Cosmoline

Despoiler · 04-22-2002, 09:46 PM

Yesterday while I was shooting, I laid two rifles in the back of my truck. In the truck there is a black plastic bed liner. The temp was around 70. The rifles had been laying in the sun for about a half an hour and when I picked my 91/30 it was absolutely drenched with a liquid (cosmoline?) there was literally a puddle under the rifles. I have spent countless hours cleaning cosmoline off of these rifles and I have no idea where more could have come from. It appeared to be sweating from the stocks and oozing from out of all of the cracks and crevices. Have you guys noticed this?

Jeffro · 04-22-2002, 10:58 PM

Allen,
YES; I have had that wonderful experience in years gone by.
I bought a SKS many years ago, cleaned the stock of ALL cosmoline (I foolishly believed), and took it to the range. Shot it a while, brought it home, and set it on my deck (in the hot summertime sun). Went into the house and had a cold iced tea and sat around for a while. Came back outside, and the stock was litterally dripping with cosmoline. I cleaned it all off, and decided to remove the stock from the rifle and leave it on the deck on numerous layers of newspaper for a day. YOU WOULDN'T believe the cosmoline that continued to come out of it. I threw out that newspaper, wiped off the stock, and set new paper under it and left it for another hot day. After 5 days in the sun and changing paper every day, it FINALLY stopped dripping.
Even after several months, it would have a little cosmoline come to the surface while stored. That stuff is unbelieveable!!
Happy Trails, and safe shootin'
Jeffro (Jeff)

Rock · 04-22-2002, 11:50 PM

I bought a M1 grand that had the same prolbem the stock felt like it was coverd with honey,did not thank I would ever get it out...Next time I will try what Jeffro did and let the sun do the work.

Jeffro · 04-23-2002, 10:28 AM

ROCK (and anyone else who does as I did),
The sun is great to melt out the cosmoline, but DON'T do as I did. BE SURE TO PUT some kind of plastic UNDER the newspaper if you are doing it on your porch or deck. My deck already needed replacement so it was no problem. Had it been a month later I would have been put out of the house by the wife. The cosmoline (when warm) will permeate the paper and go into the deck or concrete!!!!!
Happy Trails and safe shootin'
Jeffro (Jeff) :nod: :nod: :nod:

Big Dog · 04-23-2002, 10:50 AM

At my local range, we call this "sweating with the oldies". The sun here gets pretty brutal (though nothing like out west), and our old milsurps can really sweat. Like Al Gore at a Democrat Rally ;-) (Y'all saw that on TV, right?)

ltcboy · 04-23-2002, 02:52 PM

I read in another forum these guys would clean their stocks with oven cleaner or that purple power degreaser. Then they would put their oven in their kitchen on low, say 175 degrees max and let the cosmoline come out that way. Make sure you put a pan down to catch the cosmoline or your wife will put you in cosmoline.

Ltcboy

Cranky-Kraut · 04-24-2002, 07:22 PM

hehehhe....aint cosmoline great! I had my M44 ocassionally sweat a tiny bit from one spot on the stock but it was very minor. Oven cleaner on your gun???
Please tell me you didnt do that! How do you like your Mosin? Rare, medium or well-done? LOL

toolman · 04-24-2002, 09:27 PM

bought my oldest son an m-44 for christmas that seems to be completely saturated.he's been doing the oven cleaner deal for several weeks and is still getting cosmo. out of it. got a feeling it's going to be sweating like oprah in a donut shop for the rest of it's days! (for the record,he didn't like my dishwasing soap and scrub brush in the shower method either!)

Dennis · 04-25-2002, 04:41 AM

Leaving it in the warm sunshine has allways worked for me

mzmadmike · 10-27-2006, 02:46 PM

Wow, old thread, but it matches my experience. Sun, oven or lots and lots of solvent. It does seem to preserve the wood, though.

billy · 10-28-2006, 06:10 AM

in my business i get bales of rags. and i also make my own gun solvent, eds red. so i tear the guns apart and do what mzm says . the solvent actually seems to preserve the wood(because of the atf in it) make sure you have a double handful of throwaway rags!

BPWinks · 10-30-2006, 09:13 PM

Allen:
Build one of these and your worries are over. I made one and cleaned a dozen rifles over a weekend.
Collecting and Shooting the Military Surplus Rifle (2006) - Surplusrifle.com
stay safe

ruger22com · 11-07-2006, 10:22 PM

clean it like the military does...take a tub...fill with water and a bit of your favorite grease cleaner (CITRUS CLEANER IS BEST)....light a fire under the tub...when near a boil or as hot as you can get it..toss in the guns for 15-30 minutes..stiring often..pull out and dry REAL GOOD...then oil EVERYTHING.

TankerMan · 12-27-2007, 12:21 PM

Wow, sounds like you guys really love the cosmoline. I actually bought some recently to store a couple of rifles. I bought it at: F & L Petroleum Products Specializing in MIL-SPEC Lubricants and Coatings!
I didn't even know they still made the stuff.

