Removing Cosmolene

[Cantom]

I was just asked about removing cosmoline, and it brings back bad memories...(shudder) I do hate that stuff...

I found this very entertaining article about removing "The Brown Menace".

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/cosmoline/index.asp

Is there any way to save this whole article to the Milsurp Knowledge Library, as I believe the owner of that site has cancer and those articles will cease to exist. I wonder how he's doing btw, I hope well.

For a perfect example of a nice coat of cosmo, see this ad.
http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=837


BTW, I tried correcting the spelling of cosmoline, and managed to in here, but for some reason the wrong spelling still shows on the forum- I wish we could edit our own mistakes out.

[Claven2]

Surplusrifle.com is no longer going to go offline. It's under new administration courtesy of their forum admin ppl who ponied up some dough to keep it up.

As for removing cosmolene, bar none, the best method is a vasol parts washer. Granted, we don't all have access to one. I have tried many other solutions, but I find the best solution is to use varsol soaked paper towel. Wear rubber gloves and do it in a well ventilated area. I also use an assortment of toothbrushes, dental pics and brass scrapers to do the deed ;)

[Cantom]

Surplusrifle.com is no longer going to go offline. It's under new administration courtesy of their forum admin ppl who ponied up some dough to keep it up.

As for removing cosmolene, bar none, the best method is a vasol parts washer. Granted, we don't all have access to one. I have tried many other solutions, but I find the best solution is to use varsol soaked paper towel. Wear rubber gloves and do it in a well ventilated area. I also use an assortment of toothbrushes, dental pics and brass scrapers to do the deed ;)

Oh, I've done the varsol thing too...but reading that link, that steamer idea sounds like the way to go, if I have to do it again I'll be trying that.

[BRAMEL]

I just use my tea kettle......Boiling water, really melt the ole yellow/brownish snot.:dancingbanana:

[mudpuppy]

The steamers work really well and are cheap if you buy them at liquidation stores. The one I use was only $25 and comes with a bunch of attachments that let you concentrate the steam in confined areas.

It takes about 20 minutes to completly strip a rifle of cosmo with one, it just melts off and you don't have to deal with varsol fumes.
They also come in handy when you are trying to steam out dents in a stock.

[Dante]

I completely stripped the No.4 and tried hot water...NO! So, I then tried hot water and a rag with varsol....NO...limited success but still sticky. Then I put a big pot of water on to boil and immersed all of the metal bits as well I donned rubber gloves and used boiling water to wash the wood. Lots of work but it is done now. Metal lubed and wood oiled.....a work of art. Thanks for the help....
Dave

[sdh1911]

I've been using hand cleaner lately, works pretty good for the thin stuff. As for the thick stuff, mineral oil and or diesel fuel and a scrub brush works well. You may wish to use vinyl gloves while you indulge HTH-SDH

[Maple_Leaf_Eh]

Engine degreaser and hot tap water. Let it run until you are getting the really hot stuff from the tank. The solvent will soften the goo, and the hot water will float it away. Be sure to reapply the oil as soon as you are done. Slobber it on. I leave things disassembled for a day so the wood won't get re-soiled with oil. And this gives you time to apply the linseed oil to the stock.

[Cantom]

Engine degreaser and hot tap water. Let it run until you are getting the really hot stuff from the tank. The solvent will soften the goo, and the hot water will float it away. Be sure to reapply the oil as soon as you are done. Slobber it on. I leave things disassembled for a day so the wood won't get re-soiled with oil. And this gives you time to apply the linseed oil to the stock.

No sooner did I bring this up than I just bought a 42 Long Branch rifle today that is infested with the brown menace...I guess I'll be looking at steamers...I'd rather avoid using smelly chemicals around the house. This'll be the first time I've done this in over 15 years.

[Claven2]

It's not that big of a deal. Using just varsol and paper towel and a few implements, even if I'm REALLY picky, it only takes me an evening to detail strip and clean a rifle in cosmolene. It's messy though, prepare for that.

