'As New' Yugo SKS arrived yesterday...

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Auf Grosser Fahrt

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Just got my 'new' SKS, and it does appear to be new to me. Want to keep it that way. I'm going to clean it up tomorrow.

My other rifles all have that hard shiney kind of finish on the wood. The SKS, though attractive, does not. Seems more porous. How should I treat it to best protect and preserve it? I assume I need to clean it with something, to remove any oils or grease, then maybe use lemon oil on it? I even thought maybe Thompson's Water Seal.

Not really sure. Don't want to do more harm than good, but I just have no idea really how to best proceed. Don't want to screw it up.

Tell me what is best to do.

This thread may belong in a better location, so please move it as appropriate.
 
I just picked up a norinco sks Wednesday from my best friend in a trade. I traded a 995ts for it. Its filthy. He's had it 10 years and never shot ir cleaned it. It has no rust however. It also has a scope mount on it. Seems to be in pretty good shape.
 
fallout mike said:
I just picked up a norinco sks Wednesday from my best friend in a trade. I traded a 995ts for it. Its filthy. He's had it 10 years and never shot ir cleaned it. It has no rust however. It also has a scope mount on it. Seems to be in pretty good shape.
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Fair trade. I've had a 995ts. They're a blast. Cheap to shoot, comfy, but a bugger to clean. The 9mm out of a carbine is going to pick up some speed and energy downrange, but that sks, if it shoots, is going to make up the difference. The 995 is a fun gun, the sks is a jack of all trades. You've done well.
 
Is it just me or is Yugoslavian cosmoline considerably different from Russian cosmoline? My Yugo came absolutely dripping in this honey, waxy like substance that took a blow dryer, a couple rags, and a lot of time to get out. On the plus side I learned how to completely strip the gun right off the bat.

The Russian M1895 Nagant revolver and Mosin rifle I got were nothing like that. They came coated in a packing grease like substance that just wiped right off with a rag. Didn't take long at all to take em apart and clean them.
 
Rub a little tung oil on it and shoot it. No need to get into other sealers. They were not meant to be shiney. The Yugo SKS was designed to be a battle rifle it not some toy gun that supposed to be pretty and shiney. Always thought making them pretty was like putting a tux on a pig. The SKS is a pig, but it's a wonderful good shooting pig that's hard not to like.
 
I used my outdoor gas grill to leech out the cosmos . A lot of wiping with paper towel alright.
 
Brake Cleaner works great for cleaning cosmoline off the bare metal, and it will strip the original finish off the wood of the stock as well, so keep that in mind.
 
Very well built. Very nice wood stock too. The breakup of the former Yugoslavia saw the use of these Yugo SKSs as infighting between ethnic groups erupted. Bosnians, Croat, Kosovars, Albanians and Serbs all used them one way or the other.
 
That is a beautiful weapon!!! I cleaned mine up with WD-40. I buy it in the gallon can and use a rag to apply. The cosmoline wipes right off, then you can use a regular gun oil to protect the metal parts. I haven't used anything on the stocks of mine other than wiping them down occasionally with some Lemon Pledge. I works great for cleaning the windshield on my motorcycle and cleaning my milsurp gunstocks.....
 
fallout mike said:
I just picked up a norinco sks Wednesday from my best friend in a trade. I traded a 995ts for it. Its filthy. He's had it 10 years and never shot ir cleaned it. It has no rust however. It also has a scope mount on it. Seems to be in pretty good shape.
Click to expand...

I like the Yugoslavian M59/66 as it's a substantial piece of hardware. However, I love the Norinco type 56. It was my first rifle purchase in the early 90's (Rose's department store, $95 new in box), so they do have sentimental value to me. However, I do recall it seeming lighter in weight to the M59/66 and feeling quite handy. The chrome-lined barrel didn't hurt either, being all the 7.62x39 it saw that wasn't Norinco (before the days of Wolf) was berdan/corrosive Sellier&Bellot.

It was an incredibly dependable rifle that I regret selling, even if I did make a 250% profit.
Nostalgia for me is a cosmoline-scented Norinco type 56 loaded with blackish lacquer steel-case Norinco ammo in silver boxes.
 
Nice Yugo man. It's just like the one I recently picked up. Just keep the gas system on these M59/66's clean and she'll shoot good for ya.

One word of caution. Be very careful and take the piston out and clean it -BEFORE- you shoot it. Also remove and clean the gas valve. If there is any cosmo left in there as you fire the thing it will bake until it gets hard and seizes your valve.

The previous owner of the one I have did exactly that to mine. It was a cast iron bugger to get free and cleaned.
 
Hold on. Before you mess with the finish of the stock, there are a few quick things to review.

The "shiny hard" surface on some rifle stocks that you are talking about is likely shellac or varnish. Those do a fine job, but when I finish a stock, i actually do not use them. A Matte finish is gotten by simply rubbing some boiled linseed oil (BLO for short) or tung oil. The Finnish Mosins that I've had, also had this matte sort of finish as opposed to the Russian Mosins that had a shellac.

What I'm trying to say is that your SKS may very well have a perfectly sealed stock that is not going to be damaged by weather or specifically by water penetration. Might be worth testing it by dribbling a cup of water over one part of the stock (careful so that the water won't drip into cracks, or into metal areas) and see if the water simply beads up and falls off, or if it absorbs into the stock.
 
Good info, everyone! I can't imagine how it looks like it does, other than way more careful handling and storage than what most arsenals give their weapons, maybe? The Yugoslavians made a superior product and took superior care of them?

What with these and the perfect Nagants that have been coming in, I'm a happy camper. A Mauser in the same shape would be cool, too.
 
I had a Yugo for a while but got fed up with all that added crap on the barrel. Removal is an exercise in futility so I sold it for a Saiga. Which got unconverted soon after.:cool:
 
Although the heaviest of the SKS design, the M 59 66 shoots very well with minimal recoil. The heavy muzzle break and rifle grenade attachment are part of that allure. I wouldnt mess it up or lessen the value.
 
One more thing to keep in mind about the M59/66 (and most other SKS for that matter)

Do not go and just start taking things off to lighten it up. If you take anything off of the gun that is not original you will render the thing non-C&R. Then you will have an illegal rifle in that it will not be section 922 compliant unless you get the specific foreign parts count down to 10 or less.

Lots of folks are quick to remove the bayonet or swap the original stock and-or magazine for plastic parts like TAPCO sells.

Google Section 922. It's a silly rule. Thank you ATF.
 
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