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

[LifeInPa]

I got my Mosin yesterday. It was $150 out the door with most of the accessories, a 20 round box of Silver Bear and the associated fees related with the transfer. Anyway I am thrilled with the rifle: Built in 1938, round receiver, metal and furniture in excellent shape. However the rifle has been soaked in Cosmoline to the point that it melts off onto my hand when I handle it. I have been reading online on removing Cosmo from the rifle. For the metal parts it's widely accepted that Simply Green and hot water will take care of the Cosmo followed by a coating of CLP Break Free will protect the parts from rust. However getting the Cosmoline out of the wood stock gets into a heated debate it seems. I have read so many different opinions and counter opinions on the internet my eyes are about to bleed.

Some say use heat. Not a problem but I won't put the stock in my oven, I don't mind using a hair drier or heat gun but it seems extremely time consuming and the other methods of using heat are too involved or the things required aren't available to me (Hard to use my attic when it's in the 20's). I really want to avoid using harsh chemicals on the stock because I want to maintain the original Russian shellac/finish. I am considering letting some Simple Green sit on the stock and then wiping it down with some hot water/rags (Not going to submerge the stock in water for obvious reasons) but I have concerns about the effectiveness of this method. Will that little bit of water swell the stock and is the Simple Green powerful enough to pull the Cosmoline out of the stock?

Just to let you guys know what I have available as far as cleaning products are concerned:

-Engine Degreaser
-Simple Green (Diluted I believe)
-Break Free CLP
-Hoppes oil and cleaner

Thoughts? Also do you guys have a disassembly guide for beginners? Sadly, I don't have that tool used for breaking down a Mosin so hopefully regular screwdrivers won't strip the screws. I want to get this project underway today. Thanks. Here are two photo's to give you an idea how soaked the stock is in Cosmo:

[tonyfac]

wrap it in newspaper, then gently use heat, it will draw it out. the idea condition would be to wrap it and put it in a hot car for a few hours.

[Willie D]

wrap it in newspaper, then gently use heat, it will draw it out. the idea condition would be to wrap it and put it in a hot car for a few hours.

This worked better than anything else I tried on my SKS stock.

Stock, newspaper, black trash bag, on the dash board. Change papers daily.

It stopped sweating after a few days and didn't stink up the car either.

[LifeInPa]

Just an update. I have the gun disassembled, threw several pots of boiling water on and threw them, soaked with Simple Green, cleaned with a toothbrush and ran more boiling water over them. The metal parts dried and I coated them with CLP. Two concerns right now, I got a good look at the inside of the barrel and it looks bad. It looks like a sewer pipe so I shot some CLP down it and will do a bore brushing soon. Second the stock, I am using the hair drier method and I am only having some success. I am still working on the little strip of wood on top of the barrel and after an hour it looks like I made no progress. I tried rubbing a little CLP on the wood but it didn't really do much. I am thinking of trying Simple Green. Here are some photo's:

Metal parts soaking in CLP, some bluing is missing from the magazine I noticed:



The stock, nothing to really see at this point:



What I got off the metal parts after the washing:

[LifeInPa]

I took a second look down the barrel 30 minutes after spraying it down with CLP and it looks much better, what I think I saw was chunks of cosmoline.

[Thomas Paine]

Heat gun + lots of paper towels works for me. The Cosmo melts at like 170 degrees. Slides right off, and you can work meticulously in needed areas.

I hate buying new guns, cuz they DON"T have cosmoline all over 'em. ruins the fun.

[WVneighbor]

Heat and time. Those are really the only things that are going to get the soaked in cosmo out.

I put the stock of my M44 in the oven on the lowest heat for an hour and wiped tons of cosmo off. I repeated this for an entire Saturday afternoon. IF you do this, leave the door open. Even at the lowest heat, the cosmo started smoking and it STINKS. However, at the very next range trip as soon as things heated up, the stock started seeping cosmo. I could actually see beads of it on the stock as I shot. I took my rag and wiped it down through-out the afternoon.

That was 3 or 4 years ago.

Everytime I've taken it to the range, I've had the same thing happen. It's gotten better, but as the barrel and sun heat the stock, it still weeps.

What I figured out is that the cosmo had penetrated the wood so deeply that it just took time to come out.

If it were summer time, I'd say wrap it in newspaper or old towels, put it in a black bag and set it on the dash of a closed up car.

Good luck!

[SigSauer226]

I took a second look down the barrel 30 minutes after spraying it down with CLP and it looks much better, what I think I saw was chunks of cosmoline.

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

[Andrew6791]

Do you plan on refinishing? Oven cleaner will strip shellac, its what I used to get it off for refinishing. Vinegar will take the blue off of your metal bits, its also what I did to take the
Blue off. (It turns the bluing into rust in less than a minute.)

What I did to clean Cosmo was take it completely apart, every bit and wipe it down with mineral spirits. To "sweat" the Cosmo out I just placed the stock on a trash bag in front of a fireplace/space heater and wait. In my experience, it doesn't really go away. Every time I shoot mine it sweats Cosmo, not a lot btw.

[SigSauer226]

If you want to preserve the shellac, don't use anything with alcohol in it. And be careful with hot water, the steam will also loosen up shellac.