AK 47 Sludge!

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Hello everybody. I am new to the site. I was advised to join this site by a current user, and friend

I have recently purchased a brand new Romanian WASR 10, more commonly known an AK 47. It is 7.62 X 39 mm. It was still new in the case, with all paperwork and books with it. By new I mean it had this brown "sludge" all in the components and barrel. I can only speculate that it is some sort of grease put in place to protect the parts until the owner takes possesion of it. I have purchased several firearms from U.S. manufactures, and none have had this "mess" with them. This is the first time I have purchased a firearm that was not American made. It is also the first firearm that had this gunk inside it.

My question is what is the best way to remove all of this "sludge" from my rifle? It is EVERYWHERE, the spring, bolt, chamber, trigger assembly, piston, and the barrel. Even inside both 30rd magazines. Several people have advised me to use a spray brake cleaner to remove the grease, and lubricate with a good firearm lubricant. This is my first encounter with this, and I am truly lost!

Any advise will be appreciated and most helpful.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

Go to Wal*Mart, buy the cheapest brake cleaner they have in the automotive section. Also buy a can of Rem-Oil in the sporting goods section.


Blast out all the crud and crap with it. Use it liberally. Watch the sludge melt away and drip out. Any stubborn stuff you should hit up with an old toothbrush. Old toothbrushes work just as well and are significantly cheaper than toothbruses sold as gun cleaning brushes.


After done, the brake cleaner will evaporate quickly. Spray down all internals with Rem-Oil. This is a must. Brake cleaner removes everything from the metal and it can rust easier without a protective oil coat (regardless of the finish on the parts). I like Rem-Oil, it does the job and applies easy and fast. CLP sprays tend to come out way too thick and foamy and makes a mess. Rem-Oil is a lot thinner and sprays better out of the can. However, for general cleaning and oiling, nothing beats CLP - it is hands down my favorite. Been my favorite ever since I did my own personal salt-spray rust test vs. 6-7 other products.


This whole process should take 10 minutes tops and will make the rifle spotless. OR, you can just take your time and manually clean everything with patches and a brush and take 2 hours.


BTW, Welcome to THR.

 

[MechAg94]

Brake cleaner is probably easiest. I agree on that. I used it to clean up some cheap AK magazines recently.

Mineral Spirits will also dissolve the stuff if you have small parts that are hard to clean or take apart.

 

[kcmarine]

Hmmm... sounds like cosmoline. I could be wrong though.

 

[Jason_G]

Cosmoline. Long term storage juice for commie milsurp, et al. They basically dunk the guns in hot vats of the stuff to keep 'em from rusting while in storage. Brake cleaner or boiling water will do the trick on the metal. I would get a big pot and boil up some water and just drop everything metal that'll fit into it and wipe it off and blow it dry with an air compressor. Might take a little while. As for the wood, it'll probably seep out of the wood during hot weather for awhile. You might can get off all the surface residue, and then use a hot hair dryer to coax some more out.

Jason

 

[Hoppy590]

if you dont mind waiting. throw it in a black plastic bag on a hot day and leave it in the sun. should melt it all out. and then just a quick wipe down

 

[1 old 0311]

Easiest? Fastest? Take the stock off. Take off the cover, bolt, and operating rod. Soak the bolt in mineral spirits till the firing pin moves freely. The cover, and rod you can clean with brake clean. Take the barreled action to a coin car wash. Put it on hot, soap, and spray the heck out of it.
If you use the brake clean only method you will need 6-8 cans, Get the Autozone house brand. $2.29 per can.
ANYWAY you do it it will be a mess, and a pain. You are now in the 'club.'

 

[DMK]

I can only speculate that it is some sort of grease put in place to protect the parts until the owner takes possesion of it.

That's exactly what it is. I use mineral spirits to dissolve it myself. Then soak everything with Breakfree CLP from Walmart. Wipe it down and you're good to go. You can run the AK wet. It will shake the excess off like a wet dog.

Enjoy your new Evil Black Rifle(tm).

Oh, and welcome to THR!

 

[Matt Dillon]

Make sure you clean the cosmoline out of EVERYTHING, especially the gas tube and piston mechanism. Then, when you shoot it, Cosmoline will still ooze out of every pore for quite some time!

 

[TheDisturbed1]

hm. my WASR was spotledd out of the box EXCEPT 1 mag that had this gunk in it but it works perfectly so im not worried nor have i cleaned it up

 

[raginrednek]

cleanup

clean the bore, wipe the bolt and exterior, and shoot the crap out of it, it will melt away. CARRY A RAG TO THE RANGE.

