Cosmo in the stock question

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Ringer

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OK, I have read a lot of posts about removing cosmoline. I have been able to remove a fair amount from the stock of my SKS. This is a $99 rifle and I don't really want to make a life long project of this thing. Everything cleaned up nicely except the stock. I thought I had it pretty good but after leaving it sit for a week more has appeared at the surface.

My question is, if I remove what I can from the surface (again) let it dry and then add a few coats of Tung oil will that help prevent it from seeping out? I don't really care about the looks I just want to be able to go shoot it without getting a cosmo bath when the stock heats up.

I guess I'll find out soon enough unless anyone has any other suggestions for sealling the stuff in.

Thanks
 
I removed most all of the cosmoline from my 1903A3 with a hair dryer. I heated small areas at a time letting the cosmoline ooze out and wiping that area with a rag soaked in mineral spitirt. Did this until nothing more came out. Then I scrubbed the surface of the wood with mineral spirits and a Scotch-brite pad.

I let it dry overnight and hand rubbed in 3 coats of boiled linseed oil.

Anothe thing you can do is to put the stock in the dishwasher add detergent, and run it thru a "pot scrubber" or heavy-duty cycle but don't use the heated drying. That will remove oils and grease and should come out fairly clean. Then use a stain of your choice followed by Tung oil or BLO.

The dishwasher won't be hurt but run a cycle or two with the maximum amount of detergent afterwards. Depending on your level of authority in the kitchen, you may want to do this in secret.... :D
 
Another option is to bake the stock in the oven at 200 degrees. If your married, you might want to get prior approval from the spouse. Also, open plenty of windows cause it stinks.

I used Mother Nature to get the cosmo out of mine. I set the stocks on tin foil in the back yard and let the Arizona sun sweat the cosmo out. Worked great.
 
The orange power type products are good.

Also wrapp it in several layers of news print and leave in the cabof your pickup (parked in the sun)
 
I baked my SKS stock in the oven at 180 for about 2 hours, wiping it down every 20 minutes. By the end almost nothing was coming out anymore. I don't think you can realistically get it all out, and you may not want to anyways. It can add some life to your stock after rubbing in the tung oil really well.
 
Thanks for the replies and suggestions on removing the cosmoline.

What I'm really interested in is if a few coats of Tung oil will keep it from oozing out when it heats up from shooting. I've gotten a fair amount out and am just not going to spend any more time on this $99 semi-beat up rifle. So, I'm going to let it dry overnight and start applying the oil tomorrow. Hopefully get to the range in the next 2 weeks and see how it shoots.
 
Auto windshield facing into the sun for several hours. Rap stock in paper towels and put it in a black trash bag. Heats up nice. That's how I clean my greasey stocks.
 
First I cleaned the wood stock with mineral spirits. I wrapped the stock in paper towels and then wrapped it in tin foil. I baked it in the oven for about 2 hours at 170 degrees, removing it every 20 minutes to wipe off excess cosmo. I used some 0000 steel wool on it after it cooled. Next I applied a few coats of tung oil for the finish, using the 0000 steel wool between coats after it dried each time over night. So far so good. :rolleyes:
 
The solar baking method followed by mineral spirits is good. Make sure that you clean the barrel channel. Often Mausers will have gunk packed in there that will ooze as you shoot.
 
OK, I know I said I wasn't going to spend any more time on this stock. I just couldn't bring myself to oiling down a stock with noticeable amounts of cosmo. I went ahead and put it in the dishwasher. Figured I had gotten the bulk of it out so what could hurt. Wow, I was surprised how much came out.

Here is the stock after working it over with a steamer, mineral spirits, dishwasher, 400 and 600 grit wet sandpaper. There are still traces of cosmo and the stock is a little beat up but I'm pretty happy with it for a beater. Just need to lay on the tung oil next.

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