Cosmoline out of a yugo sks stock

[DontBurnMyFlag]

Ok, so I recently purchased a Yugo SKS 59/66. It came packed in cosmoline and I cleaned it up damn nice if i say so my self. So I used gun scrubber on all the metal parts. Let that evaporate and cleaned the pieces with a toothbrush. I then oiled the gun with hoppes 9. I used goo-gone on the gun as well. It really helped and didnt leave a terrible odor like kerosene. I cleaned the stock the best I could with goo-gone, and it looks to be pretty damn clean. However, I havent shot it yet. What are the chances that the cosmo is going to bleed through the stock. I mean, it wasnt fully drenched in the stuff like some of them come. It was rather lightly covered. So should I shoot it first to see if it bleeds out. Or should i steam clean it or bake the stock in the sun/car to see if i can get more out? Im not trying to start a big thread on cosmo cleaning, because Im sure its been dont before, and I dont want to start big pointless threads that take up spaces. I just want to know what to expect. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[jefnvk]

It'll bleed for a while. I've had mine for about 10 months, and it seems that I still find bleeeding cosmo in some hidden nook everytime I shoot it.

I'd stick it in a black bag, and set it out in the sun, wipe down every now and then

 

[joab]

A friend used a pressure cooker rigged with a hose leading from the vent to steam his off.

I wrapped mine in newspaper and put it in a garbage bag and left it in the sun

 

[Greg L]

Go shoot it, bring paper towels, wipe off as needed.

Some of my surplus rifles still bleed cosmo after repeated cleanings & hundreds of round downrange. I consider it hand lotion to keep that soft smooth skin feeling .

 

[chris in va]

My friend and I boiled his AK mags on the stove. Stuff floated to the top very nicely. Dunno if you can do something similar with the stock...

 

[entropy]

Turn your oven on to 150 or so. Set the stock in as best you can. Pull it out every ten minutes or so, wipe off the swaeted out cosmo, put it back in in a different postion. Repeat until no more cosmo sweats out. I've done this to several milsurps; my Yugo SKS took the least amount of time at two hours. My Turkish Mauser took over six hours, but I was rewarded with a nice tiger-striped stock:



Here's the Yugo:



So, what's cookin' at your place?

 

[DontBurnMyFlag]

thanks guys. Im hoping that since it wasnt as covered as some rifles ive seen, that it will only take a few hours to bleed the cosmo. thanks for the input

 

[railroader]

The oven works, I did two yugos that way. Mine took a couple of hours.Put some foil on the bottom of the oven so you don't make a mess. Mark

 

[RaggedClaws]

I vote for using the sun. It's very effective, just leave your stock outside sitting in the sun and about every 20 minutes or so, go outside, wipe down the bubbling cosmo and turn the stock over. Only takes an afternoon, but unless you put some kind of polyurethane coating, it will continue to bleed every time you go shooting.

The good thing about using your oven instead of the sun is that your whole house will smell like you've been baking cosmoline cookies. Keep in mind though that wives/girlfriends don't always understand...

 

[Lennyjoe]

I used mother nature to bake mine out. Of course, in Arizona thats not hard to do.

 

[Bwana John]

I have used oven cleaner and boiling water with sucsess.
Really raises the wood grain, which I finish with steel wool, and a sanding block. I have been able to save stock cartouches with this method which would have been removed by sanding.

 

[jefnvk]

Just be very careful with the oven cleaner on the stock. It works great if you leave it on for the exact right amount of time, but if it is on too long, it can really mess up the stock. Godd thing my experience was with a $3 replacement SKS stock.

 

[Bwana John]

Just be very careful with the oven cleaner on the stock

A lot of people really worry about the oven cleaner, I have used it for 30 years now and never had a problem. I probley wouldnt use it on a laminated stock. I am usually impatiant and probley dont leave it on that long (<30min), then pore boiling water on the stock to wash it off.
jefnvk - what did it do to the stock? Was it a laminate?

 

[lesjones]

I used the oven trick. Once the stock cooled I wiped it down with mineral spirits. The bolt and firing pin with mineral spirits to make sure they were clean to the gun wouldn't slam fire.

Here's a SurplusRifle.com article on cosmoline removal. The author swears by steam.

 

[MilsurpShooter]

Oven or the sun works the best. I put my M48 stock in the oven and got the cosmo out that way. My bayonet handle I in-advertantly de-cosmoed by leaving it in the car

 

[hcker2000]

I used oven cleaner + heat from a heater in the garage.

I left the oven cleaner on for 10 min and then wiped it off with a wet rag. I did this five times and then used the heater in the garage to get the stock hot so it would seep the realy deap stuff out.

No pictures of my sks yet after the refinish but I will get a pic of it some time soon. It is now a nice red

 

[MudPuppy]

I'm going to put mine in the old truck with some rags underneath to catch the drippin's. Texas heat, its not as cool as an oven--but at least its more reliable!