[JosephDerMauserSchiesser]

Brake Cleaner

[Cantom]

Brake Cleaner


Brakleen fits my definition of noxious chemicals you shouldn't be breathing. The steamer thing gets around that issue 100%...would you spray Brakleen inside your house?

[Badger]

Is there any way to save this whole article to the Milsurp Knowledge Library, as I believe the owner of that site has cancer and those articles will cease to exist. I wonder how he's doing btw, I hope well.


Great idea Cantom... :thup:

I believe a group of folks have resurrected Jamie's site.

Check here:

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=19629

... and then here:

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/

Jamie is a great guy.... (big salute)

Regards,
Badger

[JosephDerMauserSchiesser]

Brakleen fits my definition of noxious chemicals you shouldn't be breathing. The steamer thing gets around that issue 100%...would you spray Brakleen in our house?


Ya do it outside.
I do it in my fathers lab

[desporterizer]

I try to stay away from water as much as possible(unlees i need to do a major repair) to avoid raising the grain & warpage. The best results I have had so far involved a varsol wash, followed by a couple of hours in the cosmo cooker, then more varsol. The worst I have ever seen was my verguiros. I don't know what they used on those stock but it must be super cosmo. They still leach cosmo every trip to the range(& not a little either). As a side note the more cosmo I take off the the lighter the stock gets & the first place I see cosmo come out is the end grain & the tiger stripes in the side.

[Cantom]

I try to stay away from water as much as possible(unlees i need to do a major repair) to avoid raising the grain & warpage. The best results I have had so far involved a varsol wash, followed by a couple of hours in the cosmo cooker, then more varsol. The worst I have ever seen was my verguiros. I don't know what they used on those stock but it must be super cosmo. They still leach cosmo every trip to the range(& not a little either). As a side note the more cosmo I take off the the lighter the stock gets & the first place I see cosmo come out is the end grain & the tiger stripes in the side.

You're saying the steamer will raise the grain and ruin the wood? I don't like the sound of that but I also have had bad experiences with breathing Thinners vapours for hours trying to get that crud off a rifle...but I don't want to damage a stock either.

[desporterizer]

A steamer is safer than soaking the whole stock but it will raise grain & can warp thin stock like hanguards. Any lightly struck markings are also in danger. Shellac also doesn't like water all that much either. Experiment on a piece of hardwood moulding from the harware store & see what works for you.

[busdriver72]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/busdriver72/Captured2005-1-2100000.jpg
I have made myself a trough out of PVC pipe and capped the ends.
I use a form of Ed's Red in it, mineral spirits, acteone, and Marvel Mystery Oil.
If a rifle is covered in cosmoline, I place the metal parts in this trough and let them soak. You can make one long enough to lay entire barrel down into. If you're going to try this, don't forget a valve to drain it.
As far as wood goes, I use lots of rags and citrus based cleaners that are safe for wood. On a C&R gun, the goal is to preserve as much of the original finish as possible. A day in the hot summer sun will sweat out a lot of cosmoline from wood.

[Cantom]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/busdriver72/Captured2005-1-2100000.jpg
I have made myself a trough out of PVC pipe and capped the ends.
I use a form of Ed's Red in it, mineral spirits, acteone, and Marvel Mystery Oil.
If a rifle is covered in cosmoline, I place the metal parts in this trough and let them soak. You can make one long enough to lay entire barrel down into. If you're going to try this, don't forget a valve to drain it.
As far as wood goes, I use lots of rags and citrus based cleaners that are safe for wood. On a C&R gun, the goal is to preserve as much of the original finish as possible. A day in the hot summer sun will sweat out a lot of cosmoline from wood.


After reading that post about water/steam warping wood and raising the grain, I don't think I'll use a steamer on the stock, I think leaving it out in the hot sun will work very well. I do think I'll try the steamer on the action. That Cosmo is very tough to remove...

