Removing "Cosmoline" From Guns

[john_pifer]

I've been hearing that the grease that factories pack guns with to prevent corrosion in storage can be a bear to get out.

Figured I'd post here since I'm picking up the Makarov tomorrow and I've never done it, and I'm sure some of you have.

I think I have some Hoppe's solvent, some Birchwood/Casey Gun Scrubber, some Remoil, and some Ballistol.

I've heard it's particularly important to get it all out of the firing pin channel on these guns, to prevent possible slamfire, if it's gunked up bad enough.

 

[Ethan1]

When i was in college, my chemistry professor was a Ukrainian guy who was trained in chemistry by the Soviet Army. He actually told me in lab one day the best way to remove cosmoline. I have long since forgotten his recommendation. LOL.

Most people just use mineral spirits.

 

[spasm3]

I put my mosin nagant in a large black trash bag and left it in the sun a few hours then wiped everything down. I followed with wd 40 to blast out the crevices , i followed up a few days later with another wipedown and proper gunoil.

 

[bunnspecial]

I soak the metal in kerosene for a day or two, then use whatever is needed to get loose what doesn't dissolve. Usually, I use a toothbrush on the action, rags on the barrel and other external parts, then the standard regimen of brushes and patches in the bore.

Cosmoline is more or less like vaseline-it's just a bunch of long chain hydrocarbons-so using shorter chain and thus easier to handle hydrocarbons will work better than almost anything. I like kerosene because it does a good job of dissolving while also being(relatively) inexpensive compared to bottled solvents and is fairly safe to handle.

Stocks, grips, and other wood parts usually get a wipe down with kerosene but they will continue to "sweat" cosmoline for a while. Leaving them in the sun for a few days with a wipe down a couple of times a day will get rid of a lot of that.

Hoppe's no. 9 is great, but if you read the MSDS it is mostly kerosene(under the name Stoddard's solvent, which is basically just a more refined version of kerosene for cleaning purposes). It's one of my standard go-to gun solvents(along with Ballistol) because it works well and I love the smell. For at least initially getting rid of cosmoline, though, I prefer using something with similar solvent properties that's cheaper and easier to buy in bulk. Around here, white kerosene(the "good stuff" for heaters, lamps, and the like) is around $4/gallon from the pump vs. about the same price for a small bottle of Hoppes.

 

[john_pifer]

Think soaking it down with Ballistol would do any good? I already have a pretty good sized can of that.

 

[901Memphis]

Non chlorinated brake cleaner

 

[Bandito440]

Do you have access to a parts washer? That's my preferred method.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Do you have access to a parts washer? That's my preferred method.


Nah

 

[Y_K]

Just boil it

 

[demarpaint]

I found Mineral Spirits and some patients worked fine.

 

[tc1446]

I haven't seen any Makarov's on the market that are packed in cosmoline. Where is yours coming from?

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: bunnspecial
I soak the metal in kerosene for a day or two, then use whatever is needed to get loose what doesn't dissolve. Usually, I use a toothbrush on the action, rags on the barrel and other external parts, then the standard regimen of brushes and patches in the bore.

Cosmoline is more or less like vaseline-it's just a bunch of long chain hydrocarbons-so using shorter chain and thus easier to handle hydrocarbons will work better than almost anything. I like kerosene because it does a good job of dissolving while also being(relatively) inexpensive compared to bottled solvents and is fairly safe to handle.

Stocks, grips, and other wood parts usually get a wipe down with kerosene but they will continue to "sweat" cosmoline for a while. Leaving them in the sun for a few days with a wipe down a couple of times a day will get rid of a lot of that.

Hoppe's no. 9 is great, but if you read the MSDS it is mostly kerosene(under the name Stoddard's solvent, which is basically just a more refined version of kerosene for cleaning purposes). It's one of my standard go-to gun solvents(along with Ballistol) because it works well and I love the smell. For at least initially getting rid of cosmoline, though, I prefer using something with similar solvent properties that's cheaper and easier to buy in bulk. Around here, white kerosene(the "good stuff" for heaters, lamps, and the like) is around $4/gallon from the pump vs. about the same price for a small bottle of Hoppes.


THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kerosene and heat are the best for removing Cosmoline.

 

[nwjones18]

Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: bunnspecial
I soak the metal in kerosene for a day or two, then use whatever is needed to get loose what doesn't dissolve. Usually, I use a toothbrush on the action, rags on the barrel and other external parts, then the standard regimen of brushes and patches in the bore.

