Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
    (Franklin County)
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    Default Cosmoline Removal

    I heard that you can place metal parts of your gun on a low temperature in the oven and after an hour or so the cosmoline will melt/come off. Then afterwards you can boil it in hot water to get the excess then clean it with mineral spirits, let it cool and then oil it good.

    Does this sound about right? Any other pointers or easy ways to remove this crap? I don't feel like scrubbing. So any pointers but "Scrub it with..."

    Thanks!
    Last edited by Pro2A; February 8th, 2010 at 08:44 PM.

  2. #2
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    Dec 2009
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    Athens, Pennsylvania
    (Bradford County)
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    If you soak the metal parts in mineral spirits for 10-15 minutes, the cosmoline should wipe right off with a rag or paper towel. You shouldn't need to heat or scrub. It dissolves readily with light solvents like bore cleaner, mineral spirits, and denatured alcohol.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    PA, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    I have used mineral spirits/paint thinner, automotive brake cleaner and a paint brush to clean several SKS's. I let the part's soak in it for 15 minutes, remove excess with paint brush, blow off with air and oil. The oven thing does work but the whole house will smell like cosmo, if you live alone it will not be an issue. I wouldn't do the boiling thing, use a quick evaporating cleaner of some sort.(gun scrubber and the like)

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    Quote Originally Posted by Toxicodendron11 View Post
    I have used mineral spirits/paint thinner, automotive brake cleaner and a paint brush to clean several SKS's. I let the part's soak in it for 15 minutes, remove excess with paint brush, blow off with air and oil. The oven thing does work but the whole house will smell like cosmo, if you live alone it will not be an issue. I wouldn't do the boiling thing, use a quick evaporating cleaner of some sort.(gun scrubber and the like)
    Your spouse won't like the way the next take-n-bake pizza tastes either. You should not need to heat it; solvents will melt it right off.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Effort, Pennsylvania
    (Monroe County)
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    Easy Off oven cleaner!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Athens, Pennsylvania
    (Bradford County)
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    I'm not sure if that is a joke, but it certainly got me laughing.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    South Central, Pennsylvania
    (York County)
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    VM&P Naphtha....been cleaning mil surps for over 15 years with this stuff. Detail strip and soak everything...small cans for the little stuff and a make a PVC tube with a cap on the end for barrel's, receivers etc....about 50" by 6" should handle most anything....I'll soak for a day and then start cleaning....the cosmo will turn white and creamy but will come off with brake cleaner or just scrubbing with a brush...Barrels and receivers in the tube I do last so they soak the longest.... I get it from ACE hardware and 2 gallons will do a couple rifles....I only change the tube juice when it gets so dirty you can't see the bottom.....This is only for metal parts...wood is another story depending on if you want to strip or just clean it

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    next to my neighbor, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    i used 500 rnds of ammo in 30 minutes, that did the trick. i use kerosene, its cheap and you can reuse it.
    FJB

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    ive actually heard of that, its one of the easiest ways to remove it IMO, Here Watch This

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTzOWYdtcg8

    <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rTzOWYdtcg8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rTzOWYdtcg8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    State College, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: Cosmoline Removal

    Way back when my dad was in the Army (with the occupation force in Germany), he said they used the old boil method. They'd remove the stock, and put about 15 rifles in a 55 gal drum, filll it with water, put it over some type fire and boil the crap out of it, the cosmoline would float to the top and they'd skim it off. Then they take it out and start wiping them down to remove the rest. Oil it up and good to go. He also said they would do that to the stocks if they had been soaked in cosmoline (dunk the stock in boiling water, pull it out, rub it down and do it again, as many times as needed to get rid of the gunk) and after getting rid of the cosmo, they would let them dry and rub the stocks down with some gun oil

    Nowadays it's a bit easier (and quicker) with all the different solvents we can use.
    Ron USAF Ret E-8 FFL01/SOT3 NRA Benefactor Member

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