 

[pete f]

go to a carpet store and ask if they have a some carpet sleeve you can have. it is clear poly that comes in a tube so they can pull it over rolls of carpet when they cut them and send them out to new homes. use a twisty and seal up one end, take the wooden stock and spray ez off oven cleaner all over it, in and out, up and down. just coat the thing. Place the stock in the bag and let it sit in there as long as you have hot sun. just let it soak. when you decide to go in for the evening, take the stock out and wipe it down and then take it to the set tub in the house and wash in the hottest water you have. just flood the thing and use a tooth brush to clean all the little crevices and place you can not reach. pat it dry with paper towels and now hang the stock up and let the air dry it out the rest of the way... WE used to buy cosmolined sks's by the dozen a few years back, and we would clean the metal with either a parts washer or a big tub of diesel. gasoline works really well, if you are by yourself outside and you have a breezy day to blow the fumes away, but I prefer to take a little longer and use the dieselbath as that "Whoooooompf!!!!" sound of gasoline igniting scares me but the ez off worked wonders on the wood. and it left it solid not soft.

 

[Shrinkmd]

Stock in the Oven?

I'm game. Did people wipe it with mineral spirits first or steam it, or just put it on the cookie sheet with tinfoil under it and start baking? Also, is there any smell involved? If you do it when your wife is away will she know you were up to something when she returns? I don't want to mess up the oven we eat from with nasty chemicals.

Unfortunately it is 40 degrees here in NJ so I won't be baking anything in the sun for a while...

For people who have baked them, once you are done does it need to be refinished, or can you just spray some furniture polish or whatever and go shootin'?

Also, this is one of the "unissued" new Yugo SKS, so is the finish worth saving? I'd like to try...

 

[TrafficMan]

i soaked my m59 stock in the bathtub filled with gasoline. then i lit up a cigarette and flicked it in the tub. stock turned out pretty good, it's a little charred but still functional. i am still going to have to remodel the bathroom and my eyebrows haven't grown back yet.

 

[GunGoBoom]

I'm not sure what there's more of... methods to get out cosmo, or threads on same. In any event, between this one and the search function, you are well-served.

 

[Griff]

I got my Yugo (lock, stock and barrel) clean of cosmo with mineral spirits from the paint remover section at one of the local d.i.t.y. depots. (Get 2 Big cans. Might not need both but then again...) This was easy, cheap, and simple.

1. Field strip and put small parts in a paint tray, let soak. (Leave the rubber butt-pad out. Yeah, I know...Duh. Uh-huh) You know it's working when the color changes to brown.
2. Wrap the stock and bbl/reciever in junk washcloths or towels and soak with MS. Long twist-ties can help hold them on but rubber bands mush out.
3. Scrub as needed with a toothbrush, pipe cleaners, green scrubby pad, etc.
4. Wear gloves and ventillate well.
5. Flush with water.
6. Destroy rags immediately. I think I remember reading somewhere that if left alone they can spontaneously combust, but why gamble?

After it's all over, you can re-finish the metal with CLP and the wood with Mineral Oil, if you want to go cheap.

good source: http://www.surplusrifle.com/sks/index.asp

 

[.45Guy]

When I was in highschool, my dad drove a fuel truck. It's amazing what a day or two in 87 octane will do!

 

[albanian]

"Also, this is one of the "unissued" new Yugo SKS, so is the finish worth saving? I'd like to try..."

If I were you, I would only use the more gentle methods described. Being an unissued means that it will probably clean up easier than some. Some of these guys had to use the harsh and possibly harmful methods described. If you are new to this, go slow and don't do anything rash or you may ruin a nice stock.

A few things that I would NOT do to a unissued Yugo stock are:

1. Use harsh chemicals. The original finish is probably still there and worth saving so you should try. Oven cleaner is probably not needed on a unissed stock. On a beat to hell 60 year old Turk Mauser, that may be a good option but you are not that bad off yet.

2. Soak or submerge the stock in water. You can ruin the stock very quickly by getting it too wet. Stick with moist paper towels or rags if you need to use water. Dunking it in water will make the grain swell and ruin the stock. There is no reason to do it so don't.

3. Use gasoline. With all the safer, less stinky and less corrosive cleaners out there, why use gasoline. At today's gas prices, it is too expensive to use anyway. Use a de-greaser or cleaner not a fuel. Gas, Kerosene and Diesel will make the stock stink for a LONG time. You may think it is gone someday only to get a good whiff of it once you put your cheek to the comb. Remember, your nose is going to be right up against the stock when you shoot so if you don't like huffing gas, use something else.

If you use the oven method, be carful and watch for cracks. Heating it up too much may crack the wood but you should be okay The Yugo stocks are very good. As long as you don't do anything stupid, you probably won't hurt them too bad.

 

[Borachon]

Gas, Kerosene and Diesel will make the stock stink for a LONG time.

That wasn't my experience with using gasoline. It evaporated very quickly. I suppose the stock finish may have been effected by the harsh quality of gasoline, but I planned to refurbish it anyway so I didn't care. After about three hours in the sun, I didn't notice any gasoline smell. I did wait until the next day to shoot the rifle though. Just in case...

I found gasoline on all other metal parts to be a super fast and easy way to remove cosmoline. And at 3 dollars per GALLON, a lot cheaper than buying 8 or 16oz bottles or cans of cleanser. And I could use the left over unused gas to mow the lawn.