Suggestions on Cleaning M1A1 from CMP
I just received my M1A1 from the CMP today and, as expected, it is covered in grease/cosmoline. Can anyone pass along any tips on how to clean off the grease without doing any damage to the wood, leather cheek pad and the rest of the carbine, for that matter? I've cleaned cosmoline off of parts before, but never an entire carbine, so any suggestions from those with prior experience would be much appreciated (as I really don't want to foul anything up here).
By the way, I took a quick inventory of the carbine and, with the exception of a four-rivet, IO marked handguard and the first production run pistol grip, all parts seem correct for a 5.16 mil Inland (didn't strip the round bolt). Although Craig Riesch's book says that the four-rivet didn't appear until Oct/Nov 1944, this handguard matches the carbine perfectly in color and wear. And I've been told by other collectors that it isn't unusual for early second production run M1A1s to have first production run pistol grips (they used up what was on hand). So far, I think I hit a home run on this one!