 

[aka108]

No one has mentioned cleaning the barrel.. Make sure you clean the cosmoline out of it to. Mineral spirits, a automotive parts cleaning brush and some cheap toothbrushes (the kind made in China that are about a dollar a dozen) will get the gunk out. Run some patches thru the barrel.

 

[George Hill]

Don't Tread On Me hit the nail on the head.

 

[MudPuppy]

1) clean it in the dishwasher
2) wonder why the wood doesn't fit anymore
3) put your ear plugs in because the wife just got home and "caught you in the act"
4) buy your wife a new dishwasher, thinking she'll let it drop
5) go ahead and put your earplugs back in.

Seriously, the gunk is grease and wax as I recall--sometimes it needs some heat with the degreaser. (I always buy milsurps in summer...I do like hoppy says, but put it in the car too. It "stinks" for a long while...but I uhm, like the smell.)

 

[dforge715]

I did 3 steps, mineral spirits, green cleaner (50-50 w/hot water), & final dishwasher when wife wasn't home (only metal parts). It was a nasty process!

 

[JA]

Sounds like a trip to Wal-mart is needed. Pick up the items listed below from each department.

SPORTING GOODS DEPT.

Universal rifle/pistol/shotgun cleaning kit(my local Wal-mart carries2 brands with this one being the best)
http://secure.armorholdings.com/kleen-bore/product325.html

Break-Free CLP
http://www.break-free.com/?location=/products/index.asp

.22 caliber bore brush
20 gauge bore brush
small brush with metal brissels(if not here they will have them in the Automotive Dept.)

AUTOMOTIVE DEPT.

The cheapest plastic car floor mats

A can of Brake parts cleaner

A brush with metal brissels(brass or stainless steel)

HOUSEWARES DEPT.

Roll of paper towels

DRUG DEPT.

Tooth brush

First thing when you get home swap the new tooth brush for your old one. Lay a floor mat on a table or workbench. Take the rifle apart and lay the parts on the floor mat. Shake the CLP well and spray all the parts and the rest of the rifle inside and out. Let everything soak for 15 mins. Then use the tooth brush to scrub all the parts and inside the receiver. Use the .22 bore brush on the barrel and the 20 gauge brush on the gas tube/gas block. Put 4 paper towels in the plastic bag that your purchaces came in. Shake the brake parts cleaner well and spray all the parts off while holding them over the plastic bag. Stick the barrel in the bag and spray the receiver/barrel to rinse off the gunk. Once the brake parts cleaner runs out the end of the barrel clear it is clean. The brake parts cleaner removes all the dirt/gunk,dries very quickly,and leaves no residue.
Spray a 6"x6" rag and one cleaning patch till soaked with CLP. Use the rag to wipe down all the parts and the rifle inside and out so all metal parts are coated with CLP. Run the patch down the bore. Then put both rag and patch in a zip loc baggie for use next time you clean a firearm. Take a couple paper towels and wipe off the floor mat. Throw the paper towels in the plastic bag and set it outside till the next day so the brake parts cleaner evaporates then throw the bag away.
I have been using CLP for over the last 15 years and it does a great job of cleaning,lubricating,and protecting all my firearms from rust.

PS-Contairery to what AK exspurts say.....make sure to wipe the gas tube,gas block,and gas piston down with CLP as it will make cleaning them the next time a lot easier as the coating of CLP doesn't let the firing residue stick as tight to the metal parts.

 

[Archibald Tuttle]

I seriously love THR. It's some how the only place I don't encounter pretentious replies when asking simple questions. Welcome to THR and enjoy your new rifle!

 

[collateral]

Use the .22 bore brush on the barrel

Shouldnt he have a .30 cal brush for the barrel?

I like to take time when I clean my mil-surps, its relaxing and I get a good feel for the gun.

 

[esmith]

You can boil the bolt assembly to get the cosmo out, which is what it sounds like it is. Then use brake cleaner to dissolve it out of the barrel and other places. To get the cosmoline out of the wood let it sweat in a hot sun and wipe it off once in ahwile. A couple days will remove most of it.

 

[JA]

Yes you are correct it would be a .30 caliber bore brush for rifles chambered for 7.62x39mm.
A .22 caliber bore brush would be used for rifles chambered for 5.45x39mm or 5.56x45mm.