How do I get the Cosmoline out of my Mosins wood stock?

[DClan]

The best way to get the bore clean....
shoot the hell out of it. Works everytime.

Do not do this! I have seen mosins where a bore brush pushed out damn near a 10" plug of grease, more than enough to have blocked the barrel and overpressured a fired round. Always run a bore brush thru the barrel and check function before using live ammunition, especially for cosmoline packed arms.

[internet troll]

Just remember not to reuse the toothbrush for anything else

And there you have it..... toothbrush advice from a pro. Heed it....or ignore it at your own risk.

[LifeInPa]

Well I had a hell of an afternoon and night with this rifle. I started breaking down this rifle around 2 PM and I finished (Including cleaning up the mess) around 12:30 AM, to say the least I feel like a fried egg right now since I worked a solid 10 1/2 hours to get this rifle to completion. To my surprise the rifle came apart quite easily and I had it broken down to it's basic components in about 5 minutes. I sprayed all the metal parts down with Simple Green and dumped them into a bucket. Then I processed to dump 3 pots full of boiling water on them, including a whole pot down the barrel. I then scrubbed every metal part with a tooth brush as even after all this I was still finding a few globs of Cosmo holding on. Last step was to dry everything and soak the metal parts in CLP. They sat for 3-4 hours totally saturated in CLP as I began the long process of removing the Cosmo from the wooden stock. I spent the next 6-7 hours running my hair drier up and down the stock, at one point the hair drier got so hot the thermal safety in it tripped and I had to put it in the freezer for awhile to get it to reset. While the hair drier was chilling I started collecting the metal parts, wiping the excess CLP off it and putting them into a plastic container.

Before I applied the CLP I looked down the barrel and it looked bad, like a sewer pipe. After letting the CLP soak in for a few hours most of the crap disappeared. I used my 30 caliber bore brush from my AK's buttstock cleaning kit and it took care of the rest of the gunk in the barrel. Afterwards I ran several patches of the Hoppes cleaning solution down the barrel and the patches came out green, yes green. I did this 10 times then ran a few dry ones, they still came out a bit green but I figured shooting off a few rounds would take care of the last bit. Lastly I ran a few patches down the barrel with a bit of oil on it. After that the barrel looked good. It did have some pitting but the rifling looked great. Another few hours later I finally got most of the Cosmo out of the stock with my hair drier. At this point I took the Orange Glo we use on our Oak floors and coated the wood with it, let it set in for a few minutes than wiped it down. I did this 4-5 times before being satisfied with the results. Last thing I did was wipe all the wood down with dry paper towels to get any excess.

Reassembling the rifle was considerably harder. Most of it went easily but putting that bolt back together was a pain in my ass. Getting the fire pin and spring pushed down just right, lining up the channel and screwing it into the threads wasn't as easy as the video made it. I tried pushing the firing pin against a wood block but it didn't work for me. I ended up doing it in reverse of what the guy did, the firing pin was facing upwards (Away from my face) with the back of the bolt pushed against the wood. Using this method I got it all back together quickly, well after 20 minutes of floundering using the videos method. Again I don't have the tool so I hope the firing pin is at the right depth. The screw in the back of the bolt is flush with the surface and according to the video that means it's right. So with the rifle back together I put the bolt into battery and pulled the trigger, click. Sweet success after all those hours of toil.

I took out my camera instead of using my phone to show you what the rifle looks like now:





















I am thrilled with how the rifle came out, the finish looks great IMO. I don't plan on doing anything else to the finish. Maybe I will look into products to preserve the current look but that's it. My only concern with cleaning the rifle was running the snake. The snake was too short to run from the bore so I ran it from the muzzle. I was just wondering if this is ok for a Mosin rifle because I just don't see how else I can clean it. Another thing do you guys know where I can pick up the little tools/accessories for the Mosin? I want to get that multi-tool, the heads for my Mosin's clean rod and the tool for adjusting the front sight post.

