What to soak my trigger assembly in to remove cosmoline???

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DevLcL

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Okay, I have a new SKS and don't feel like taking apart the trigger assmebly so I'm just wondering if I can soak it in WD40 or something overnight then in the morning use compressed air to rinse and repeat. If theres any reason why I shouldn't do this please let me know, If I get no responses I'm doin it. :)

-Dev
 
WD 40 is the only thing I use to remove cosmoline with

Hi there,

I bought a YUGO SKS this year that was unissued.

I tried several things to remove cosmoline and then finally settled on WD-40 and it worked like a charm. Afterwards, I soaked the trigger assembly in Ed's Red Bore Cleaner to remove the WD-40.

Chris
 
WD-40, then blast it out with non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Oil to prevent rust and lubricate as necessary.
 
I normally use the parts washer in the shop with varsol but recently I switched it out to simple green. It doesn't work near as good but it does work. You just have to do some more brushing. Then when it's about clean I use a can of brake clean on it.

On that Yugo make real sure you get the bolt assembly really clean also and make sure the firing pin is free and not sticking at all. It will go machine gun on you if it sticks. My first one had a tiny burr on the tip of the firing pin that made it go FA on me. I had to disassemble it and polish the tip thn no more problems.
I don't know if I'd recommend disassembling the bolt to a customer though. I had to fix a few where they broke them trying to drive the pin through. That thing is tough!
 
Plain old, clear, non parafinated, lamp oil works better than anything except gasoline and I don't recommend gasoline since terrible accidents seem to occur whenever anybody attempts to use gasoline.
 
First Simply Green and a cheap paint bursh...then Mineral Spirits and a tooth brush; have done the job with home heating oil (or Diesel fuel).


Diesel fuel and mineral spirits DO hae the possibility f setting yourself on fire if not careful...have to really work at it, but you can do it.
 
I do a lot of gunsmithing and use Ed's Red to clean everything metal. Just make sure to keep it off the stocks. Good for cosmoline removal and the nice thing is it leaves a light coat of oil (tranny fluid) when you're wiped most of it off.

Dave
 
I broke a couple of punches trying to disassemble the bolt on the Yugo I had. Ended up using a drill press and a piece of hard steel rod to press it out, IIRC. Then CRC Brakleen and a pipe cleaner to clean the pin channel. Now, I'd probably use Break Free Powder Blast instead.
 
Having removed Cosmoline from hundreds of machine tools, I recommend Mineral Spirits. Kerosene works also but stinks. WD-40 works but way slower then Mineral Spirits.
 
I like to use Cheap Brake cleaner. Doesn't hurt the metal and you just spray it on and off comes the cosomoline and it leaves nothing on to take off.

Just be sure to use gloves and be sure to be outside. :)
 
Really hot water and Dawn dishwashing liquid is the cheap mans alternative to simple green. It probably doesn't work quite as well, but it is cheap, and it is easy to use. Re-lubrication is necessary, of course.

Some people say I am an infidel for allowing water to touch firearms. Do they really think all of the soldiers of all of the worlds armies ran for shelter every time it rained?
 
Acetone. Not too harsh, but will remove most anything, especially oils/grease. Try to keep it off your skin, and not inhale fumes, but its not THAT dangerous. If you work iwth it outside, and wear rubber gloves, it's very safe. Note that it IS quite flamable.
 
Carb Cleaner

Carb Cleaner ($1.25 Walmart) and a brass scrub brush ($.99 Walmart) Use on all my sks's.
 
Boil it, there won't be any cosmo left on it. The lightly lube. Done in a matter of minutes.
 
I've really become a big fan of hot (boiling if possible) water and dishwashing liquid in the sink. Rinse with clear boiling water. I picked this up from shooting black powder and starting using the same method on SKSs.

My understanding of corrosive salts is that hot water does the best job of neutralizing and removing them. Hot soapy water is also cheap and always available. I also find that I use less patch material.

The biggest boon is the lack of harsh chemical on my hands. No smell, no danger to thermoplastics or stock finishes, and no chemical residue to dispose of. No skin irritation.

I don't use this method on all guns, mostly black powder and my SKSs. Also the bores on milsurp bolt guns after corrosive ammo.

As to soaking stuff, I keep a 50 cal ammo can full of kerosine. I've also used paint thinner or other relatively mild solvents. Throw the part in and leave it for a few days. I prefer kerosine as it seems to soften rust so that it can come off with a stainless steel bristle brush.
 
Dichloromethane

You could also use Dichloromethane. My brother once worked for a welding supply company and they sold it to de-grease metal. I used to clean my mechanics tools after working on my old diesel Mercedes Benz. Worked great. Always did it outside and used chemical gloves.
 
Boil it, there won't be any cosmo left on it. The lightly lube. Done in a matter of minutes.
Click to expand...

This really does work. I cleaned my 2nd SKS this way. Everything that would fit in the pot of boiling water went in (excluding wood handguards/gas tube). Everything else was laid on aluminum foil and placed outside in the hot summer sun* while I worked on the small parts. By the time I got back to the receiver/barrel, it is was laying in a pool of liquid cosmoline

I used Breakfree to blast out the remaining cosmoline. I started with Gun Scrubber but that cooled the metal to fast.

It took about 2hrs to clean the whole rifle using hot water and sunlight. My first SKS took like 10 hrs using WD-40, brake cleaner, breakfree, and anything else I could fine.

I did not disassemble the trigger assembly.

*A 110 deg day in AZ was good for something.
 
When I got my Mosin, I bought a big plastic tub, some gun scrubber, and lots of throw away towels. I boiled a bunch of water in a kettle and poured it over and in the receiver and trigger assembly. that removed alot of the cosmoline on it's own. Then I wiped everything down with gunscrubber. Next time I get a cosmoline coated weapon, I will buy a $40 steamer from wally world.
 
It took about 2hrs to clean the whole rifle using hot water and sunlight. My first SKS took like 10 hrs using WD-40, brake cleaner, breakfree, and anything else I could fine.
Click to expand...

Same here and I had a wicked headache to boot and my hands were dried out beyond belief.:barf: You really don't need the nasty chemicals, heat is the key, I cleaned up a Mosin Nagant not to long ago by wrapping it in towels and sticking it on the dashboard of the truck in the Arkansas heat. That crap just dripped off and poured out of the stock.
 
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