a whole lot out of the wood pieces but they're out there again today.






What really impressed me was how well the boiling water method worked. Most of it melted right off, and what didn't I was easily able to get with a towel and/or toothbrush. As someone who isn't a big fan of chemicals I was happy I didn't have to use anything but hot water. I only burned myself about five times, for which I blame the cheap tongs I was using.






Took this photo after the first round. If I had to do it over again I wouldn't have added all the parts at once. It seems the water can only hold so much cosmoline before it leaves a residue on all of the parts, so I re-did each of these parts in smaller batches.






After all the parts were stripped I applied a light coat of oil to everything and called it a night.

 

[Joe Link]

You might notice that missing from the photos are the handguard/gas tube assemblies, which I left for today. This morning I was able to use a punch to drift out one of the ferrule pins but the two on the other assemblies aren't budging. If I have time tonight I'll see if I can drill a small guide hole in the end of the pin (using this guide) and apply a bit more force, but they're really in there. This morning I placed an ordered for replacement pins, as I'm sure these aren't going to be reusable. Once I get those out I'll disassemble, boil the gas tubes, and sweat that wood as well.

 

[11Charlie]

Looking good Joe! Glad that it is all working out for you.

OH and you can't blame a guy for trying