Help needed cleaning parts for restoration

Hello,
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About 6 months ago I picked up this sportered Remington 1903A3 and posted pics here and got some good advise for restoring it. I have since bought all the parts I need to bring it back to original.

The stamped trigger guard I picked up is in really good condition but it has either very dry cosmoline spattered all over it or it is old shellac. I'm thinking at some point it was mostly cleaned of cosmoline and not wiped off 100%. There are spatters and runs of the stuff.

What is the best way for cleaning this up without hurting the parkerizing?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Norm.

try metho/ actone/ turps/ MEK with some 0000 steel wool. Find a solvent with which it scrubs off with relative ease.
The parkerizing is pretty tough and you won't damage it unless you go really nuts.

I use trade name Varsol. Use your stiff M16 toothbrush for the scrub or like he said ultra fine steel wool.

tbonesmith and browningautorifle thanks for the help. I will give that a try.

norm

I am currently cleaning up carbine and carbine parts. Real hot water and something like simple green followed by mineral spirit dunk (I keep a 1 gal. paint can marked "mineral spirits for cleaning") for a few hours and everything just wipes off. Be careful with acetone, real hard on some surface treatments.

I am lucky to have a friend with a plating shop.

Be careful with 0000 steel wool on any parkerized part. Most US parkerizing was put on very well. Others may be thin from haste in manufacture or wear in service. Try to soak the part long enough so that an M16 brush or other nylon bristle brush gets the gunk off.
The 0000 steel wool works well on blued parts, after a good soaking.
NEVER use steel wool on German "Phosophated" parts. At the end of the War,
when phosphating came into use, there was not time to properly apply the finish. Fine collector phosphated weapons have been ruined by steel wool.

Ogtree

byronroland and Ogtree,
thanks for the cautions. i will give this a try this weekend. i think will start with boiling water and simple green and scrub with a nylon brush and see how it goes.

i really appreciate the help from all you guys.

thanks,
norm

Hey All,

Well, boiling water and Dawn dish soap (didn't have any simple green on hand) and a lot of scrubbing with a M16 nylon brush and the mess is gone.

Really does a number on fresh cosmoline also. Real easy cleanup on the fresh stuff.

Thanks for all your help.

I'll post pics when I get it all back together.

Thanks again,

Norm