Ricochet · 12-27-2007, 07:02 PM

Oh, it's still made, all right. It's the still bottom residue from refining paraffin based petroleum. Crude petrolatum. A highly refined version of it is Vaseline.

Dennis · 12-27-2007, 08:32 PM

Ya know,... There is a cosmoline story.
It has been found to be true that the soviets added some secret special mind altering substance to their cosmoline that causes a strange addiction...
When someone (who has not ever been exposed) gets "slimed" with communist cosmoline it can cause Mosin Nagant addiction.
The only possible solution is to "regulate" your exposure to new Mosin Nagants once or twice a month unless you have the means to expose yourself more often.
Buying several rifles at once can work if you pace yourself and fondel them seperately one at a time weekly or biweekly.
biweekly means an 8 rifle a month habit which is sustainable as long as you have the space for storage.
I would suggest renting space in a old Salt mine or some other controlled space..
It is possible to build a steelbuilding just to enable you to service your cosmoline habit this has worked for some.....

What?.....why are you looking at me that way???......

billy · 12-27-2007, 08:42 PM

it makes a dandy hair tonic.
and tastes better than vegemite!

troy2000 · 12-27-2007, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billy

it makes a dandy hair tonic.
and tastes better than vegemite!

What doesn't taste better than Vegemite, billy?

Apologies to our friends down under; I'm totally incapable of ignoring a straight line like that one.

GlockMeister · 12-27-2007, 11:42 PM

You might hate the stuff (cosmoline) but you gotta love it at the same time. Because if not for this stuff, we wouldn't have any decent mil. surplus or C&Rs...
GlockMeister

nathangdad · 12-28-2007, 12:02 AM

I recall reading some of the older gunwriter's works (Elmer Keith especially) about their experiences in World War 2. Keith (I believe) wrote about submerging Garands and machineguns in liquified cosmoline "until the bubbles stopped coming up"
as they did not know where the guns would go and the idea was to protect them until issuance to soldiers as though each one would go to a jungle.

04-22-2002, 09:46 PM	#1
Despoiler Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: The Occupied Territory of California Posts: 2,232	Cosmoline Yesterday while I was shooting, I laid two rifles in the back of my truck. In the truck there is a black plastic bed liner. The temp was around 70. The rifles had been laying in the sun for about a half an hour and when I picked my 91/30 it was absolutely drenched with a liquid (cosmoline?) there was literally a puddle under the rifles. I have spent countless hours cleaning cosmoline off of these rifles and I have no idea where more could have come from. It appeared to be sweating from the stocks and oozing from out of all of the cracks and crevices. Have you guys noticed this?

04-22-2002, 11:50 PM	#3
Rock Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 253	I bought a M1 grand that had the same prolbem the stock felt like it was coverd with honey,did not thank I would ever get it out...Next time I will try what Jeffro did and let the sun do the work. __________________ www.infowars.com www.infowars.com www.infowars.com The worst kind of slave is the one who thinks he is free... The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered eastern people to have arms. History teaches thet all conquerors who have allowed thir subject race to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so...Adolf Hitler...4/11/1942

04-23-2002, 10:50 AM	#5
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,214	At my local range, we call this "sweating with the oldies". The sun here gets pretty brutal (though nothing like out west), and our old milsurps can really sweat. Like Al Gore at a Democrat Rally ;-) (Y'all saw that on TV, right?) __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

04-23-2002, 02:52 PM	#6
ltcboy Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Chicagoland area Posts: 496	I read in another forum these guys would clean their stocks with oven cleaner or that purple power degreaser. Then they would put their oven in their kitchen on low, say 175 degrees max and let the cosmoline come out that way. Make sure you put a pan down to catch the cosmoline or your wife will put you in cosmoline. Ltcboy __________________ Up Bin Laden's ***!

04-24-2002, 09:27 PM	#8
toolman Mr. Fixit Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 5,582 Blog Entries: 22	bought my oldest son an m-44 for christmas that seems to be completely saturated.he's been doing the oven cleaner deal for several weeks and is still getting cosmo. out of it. got a feeling it's going to be sweating like oprah in a donut shop for the rest of it's days! (for the record,he didn't like my dishwasing soap and scrub brush in the shower method either!) __________________ Don't be messin' with my gun!

04-22-2002, 10:58 PM	#2
Jeffro Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 84	Allen, YES; I have had that wonderful experience in years gone by. I bought a SKS many years ago, cleaned the stock of ALL cosmoline (I foolishly believed), and took it to the range. Shot it a while, brought it home, and set it on my deck (in the hot summertime sun). Went into the house and had a cold iced tea and sat around for a while. Came back outside, and the stock was litterally dripping with cosmoline. I cleaned it all off, and decided to remove the stock from the rifle and leave it on the deck on numerous layers of newspaper for a day. YOU WOULDN'T believe the cosmoline that continued to come out of it. I threw out that newspaper, wiped off the stock, and set new paper under it and left it for another hot day. After 5 days in the sun and changing paper every day, it FINALLY stopped dripping. Even after several months, it would have a little cosmoline come to the surface while stored. That stuff is unbelieveable!! Happy Trails, and safe shootin' Jeffro (Jeff)