You might be asking yourself now how I passed all those hours. It wasn't easy but thanks to my computer I watched Red Dawn, the Red Dawn Remake and the Man with the Iron Fist. I even ate my dinner and snack while heating the Cosmo out of the stock. I just hope this thing doesn't sweat much when I take it shooting for all the effort I put into it. I never sweated Cosmo out of a weapon before but the amount that I got out didn't seem like much, it just lightly beaded up.

Oh and thanks to all of you for the helpful advice, hopefully this thread helps others along the way. Now that I got this Mosin squared away I got a hankering to get my hands on a M44, can't wait to shoot this one in the mean time.

[RXM]

Nice job with cleaning the Mosin Nagant. I've done two of them so far and I got another two (hex receivers) coming in early next week.

This is how I clean the barrel: Bought a 4" wide 4' long PVC pipe from Home Depot. Capped off one end with a screw cap (useful to pull the barrel out if you can't access it from the open side). Put the barrel into the pipe and pour in boiling water until full. I then clean the bolt before coming back to clean the barrel.

[rfgpitt]

Thanks to all for the organized info! My stocks finish seems to get markered up way too easy, so I plan on refinishing it. After several coats of stain, if I polyurethane the thing, do you think there would be any problems or would it effectively seal in the remaining soaked in cosmo?

[DSMDealer]

I've cleaned 4 Nagants and an SKS in the last couple of weeks and have gotten a chance to play with a couple of different chemicals and processes to clean them.

A couple of things I've learned:

1) It never seems to end--unless you strip the stock down completely, you'll never get the stocks completely cosmoline free. I spent a day and a 1/2 using the heat method (I have large ovens at work that will heat from 80 degrees to 700 degrees) and can assure you that you won't get it comepletely cleaned that way.

I picked my worst Nagant and decided to refinish the stock. After heating it, then using chemicals, then sanding, then heating it again, it still brought cosmoline to the surface. It doesn't just reside there, it permeates into the wood (I think the heat process actually makes this worse as it opens to the pores).

2) Mineral Spirits will clean off cosmoline from the surface (not super effectively, but it will remove thin coatings with some rubbing) without affecting the shellac.

3) Acetone will remove the shellac pretty quickly if you're stripping it completely.

4) Carb Cleaner/Brake Cleaner makes quicky work of the cosmolie on the metal parts of the gun.

The quickest process I've found to clean the metal parts of the gun is to first heat to 175-180 in the oven until the thicker stuff melts and runs off (a bucket in the oven to catch the stuff helps (obviously metal)). Once it's thinned out, start cleaning with a brush (nylon), paper towels, and carb/brake cleaner. This *WILL* remove the black plaint or whatever it is they use to cover up bare spots, and will strip any oils off of the gun protecting it--re oil with your choice of gun oils immediately afterwards.

5) The barrel takes FOREVER to get all of the crap out of it. I've yet to get a barrel completely cleaned. When you think it's completely cleaned out, spray some more brake/carb cleaner through it, run your bore brush through it and spray it out again--you'll get more junk out of it. When I've gotten to the point where this process only shows only a little crap coming out on the flush step, I've called it "good enough", and followed up with another two scrubs with Hoppes 9, then gun oil.

6) The sling guides (metal pieces in he stock) are NOT brass--if they're not silver in color, you still have cosmoline on them. A little mineral spirits, and your fingernail will usually remove the final coating.

7) If you have a really clean looking stock and want to preserve it, clean it, leave it boxed/wrapped up in the closet, and pick up an aftermarket stock for use at the range. I picked up the ATI stock for one of mine that I wanted to use as a "shooter", and it took me all of about 5 minutes to clearance the stock to fit properly.

The bonus with the aftermarket stocks is that they reduce the time it takes to strip the gun down completely, and in doing so, you don't have to remove the front retaining rings any longer which I personally find almost impossible to do without scratching the front of the stock up.

8) The trigger pull can be reduced by using a small, thin, washer under the trigger screw plate (it pulls the trigger higher on the spring and reduces pull pressure). There are complete write-ups online about this. It's another 5-10 minute processs that is completely reversable.

These guns are a blast to use at the range, and with a bolt action, I end up using a lot less ammo during a 2-3 hour session. Take some windex with you to run down the bore after shooting any corrosive ammo, or be ready to clean the bore with Hoppes 9 right away.