Cosmoline is more or less like vaseline-it's just a bunch of long chain hydrocarbons-so using shorter chain and thus easier to handle hydrocarbons will work better than almost anything. I like kerosene because it does a good job of dissolving while also being(relatively) inexpensive compared to bottled solvents and is fairly safe to handle.

Stocks, grips, and other wood parts usually get a wipe down with kerosene but they will continue to "sweat" cosmoline for a while. Leaving them in the sun for a few days with a wipe down a couple of times a day will get rid of a lot of that.

Hoppe's no. 9 is great, but if you read the MSDS it is mostly kerosene(under the name Stoddard's solvent, which is basically just a more refined version of kerosene for cleaning purposes). It's one of my standard go-to gun solvents(along with Ballistol) because it works well and I love the smell. For at least initially getting rid of cosmoline, though, I prefer using something with similar solvent properties that's cheaper and easier to buy in bulk. Around here, white kerosene(the "good stuff" for heaters, lamps, and the like) is around $4/gallon from the pump vs. about the same price for a small bottle of Hoppes.


THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kerosene and heat are the best for removing Cosmoline.



x3 this is what I do as well.

 

[billt460]

This is a lousy picture of a new, unissued Lee Enfield that I picked up back in the mid 90's when the IRA sold off a bunch of them they had stockpiled. The gun came mummy wrapped in Cosmoline, complete with the unissued blade bayonet. I was stupid at the time, as they only wanted $160.00 for them from a local gun shop here in Phoenix. I should have bought a dozen of them.

When I got it home it was PACKED in Cosmoline. The first thing I did was remove the bolt and magazine and put them in a 2 pound metal coffee can filled with clean Kerosene. Then I went to work on the rifle. I pushed a cleaning rod through the bore, and Cosmoline oozed out of the muzzle like toothpaste from a tube. I then ran a bronze brush and several patches soaked in Kerosene through the barrel, and it cleaned up beautifully. It was June, and about 118 degrees outside in the Sun, which also contributed to the Cosmoline melting, and washing right off.

I then went to work on the rest of the gun with a 1" stiff bristled paint brush and more Kerosene. When I was done the gun was beautiful! Not a scratch or a mark on it. The next day I took it out to the range and it shot perfectly. I liked it so much I thought about driving back to Phoenix and buying several more. (I was living in Lake Havasu City at the time), and it was a 400 mile round trip so I passed. (Another bad mistake).

 

[jjjxlr8]

I doubt there will be any cosmo on your Makarov, but if there is sort of preservative, you should be able to just wipe it off with a clean towel/rag. You probably won't need solvents. A thin film of whatever preservative grease might be left over in the hard to reach spots will do more good than harm.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Bore brush and the gun cleaners you already have. For action parts, a medium toothbrush with either the Remoil or Ballistol will work.

 

[john_pifer]

Well, I field-stripped it and sprayed it down with Ballistol, including the magazine that came with it, and let it sit for a few hours while I went for a run and had supper, then sat down and went at it with a toothbrush, a set of plastic picks, and some rags and patches. The Ballistol did do OK at dissolving the caramel-like grease, but I did have an unopened jar of Hoppe's #9, so I used some of that to clean the magazine, which was full of that grease. The magazine was very easy to disassemble and clean, and the Hoppe's instantly melted through the globs of grease.

That Hoppe's #9 has a slightly bubble gum scent, to my nose. Interesting. Never used it before.

If I had it to do over again, I might just wet a patch with the Hoppe's #9 and use that, since it made such short work of that caramel grease.

The gun cleaned up quite nicely. Looks a lot better now that it's clean. It's perfect except for what looks like a little holster wear, primarily on the right side.

I posted photos of the gun, pre-cleaning, over in the other thread, here:

I'm now a Mak Daddy

So, does that look like Cosmoline to you guys?

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: john_pifer
So, does that look like Cosmoline to you guys?


Sure does.

 

[KCJeep]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Non chlorinated brake cleaner


I cleaned up a brand new one last night. Tried the suggested brake cleaner and wow it worked like a charm. Didn't take me much longer to clean up than normal.

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted By: KCJeep
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Non chlorinated brake cleaner


I cleaned up a brand new one last night. Tried the suggested brake cleaner and wow it worked like a charm. Didn't take me much longer to clean up than normal.


What did you get?