A little help with grungy 1903

[Dan the Man]

The ODCMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program) has been kind enough to send me a Remington model 1903. The barrel appears correct (R-P stamp, ordnance bomb, 4-42 date). The rifle could be charitably described as 'well worn'.

I need some help, however. Could someone suggest the best way to get the cosmoline out of the rifle stock. Its clearly been packed away for some time, and the stock is black with it. I should be able to clean the rifle itself without too much difficulty, but I don't know how to get the stock cleaned up.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Regards
Dan

 

[mosinjoe]

Well... I might suggest that you take the rifle and wrap it with newspaper and and place it inside an appropriate length and wide enough size of pvc pipe and place a hair dryer at one end (carefully!) to allow the hot air to blow into the pipe and let it run for a while and this will melt some of the cosmo out of the stock. Black pvc in the direct sunlight will do the same and will aid in leeching the cosmo out of the pores of the wood stock. A black plastic bag with a newspapers wrapped stock placed inside a closed car will do in a pinch. In any event, it is a slow process and you can use your imagination (and a little heat, Not alot!!) to sweat that gunk out. Be patient, I did an old Enfield using some of the described processes and it came out beautiful.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

You can also stand the stock in a bucket and pour hot water over it -- with perhaps a little dishwashing liquid mixed in. Use that before using the black PVC pipe, to get all the surface ghunk off.

 

[chunk]

mineral spirits works well on cosmoline

 

[jefnvk]

I used a heat lamp on mine. let it sit under it, and wipe off the seeping cosmo every now and then

 

[alamo]

mosinjoe's suggestion is the purest way to do it based on what I've read on the C&R rifle stock preservation and cleaning forum. It may be warm enough in League City to put it in a plastic bag out in the sun to get some of it out initially. Wipe it down good first of course. I used this method with the CMP 1903A3 I got in November. I used a clothes steamer later to heat it up and wiped down the cosmoline that oozed out. You can't get it all though.

I then wiped it with a cloth using laquer thinnner. That gets a lot of other oil / dirt out. It lightens it a fair amount. I sanded it with 0000 steel wool after that. Then I put on several coats of Behr's Tung Oil finish. This darkens it and it looks fantastic now.

This website is a good reference for this sort of work. It has ordering info. for the Behr's Tung Oil - $10 & change for a quart including shipping. Don't put it in the dishwasher or use oven cleaner on it. It may look OK after using those methods but it is not good for the stock long term.

http://p077.ezboard.com/fparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforumsfrm34

 

[MilsurpShooter]

Heat is your friend in removing Cosmo from wood. Pretty much anywhere you can put the stock that will allow it to heat up will do. Car inside a black plastic bag (Caution, will make the car smell) if you have a big enough oven. But just note that even when you think your done and you have the cosmo out, when you go to the range and start firing, no matter how clean it may be, the heat of the barrel will still make some seep out that you didn't know was there.

 

[DMK]

Wipe off the excess cosmo with paper towels, shop towels or even old newspaper. Wipe it down with mineral spirits and a rag. Use a toothbrush to get the nooks and crannies. Get as much off as you can.

In the summer, I then put the stock, covered with kitty litter, in a black garbage bag, then set it in my truck where the sun will shine on it all day with the windows closed. The heat melts the cosmo, then the kitty litter soaks it up.

However, in the winter, it's too cold for this to work that well unless you get some warn spells near you. On my CMP '03 I used a craft heat gun to get the cosmo to bubble up to the surface, then wiped it off with shop towels. Be very careful you don't get it too hot and burn the wood.

After you are done, wipe it down with mineral spirits again, and let dry. Use an oil finish like real Tung Oil(not Tung finish, which is a varnish) or BLO(what was originally used) and wipe it into the wood, waiting 24 hours between coats. I like to use a scotchbrite pad. Cut the first coat 50/50 with mineral spirits to get it to soak in deeper.

 

[Wllm. Legrand]

Naptha and plastic brush. Wear gloves. Don't smoke. Very flammable.