How did the army do it btw? They're the ones who sealed up their rifles in this stuff, what about when they needed to use the rifles again? Talk about an industrial sized job...

[Cyrano4747]

I've de-cosmoed 10 rifles at this point and there is only one method which I find works every time. I do a detail strip of the rifle, put all the small parts in a pot of boiling water, and remove them while the water is still near boiling temperature. The heat of the metal evaporates most of the water and the rest can be hand dried off.

For the big metal parts I wipe off all the excess that I can get to with a rag lightly wetted with a petroleum solvent (usually turpentine because that's what I have around in large quantities). After that evaporates off the metal I break out the most important tool I have for cosmo removal: my trusty heat gun. This works wonders on those hard to reach areas like the inside of the chamber, small metal cutouts, and the like. Turn it on high, point it at the afflicted area, and watch the cosmolene literally pour out.

For the stocks I put them in my oven at about 150 degrees if they'll fit in there. NOTE: This will stink up your oven. Your wife/girlfriend/whatever may not approve, but it really does work and won't screw up the stock at all. The heat is no worse than what the barrel channel gets during prolonged firing, and it's enough to really draw the old cosmo out. If the stock's too big I've got a solar oven I made out of sheet plastic and two by fours. It's basically a small sheet plastic greenhouse that traps sunlight for a similar effect.

I've seen too many stocks ruined by harsh chemicals to really feel comfortable using them on my wood anymore, hence this approach.

As for what the military did, I don't have any proof of this, but an old friend of the family who served with the US Army in WW2 says he remembers watching supply companies dunk M1 carbines in big drums of boiling water to get it off. From what he described, it sounds like they'd pop the stocks off, wipe the grease off those with a rag, throw the rest of the rifle in the water, boil off the grease, dry them off, and call it good enough. They really didn't baby those guns in the same way we do. He claimed that they had them hanging somehow so they could do a bunch at one time - he described it as looking like the old candle-dipping machines.

[Ian Robertson]

Microwave works well for wood that wil fit. About 10sec at a time and test for heat. The cosmo will boil out and can be wiped off.

[Cantom]

Microwave works well for wood that wil fit. About 10sec at a time and test for heat. The cosmo will boil out and can be wiped off.

Metal parts on the wood?

I'm thinking on using the sun on the back deck on some hot days.

[Ian Robertson]

I had no metal parts but I would try it anyway and go slow. (I use the mw at work!)

[Texas Trophy Hunter]

I use the bed of my pickup truck. On hot days, you just put the stock on a few sheets of newspaper and let it go. For cleanup afterwards, denatured alcohol or plain old brake cleaner seems to really get the cosmo out.

[Claven2]

As a word of caution, brake cleaner may damage the wood fibers on some stocks. Denatured alcohol is a much less intrusive solution IMHO.

[Stevo]

Mmmm, cosmolene. I'd rather spread it on toast than eat Vegemite.:cheers:

[gerryg]

I use the plastic bag trick. I put my stocks in a black trash bag lined with paper towels and set them out in the sun or on the car front dash car on a hot day and wipe off the oozing cosmo. May take some time but no harsh chemicals involved.

Gerry

[BEARMAN]

On my Garand even after really cleaning the gun good, when I fired it enough to get it hot, the cosmoline would start to weep out of the stock. I solved this by placing the bare stock in the summer sun on newspapers. It took a couple of days before the oils stopped oozing from the wood.

[Claven2]

The sun and paper towel method is GREAT for getting cosmolene out of the wood if any has seeped in, but it's clearly not the best method for removing it from the barelled action. Imagine trying to clean a soaked Yugo M48 this way! Not going to heppen, sadly.

Last yugo stock set I sun bathed took 5 days of 34 degree celsius weather in the back window of my car wrapped in black garbae bags before she stopped oozing!!!

[paulz]

I like the plastic bag trick for wood. I have done the hot water / oven cleaner on stocks, don't want to ever again, so I stick to sun, and a bit of varsol or similar.

