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Cosmoline

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waltherp88 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote waltherp88 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Cosmoline
    Posted: March 31 2016 at 6:14am
I just purchased an unissued Enfield still unwrapped and packed in tons of cosmoline. How do I get it off without damaging the metal? Thank you for any information you can offer.
Eric Knopf
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ArcherSix Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 31 2016 at 8:39am
Wrapped Enfield? Neat-o!  Would love to see pics.
Anyway, my recommendation is to very carefully disassemble the rifle before cleaning. Once it's stripped, most commercial gun cleaners will remove cosmo from the metal without harming the finish, just may take a lot of elbow grease if it's hardened.
For the wood, probably hot soapy water followed by a good coat of boiled linseed oil if the wood appears dry.
When I was in the army, we used the steam rack in the motor pool to de-gunk some M2 machineguns, but we weren't too worried about preserving the finish!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Shamu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 31 2016 at 9:11am
When I did mine I carefully detail stripped it & used much denatured alcohol on both the wood & metal. I used a lot of "J-Cloths" as they're synthetic & don't shed fibers like paper towels. I bought a cheap pump spray bottle to "flush" the tight corners. I burnished the raised grain (which was minimal) with ordinary Kitchen "ScotchBrite" pads using very little pressure it de-whiskered without removing any but the most raised wood fibers.

I remembered to keep some of the still soft Cosmo so I could reapply a thin coat on the metal under the wood (such as the barrel) as a waterproofing agent though.

The wood will be bone dry when done apply the old multiple coats of Linseed oil to rejuvenate it.
The usual mantra:
A coat a day for a week.
A coat a week for a month.
A coat a month for a year.
A coat a year for ever.

If you can receive a .DOC file in your e-mail I can send you a way more detailed description with pictures of the process.

Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote paddyofurniture Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 31 2016 at 9:32am
When I have a item with a cosmoline I hang it in my outhouse with a bucket below to catch the drippings.

A North Carolina summer can be hot.

I have to watch out as possums love to eat cosmoline and it give them the demacraps all the yard.
Always looking for military manuals, Dodge M37 items,books on Berlin Germany, old atlases ( before 1946) , military maps of Scotland. English and Canadian gun parts.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote A square 10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 31 2016 at 7:26pm
you have been given great advise above by those that had wrapped rifles they now use , the few incidences i have had to deal with it i have used kerosene , paraffin to our friends over the pond i think , its far better than the gasoline that US troops used in the field in WWII , low flash point , 

take your time and enjoy the experience , few of us get to have that - some of us would love to do it , i for one probably never will , so ......share some progress photos with up , before - during - after , we live vicariously here you know , 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shaneo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2016 at 2:40am
would any of you recommend FOR or AGSINST any of the following Woodstock cosmoline removal techniques;

a. wipe down under shower hot water with dish detergent followed by...
b. wipe down with gun solvent and steel wool
c. use a steam mop to steam the cosmo out of the wood
d. boil water/detergent and apply to stock
e. put in black bin bag and put in car window on a hot day then wipe down
f. leave in sun for few hours on hot day then wipe down

there are a lot of ways I have read about... I've just stripped my No4MK2 and I want to clean it the RIGHT way... and to avoid damaging the unblemished stock

so many ways! which path do I go down?

and then, how do I know when it's ready to apply the boiled linseed oil? will one hot shower/boiling water bath/bin bag car excursion be enough to get all the cosmo off? what happens if you paint boiled linseed oil over cosmo? will the stock be stained black?! or am I over thinking it?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bear43 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2016 at 2:50pm
a - Don't do that. Soaking with water is a bad idea unless you want to warp the wood.
b - I have done this using mineral spirits or linseed oil and 0000 steel wool. It can cause lifting of the grain which then can require sanding. There is also the possibility of having small pieces of steel wool get stuck in places and not be noticeable and rust over time ending with staining the wood. I only do this on really extremely grimey stocks otherwise I avoid it. Also, don't do it with gun solvents. Use the right product for the wood.
c - Same reason as "a". Some people use this method to steam dents out but it can be damaging.
d - This will work on the surface stuff but just wipe down the wood and don't dunk it in there. A better option is to do the initial wipe down with denatured alcohol or mineral spirits. Both will cut through cosmoline but denatured alcohol will remove the original finish while the mineral spirits won't. The denatured alcohol is more aggressive though. Again you may have slight raising of the grain (as Shamu noted in his earlier reply) but it should be very slight with this method. Also, the boiling water works great on the metal bits.
e - Works good to get out the more soaked in stuff. It takes time but don't rush the wood either.
f - Same as "e". Of the 2 options "e" will work better because of the black bag.

Another thing that works good is to use a hair dryer to bleed the cosmoline out of the wood, just be careful not to get it too hot. I keep a cheap Walmart hair dryer around just for this reason. It takes a lot of time to get the cosmoline out and more than likely you will never get it all. It will bleed a bit on hot days for a long time. The linseed oil itself will darken the wood a little but it shouldn't be much. The linseed oil won't interact with what cosmoline may still be trapped in the wood.

I know you may read other places all about hot baths and running stocks in dishwashers and using oven cleaner. I can tell you they are all very bad ideas because the risk of damaging the wood is high. I have seen wood warp from baths and dishwashers and I have seen what oven cleaner can do to wood over time. It's not good. There is no quick fix, just the slow steady process of doing it the least damaging way. The goal here is to help preserve what you have and that will take time.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shaneo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2016 at 5:35pm
Great advice - that you. I'll be sure to post some pictures of the process.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bear43 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 12 2016 at 10:29pm
Please do, we all love to drool over Enfields around here Thumbs Up
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Smokey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2016 at 4:20pm
"I remembered to keep some of the still soft Cosmo so I could reapply a thin coat on the metal under the wood (such as the barrel) as a waterproofing agent though."

EXCELLENT advice, Never reassemble a rifle without coating everything with a film of grease of some sort. I've seen too many with rust inside the stock because they weren't coated with something. Oil tends to run off over time, so you'll still wind up with rust eventually.
The thief may possess something he stole, but he does not own it.
The owner has a right to take his property back from the thief.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pukka Bundook Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2016 at 6:50pm
Quite right Smokey, lots of grease is better than a little!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote A square 10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2016 at 8:29pm
i too collected it from those i collected , i have a container of it for use as needed 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bear43 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2016 at 9:12pm
On the moving metal bits I use a high temp grease such as a wheel bearing grease. A big tub is cheap and it's new so no worries on the breakdown with age. If you look at the armourer's manuals it also states to coat the inside of the wood lightly with what equates to petroleum jelly. The way it was explained to me was use grease on the moving metal bits under the wood and petroleum jelly on the inner portions of wood. Keeps things moving as they should and prevents corrosion.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shaneo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 19 2016 at 1:24am
What great information there is here. I will post all photos & updates of cosmoline removal to the thread "*New Number 4 Mark II in factory grease"

Cheers
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shaneo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 19 2016 at 1:28am
Shamu - I am interested in the .DOC file you have offered - and would appreciate it very much if you sent it to me!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Shamu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 19 2016 at 5:01am
Glad to PM me your e-mail.
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