The ammo, while cheap, is DIRTY. Doesn't seem to matter if you use the Romanian Surplus in the green spam cans, or Herters/Tulammo. Be prepared to scrub the bore for a while again. I have some PRVI that I haven't tried yet, but if it's cheap, be prepared to scrub, and I tend to just "assume" that the Berdan Primed stuff is corrosive and neutralize it whether it says "Non-Corrosive" or not.

I don't think that these rifles are that bad as far as abuse to your shoulder. I've read people complaining about this (bruised shoulders), but I just don't seem to mind. Even the M44s don't really seem that bad, but YMMV. I can tell you that it's not nearly as bad as 12 gauge 3" slugs through an 18" barrel shotgun which with a pistol grip DOES kind of bother my hand after 15-20 rounds.

Good luck with the new purchase, and be careful that they don't become addictive. I've found myself paying more attention to the old bolt guns at the LGS than anything else lately, and have an Enfield .303 sitting at the shop that's next in line to go through.

[Remington788]

You did a great job cleaning it.

I've cleaned 4 Nagants and an SKS in the last couple of weeks and have gotten a chance to play with a couple of different chemicals and processes to clean them.

A couple of things I've learned:

1) It never seems to end-- Agree, no matter how much you get out, there always seems to be more. It will come out in the July and August heat.

6) The sling guides (metal pieces in he stock) are NOT brass--if they're not silver in color, you still have cosmoline on them. A little mineral spirits, and your fingernail will usually remove the final coating.
I noticed that too

8) The trigger pull can be reduced by using a small, thin, washer under the trigger screw plate (it pulls the trigger higher on the spring and reduces pull pressure). There are complete write-ups online about this. It's another 5-10 minute processs that is completely reversable.
That is a new one to me. Have to try it.


I don't think that these rifles are that bad as far as abuse to your shoulder. I've read people complaining about this (bruised shoulders), but I just don't seem to mind. Even the M44s don't really seem that bad, but YMMV. I can tell you that it's not nearly as bad as 12 gauge 3" slugs through an 18" barrel shotgun which with a pistol grip DOES kind of bother my hand after 15-20 rounds.

I think you still need to be careful. I shot over 100 rounds one day last spring. I should have quit after 50. Ended up really inflaming my Pectorallis Minor (the vertical muscle that runs from your shoulder joint to your ribs). Left me with shooting pains in my chest (which are disconcerting). Know your physical limits and when to quit for the day. I picked up a rubber pad for the end of the stock, which eliminates the recoil issue.

Have fun with that great old gun.

[PA Rifleman]

...

As soon as I saw this pic, an alarm went off... The next pic confirmed it:

...



...

As I thought. Early sling eustachian = prewar mfg. Star = Tula. 1938 dated.

Nice pre-war Tula. If you ever tire of this rifle, you'll have no trouble selling it to a collector.

The "C" on the chamber above the star piques my curiosity...is the a corresponding "N" on the other side of the chamber? If so, please move closer to the screen so that I may strike you easier.

Ya done good, kid. Real good.

[SigSauer226]

Do not do this! I have seen mosins where a bore brush pushed out damn near a 10" plug of grease, more than enough to have blocked the barrel and overpressured a fired round. Always run a bore brush thru the barrel and check function before using live ammunition, especially for cosmoline packed arms.

Sorry I should have been more specific. What I meant was after you clean the barrel thoroughly, if it still looks fouled no matter how much you scrub with a bore brush just run a few boxes of ammo through it.

[Remington788]

As soon as I saw this pic, an alarm went off... The next pic confirmed it:

As I thought. Early sling eustachian = prewar mfg. Star = Tula. 1938 dated.

Nice pre-war Tula. If you ever tire of this rifle, you'll have no trouble selling it to a collector.

The "C" on the chamber above the star piques my curiosity...is the a corresponding "N" on the other side of the chamber? If so, please move closer to the screen so that I may strike you easier.

Ya done good, kid. Real good.

Is it a "C"? I thought it was a "6".
If that is a '38 ex-sniper for $150, he got the deal of the week.