For barelled actions (and this is controvercial), sticking it in the dishwasher has been suggested. (Haven't tried it myself!). Detail strip, put the small bits and bolt in the cutlery basket, and run the dishwasher as normal. SOme people object that it is environmentally unsound, and bad for you and your dishwasher, others say it is fine, just run it again empty before using it for dishes.

[K31]

DISC BRAKE CLEANER works well, and doesn't smell to awful. Spray it on, let it soak in, then spray again.

[K98]

I have used the following process with great results. In the bath tub ( when wife is at work ) get about 8" of "hot as you can take" water, put in a full cup of TSP ( tri sodium phosphate ) which is a common prep solution prior to house painting and can be bought at any hardware store. Swish it around till it's all desolved and drop the stock in - the result will amaze you - it's like a tea bag. The water will turn dark as Tim Horton's best. Using rubber gloves, swish the stock around for a few minutes then start scrubbing it with a good bristle brush and some dish soap. This does two things - removes residual cosmo, and raises the whisker / grain of the wood ( an added bonus is the swelling up or raising of small dents & scrapes ) You must avoid soaking the stock too long as it will absorb too much water. Then over to the kitchen stove to flash dry ( wife hopefully still at work ) gently without burning. Leave to dry at least a week, then repeat as required untill all grease has been drawn out. It is worth noting that if you are collecting and wish to keep the stock / rifle in it's original condition, this process might go too far for you as the wood will have to be refinished, and this will require sanding & sealing.

[Cantom]

I have issues with using Brakleen and the bathtub and oven method.

Brakleen is a toxic chemical, you'd have to do it outside or in your garage, and there is always that issue of, is it affecting your health?
As for using the bathtub to soak all cosmo off, when you pull the plug, all that suspended cosmoline is headed down into your drain pipes! Good luck cleaning that out of there when it hardens up...:surrender:
Let's not mention the god awful bathtub ring you'll be scrubbing:banghead:

Not saying they don't work.

What did work for me is a paint stripping gun. It actually worked extremely well and quickly too, the whole job was like a hour tops, no nasty fumes or blocked drains. I took the wood off and held the stock over a pile of newspapers in the basement. I got it just hot enough to make the cosmo liquify and run off, and carefully made sure I didn't overdo it. Same deal with the action, didn't take 15 minutes to have it clean and new. Just give it a wipe with paper towels while the stuff's still liquid and it's gone. Then the papers go into the garbage...
No cosmolene was left either, the rifle is totally degreased.
Before pics:


http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/cantom_2006/42LBCOSMO2.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/cantom_2006/42LBCOSMO1.jpg

[K31]

A friend used the paint remover gun on his No.4 Mk.2, it worked great on the cosmoline! Unfortunately, it also removed the black paint on all the metal! Something to remember when trying it. Also, I feel that any of the above mentioned remedies should be used outdoors! Even breathing the fumes from melting cosmoline can't be doing our health any good, and the formula isn't always cosmoline, either. I understand that some of the preservative compounds contained traces of lead, and even asbestos! It should go without saying that gloves, mask etc. should always be used. Another simple method is to wipe off most of the cosmo with paper towels, and just pour a kettle of boiling water over the metal parts. Repeat as many times as needed. Best of all, the boiling water won't hurt a painted finish. A very weak solution of MURPHY's OIL SOAP in really hot water is best for the wood, but if the finish was good before the rifle was stored, just wiping it dry often works. Always try wiping, before using more extreme measures. It depends on how hard the cosmo is, but it comes off easier in the summer!

[LSU Tiger]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Simple Green. I've used it for years to clean the engine compartment of my '64 Buick Wildcat before shows. Get a gallon of the stuff and mix it to the strong side in hot water. It does a good job on stocks and hand guards. The best part is the fact that it's biodegradable. For metal, I use boiling water followed by a light oiling.