Yesterday's Weapons Forums

Run water in your bath tub. Just as hot and soapy as you can get it. Using a stiff brush scrub until clean. Use a good bore brush and I use a small bottle brush for the chamber. If the bore and chamber are still dirty, I pour boiling water down the reciever and through the barrel. If you have a small home steam cleaner- Shark Steamer_ they are supposed to work also. Be sure and dry and oil immediatly after or watch the rust grow before your eyes.
The stock can be cleaned with soap and water but you need to be careful about soaking the stock. See "Candymans" hints on stock cleaning:
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewto ... 37&t=65922

I use Tilex bathroom cleaner in the green spray bottle to clean my stocks but it takes a while as the cosmo is soaked deep.

Wes

Since I'm cheep I use rubbing alcohol & old rags. 79 cents a quart at wally. When finished, I just toss the rags. ( stuff like old socks etc & so forth ) SW

Well with this heat we've been having...to get rid of a good bit of it buy a small bag of cat litter and a BIG black garbage bag and pour the litter in the bag flat... No need to cover the gun with it just lay it on top just so it absorbs whatever run off there is... Close the bag off and lay it in the back window of the car and roll the windows up.... Trust me it'll run right out!! Not all but it will get a good bit of it out

Usually the Nagants don't have a lot of cosmo in them... Not like the sks's anyway... Now that's a mess!!

...it is NOT heresy to speak such things here ....who gave you that impression ....we'll flog 'em...

I like to shoot but I really hate to clean to clean guns right away. Why I try not to shoot my BP too often.

Rad

stay out of the tub or your wife allergic reaction will be nothing con pared to the reaction when she sees the ring it leaves around the tub.

A customer once told me he used oven cleaner. Has anyone tried this yet? I've got a Mosin at home waiting for the loving treatment as well (he's aware he has to wait in line, I have two Enfields and a Ruger 10/22 in line before him).

...you'll get arguments on both side -pro and con-on oven cleaner......personally I dont like it cause if you dont get it off fast enough you can damage the wood on your stock and possibly discolor it since it will break it down...at least I wouldny on a collectable...Id sweat it out or use a different slower safer method....but if its a beater shooter that you arent worried about then I suppose it wont matter....I dont mind taking my time (figgers....if I can sit and draw eyelashes on my portraits then I enjoy pickin' cosmo out of an action with a toothpick )....mostly I've used mineral spirits-either soak and clean,or scrubbed with

Enfield guys run their stocks in the dishwasher. From what I gather it works well & the fit is good since the stocks aren't 1 piece. I would avoid the oven cleaner as it can turn some wood funky colours (ask me how I know)

But if you DO use oven cleaner, stay with Easy-off Blue can. I have cleaned up a few yak fat specials from Nepal via IMA, and it cuts through yak fat like gang busters! I have used it on the stocks but only to take off the top layer of crap-ola. SW

( I am not joking about the yak fat)

Only a milsurp collector would know what removes yak fat better than anything else. LOL! Made my day, man!

Sold someone a Mosin today and he asked about clearing off cosmoline... I sent him to you guys.

Believe it or not, the rifles & muskets from Nepal have been soaked in the stuff. That remote country lacked petroleum-based preservatives like cosmo so they used what they had = yak fat.

Oddly, the stuff preserves metal quite well. Wood? Not so much. Worms were able to chew through the yak fat & have their wicked way. I used cheep epoxy to address worm hole issues.

The topic is covered in the projects forum.

The 577/450 Martini-Henry & 577 Snider are both fun to shoot and really don't kick. SW

Another way to remove cosmoline in the fall and winter is to build a box out of plywood and put a couple of incandescent light bulbs to heat. Put in paper towels or kitty litter to absorb. Summertime put in black garbage bag wrapped in paper towels and put on dash of car that is closed up. Or you can use your oven if it will fit set on a warm setting.

Rad