04-23-2002, 10:28 AM	#4
Jeffro Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 84	ROCK (and anyone else who does as I did), The sun is great to melt out the cosmoline, but DON'T do as I did. BE SURE TO PUT some kind of plastic UNDER the newspaper if you are doing it on your porch or deck. My deck already needed replacement so it was no problem. Had it been a month later I would have been put out of the house by the wife. The cosmoline (when warm) will permeate the paper and go into the deck or concrete!!!!! Happy Trails and safe shootin' Jeffro (Jeff) :nod: :nod: :nod:

04-24-2002, 07:22 PM	#7
Cranky-Kraut Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain Home, Arkansas. Posts: 165	hehehhe....aint cosmoline great! I had my M44 ocassionally sweat a tiny bit from one spot on the stock but it was very minor. Oven cleaner on your gun??? Please tell me you didnt do that! How do you like your Mosin? Rare, medium or well-done? LOL

04-25-2002, 04:41 AM	#9
Dennis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,877	Leaving it in the warm sunshine has allways worked for me __________________ Submitted with respect to all

10-27-2006, 02:46 PM	#10
mzmadmike Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 8	Wow, old thread, but it matches my experience. Sun, oven or lots and lots of solvent. It does seem to preserve the wood, though.

10-28-2006, 06:10 AM	#11
billy spiritual counselor Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 12,106 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 146	in my business i get bales of rags. and i also make my own gun solvent, eds red. so i tear the guns apart and do what mzm says . the solvent actually seems to preserve the wood(because of the atf in it) make sure you have a double handful of throwaway rags!

10-30-2006, 09:13 PM	#12
BPWinks Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Mesa Arizona Posts: 19	Allen: Build one of these and your worries are over. I made one and cleaned a dozen rifles over a weekend. Collecting and Shooting the Military Surplus Rifle (2006) - Surplusrifle.com stay safe __________________ You can run but you will just die tired!

11-07-2006, 10:22 PM	#13
ruger22com Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mobile Alabama Posts: 723	clean it like the military does...take a tub...fill with water and a bit of your favorite grease cleaner (CITRUS CLEANER IS BEST)....light a fire under the tub...when near a boil or as hot as you can get it..toss in the guns for 15-30 minutes..stiring often..pull out and dry REAL GOOD...then oil EVERYTHING. __________________ www.CheapGunParts.com http://ruger22.com/art/banners/tiny.gif Home of the "YELLOW JACKET" Bolt Buffer and Takedown Bolts! Free Shipping & Lifetime Warranty!

12-27-2007, 12:21 PM	#14
TankerMan Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1	Cosmoline Wow, sounds like you guys really love the cosmoline. I actually bought some recently to store a couple of rifles. I bought it at: F & L Petroleum Products Specializing in MIL-SPEC Lubricants and Coatings! I didn't even know they still made the stuff.

12-27-2007, 07:02 PM	#15
Ricochet Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Bristol, Tennessee, USA Posts: 166	Oh, it's still made, all right. It's the still bottom residue from refining paraffin based petroleum. Crude petrolatum. A highly refined version of it is Vaseline. __________________ "A cheerful heart is good medicine."

12-27-2007, 08:32 PM	#16
Dennis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,877	Ya know,... There is a cosmoline story. It has been found to be true that the soviets added some secret special mind altering substance to their cosmoline that causes a strange addiction... When someone (who has not ever been exposed) gets "slimed" with communist cosmoline it can cause Mosin Nagant addiction. The only possible solution is to "regulate" your exposure to new Mosin Nagants once or twice a month unless you have the means to expose yourself more often. Buying several rifles at once can work if you pace yourself and fondel them seperately one at a time weekly or biweekly. biweekly means an 8 rifle a month habit which is sustainable as long as you have the space for storage. I would suggest renting space in a old Salt mine or some other controlled space.. It is possible to build a steelbuilding just to enable you to service your cosmoline habit this has worked for some..... What?.....why are you looking at me that way???...... __________________ Submitted with respect to all

12-27-2007, 08:42 PM	#17
billy spiritual counselor Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 12,106 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 146	it makes a dandy hair tonic. and tastes better than vegemite! __________________ Last edited by billy; 12-27-2007 at 08:45 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

12-27-2007, 11:42 PM	#19
GlockMeister Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Northern Illinois Posts: 5,478	You might hate the stuff (cosmoline) but you gotta love it at the same time. Because if not for this stuff, we wouldn't have any decent mil. surplus or C&Rs... GlockMeister

12-28-2007, 12:02 AM	#20
nathangdad Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2,469	Cosmoline I recall reading some of the older gunwriter's works (Elmer Keith especially) about their experiences in World War 2. Keith (I believe) wrote about submerging Garands and machineguns in liquified cosmoline "until the bubbles stopped coming up" as they did not know where the guns would go and the idea was to protect them until issuance to soldiers as though each one would go to a jungle.