Fav Cosmoline Removal Methods

[Richard H Brown Jr]

Greetings:

Since I got some spare bits from Sarco for the 03 and the 03-a3, I thought I'd ask the group your favorite recipe for removing cosmoline from spare bits.

I used the old:

A. Soak and scrub in mineral spirits (paint thinner in my case). With pipe cleaners to get into holes and tight areas.
B. Soak again in clean spirits.
C. Wash and scrub in hot soapy water. (aluminum turkey roaster pan makes a good container for the soapy water) (and cheap).
D. Rinse in hot water.
E. Dry with paper towel and lightly oil ( Break Free ).
F. Store in parts container. (actually leftovers plastic tubs). (and the tubs won't be recycled to food use!)

Working in Florida sun room with plenty of vetilation.

Nitrile (sp?) gloves worn to protect the hands.

Since in most cases the cosmoline was 70+ yrs on the metal, scrubbing and excising the cosmoline was fun. On a 1903 screwdriver there were a couple of rust spots, so a light rub with fine steel wool pad got the rust, and lubrication will keep it from returning.

What are your favorite recipes for cosmoline removal?


RHB

[bruce]

Disassemble the rifle. Place the metal parts in the bathtub and fill it with boiling water. Let the parts sit for a few minutes. That is usually all that is required to remove the cosmoline and anything else that needs to come off. Remove the parts which will be so hot that the metal will dry itself. Oil/grease everything appropriately and set aside. Now to the stock/handguards. If really nasty, I have been know to give them the boiling water treatment. Submerge in the tub for a few minutes. The heavy gunk on the outside surface of the wood will come off. Air dry the wood. It may not require anything more. If more work is required, place the buttstock/handguards in a black plastic bag and put in a car/truck parked in the sun. A few go arounds with this will very often eliminate the oil that seeps from the wood. Have also had very good results using Formby's furniture refinisher. Pour it in a pan/bowl. Stand the buttstock in it tip down. Use a brush/steel wool pad or a copper Chore Boy to flood the stock with the solution. This will dissolve whatever is still needing to be dissolved. With care you will end up with a nice looking stock that will be ready for a bit of Tung oil or boiled linseed oil. HTH. Sincerely. bruce.

[Major Tom]

I use boiling water. Small parts can be boiled in an old pot. Barreled receivers I pour the boiling water over everything, may take 2-3 applications. What I like about this is that it gets in the smallest crevices and dries almost immediately so no worry about rusting. Then, of course, a good dousing with spray on gun oil, let excess oil drip off and wipe down. No harm to finish at all, no scrubbing either.

[Fred]

Gasoline and rags used outside works too.

[cnjcomp]

I bought a long wallpaper tray used for soaking pre-pasted wallpaper and a gallon can of WD40. I disassemble the weapon then place the parts in the tray and just cover with WD40 then let it soak of at least 1/2 hour. Then wipe with paper towels and use a 1 inch paint brush and an old toothbrush for had to get areas. If you leave the WD40 sit after cleaning for a few hours you can decant the liquid from the tray and re-use.

[Rick the Librarian]

Metal parts, I dip in kerosene or mineral spirits; smaller parts, brakefree or mineral spirits.

The stock, I use a hairdryer (with the misses' permission, of course!) and do a small section at a time, using lots of paper towels and/or rags.

I used to use and recommend mineral spirits but I had a bad experience - I recommended it to a friend who had one of the "Red Star" Remington M1903s. The mineral spirits took the grease off AND the finish! As best I could figure, the Red Star rifles had seen such little service, they didn't have the usual build-up of BLO/RLO/Tung oil, etc. found on most surplus military rifles.

[Sunray]

Cosmoline, if that's really what it is, is just a brand name for thick petroleum jelly. Anything that dissolves oil based grease will do. Mineral spirits(it is paint thinner) is cheap and easy to come by though. Won't harm the wood either, but will dry it out.
Take the stock off and drop the whole thing(or the wee parts) into a vat of mineral spirits and leave it there for at least 24 hours. Wipe(no scrubbing required) off the Cosmoline.
Do not dump the resulting sludge down any drain. Or dispose of the rags into anywhere but a non-flammable container. Rags impregnated with Cosmoline and mineral spirits have been known to spontaneously combust. And the stuff is oil based. It's as toxic as gasoline, but won't enter your circulatory system through your hide like gasoline will.