r/canadaguns • u/Mythic01 • Aug 06 '26
Misc Heat gun and a rag?
Sufficient kit for cleaning the cosmo out of a sks?
11
u/Acceptable_Visit_115 Aug 06 '26
For all the metal parts that can be field stripped, you can easily wash it off with hot water. I've done a couple and once I used brake cleaner. It works!
Heat gun is helpful to get the cosmoline to ooze out from the wood and wipe them off.
Just remember to clean the firing pin channel inside the bolt!
2
u/Rewindonemoretime Aug 07 '26
Brake cleaner is what I did for both of mine. Worked really well, really fast too. I still have half a case of the good pre Jan 2024 stuff.
3
u/scottsuplol Aug 06 '26
Full strip down and soak the parts in mineral spirits over night then rinse in boiling water and light oil is all you need. Stock can be wiped down with a clean rag and polished up eaisest way I’ve found with all my sks especially with firing pin assemblies that are stuck that way you don’t mush the retainer pin
2
u/567432Gains Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Just fully stripped my Mosin to the last screw that was coated in it. I just used hot water and time to get it.
1
u/Whispersfine Aug 06 '26
Put the wood stock in a black plastic bag and leave it in your backyard. 6 hours of good sun baking will do the job.
Metal parts need a boiling hot water bath.
Don’t get sophisticated with these Soviet tough bastard guns.
1
1
u/Rogan403 Aug 06 '26
Remember that it takes far far less heat to ruin the heat treating in steel than it takes to treat it in the first place. Due to that I suggest you ditch the heat gun in exchange for a hair dryer.
Put metal parts in tub. Using the shower head set at its most powerful/precise setting spray on high heat blast the ever living shit out of all the parts until you're satisfied you've gotten as much of that crap out of it as you can. Then use the hair dryer set at max to simultaneously thoroughly dry the parts and cause any remaining cosmoline to sweat out. Then apply some gun oil.
For the wood stock I turn on my oven and set it to bake on the lowest possible setting. Then place the stock on a baking sheet covered in tin foil and place in the oven on the bottom rack which should be as far as it possibly can be from the heating element. Also leave the oven door cracked open about 6" during this process to keep the temperature in the oven itself from getting too hot. This also allows you to monitor the progress much better allowing you to make any relevant adjustments. You want it so that it's just hot enough that you can see the cosmoline seeping out of the wood. You can Alternatively use the hair dryer if you'd rather not use the oven. If you do, wear some latex gloves before applying heat or else the cosmoline will make s mess out of me
1
u/IcySkyDream Aug 07 '26
Just spray it down with solvent or CLP, then wipe off with paper towels.
People make this out to be such an ordeal, as if Soviet or Chinese conscripts were allowed to bake their rifles or pour boiling water on them. 🙄
0
u/pooshlinger Aug 06 '26
Put 500 rd through it and it will seep out of every orifice
2
u/c20710 Aug 06 '26
You can put 500 rounds through it very fast if you leave the cosmoline in the bolt
2
8
u/Lumindan Aug 06 '26
I'm a fan of having a mineral spirits breakdown (get the odorless one). I'll post the usual cleaning list I share with new sks owners.
Nitrile gloves
Odorless mineral spirits - 1 gallon (maybe more if you're judicious)
Industrial spray bottle - the good ones, not the ones for house cleaning
Nail brush
Toothbrush
Rags
Gun cleaning tools (for afterwards)
A rubber or wood mallet
Eye protection
A tub of some kind
A few small plastic containers for small parts.