There is a purple cleaner that Walmart has for removing grease and oil in garages.
I have used it with a heat gun and water to good effect.
karl
Most of my 91-30s are Russian capture. They have been soaking in cosmoline for 50yrs. The Russians "finished" the stocks with shellac which comes off easily with just denatured alcohol. I have found the cosmoline to be almost impossible to remove completely. I have cleaned stocks until they looked like raw unfinished wood and after just a few hours in the sun or a heated room the cosmoline has bled to the surface again. After the shellac has been removed heat is the best method I've found for removing the cosmoline but it's slow. I have found that after I get a stock to look like raw wood an alcohol based stain (leather stain) seems to stop the cosmoline from rising to the surface.
I use an oil after the stain has dried. I haven't tried poly but it would probably work. The Finnish M39s I have are not coated with cosmoline.
Oven Cleaner For M91/30 Stock
in Woodworking
Posted
Most of my 91-30s are Russian capture. They have been soaking in cosmoline for 50yrs. The Russians "finished" the stocks with shellac which comes off easily with just denatured alcohol. I have found the cosmoline to be almost impossible to remove completely. I have cleaned stocks until they looked like raw unfinished wood and after just a few hours in the sun or a heated room the cosmoline has bled to the surface again. After the shellac has been removed heat is the best method I've found for removing the cosmoline but it's slow. I have found that after I get a stock to look like raw wood an alcohol based stain (leather stain) seems to stop the cosmoline from rising to the surface.
I use an oil after the stain has dried. I haven't tried poly but it would probably work. The Finnish M39s I have are not coated with cosmoline.