 

[redranger1]

ive cleaned many many guns covered in cosmoline in gasoline but thats a lil pricey these days and a lil on the dangerous side. just use common sense if you go that route and it will work awesome! also if you want to refinish the stock oven cleaner works wonders on the stocks! it will take the nastiest grimmiest stock and really clean it up well. but as i said, thats only if you want to refinish the stock.

 

[Dan the Man]

Thank you all for your kind and helpful responses. I started by wiping down the stock with mineral spirits and shop towels. That helped the stock quite a bit. I disassembled the rifle and cleaned all the individual parts with shop towels, bore patches, and mineral spirits. I cleaned the bore with patches and mineral spirits. I then reassembled the rifle, wrapped it in shop towels, and put it in black plastic bags. Its nice and warm outside (high today should be in the 70's). At the end of the day, I will wipe it down one more time with mineral spirits.

The parts appear to be all original Remington. Wear is uniform and extensive (not much finish on anything!). The barrel turned out to be clean, shiny, and unpitted. The rifling looks a wee bit shallow to me, but its hard to say. The stock is beat to hell. The mineral spirits appear to be drying out the stock a bit in some places, so I will probably rub some of my magic stock paste on it (1/3 linseed, 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 beeswax--works great).

I will post some before/after pics when I have a moment.

Regards to All
--Dan

 

[kentucky_smith]

dishwasher

 

[CZguy]

ive cleaned many many guns covered in cosmoline in gasoline but thats a lil pricey these days and a lil on the dangerous side. just use common sense if you go that route and it will work awesome! also if you want to refinish the stock oven cleaner works wonders on the stocks! it will take the nastiest grimmiest stock and really clean it up well. but as i said, thats only if you want to refinish the stock.

I've had very good success using auto parts solvent from NAPA auto parts stores.

Dishwashers cause damage to the wood. Not to mention the fall out when my wife found out.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I've had very good success using auto parts solvent from NAPA auto parts stores.

Dishwashers cause damage to the wood. Not to mention the fall out when my wife found out.

Let me give you another piece of advice -- never, never wash a muddy, matted saddle blanket in the washing machine.

 

[Firehand]

I like to use the kitty litter method when it's warm enough. In summer in OK, I can put it out every day for a 7-10 days and it gets virtually all the grease/oil out. I then spray it with a degreaser , brush and rinse to get the dust off. Or, even better, use a wallpaper tray and mineral spirits; that gets the dust and the last of the grease/oil off the wood and dries fast. And it's less likely to damage any markings(cartouches, etc.) on the surface than water.

When the weather doesn't allow that way, you can use the mineral spirits and tray to get all the stuff off the surface of the wood, and some of the stuff near the surface, but it won't get the stuff soaked in. I did this on my -A3, and when summer arrives it goes in the pipe with the litter. Since I've helped a friend with several, I wound up getting a piece of 5" stovepipe, bending it to an oval cross-section, putting a permanent cap on one end and a removable on the other and painting it black. Works great, and I don't have to worry about plastic tearing and leaking anymore.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I like to use the kitty litter method when it's warm enough. In summer in OK, I can put it out every day for a 7-10 days and it gets virtually all the grease/oil out. I then spray it with a degreaser , brush and rinse to get the dust off. Or, even better, use a wallpaper tray and mineral spirits; that gets the dust and the last of the grease/oil off the wood and dries fast. And it's less likely to damage any markings(cartouches, etc.) on the surface than water.

When the weather doesn't allow that way, you can use the mineral spirits and tray to get all the stuff off the surface of the wood, and some of the stuff near the surface, but it won't get the stuff soaked in. I did this on my -A3, and when summer arrives it goes in the pipe with the litter. Since I've helped a friend with several, I wound up getting a piece of 5" stovepipe, bending it to an oval cross-section, putting a permanent cap on one end and a removable on the other and painting it black. Works great, and I don't have to worry about plastic tearing and leaking anymore.

You know, I'm starting to think that kitty litter is as useful as duct tape.