Cleaning Off 100 Years Of Grime

[rivitir]

I've been working on my Mosin project and it is going well, however, I just bought my old Turk K98 Mauser back from 8uck5nort's boy so the Mosin project is on the back burner.

 

A little history behind this Mauser:

About 10 years ago I found this rifle in a pawn shop in KY while visiting my Grandparents in southern Indiana. I bought it for $30. So you can imagine what it looked like. The rifle stock was black because of grime build up, the internal magazine was full of mud and water, so basically over all it looked like it sat in a pond for the past 90 years. Back then I knew nothing about rifles and was told to not take it apart because that could ruin it's accuracy. So I wouldn't let my grandfather take it apart to clean it. We used gas and rubbed and scrubbed all the gunk off. However because we never completely stripped it down it never was properly cleaned.

 

Tonight I took her apart and started to give her the cleaning she needs (been itching to do it all week). And boy is it nasty. I spent all evening working on just the internal magazine/trigger guard assembly and after going through 3 brass scrubbing brushes I'm still not done with this one part! At this rate it will take me 6 months worth of evenings to get it all cleaned up.

 

So I wanted to ask the group, what is a good method to clean off 100 year old grime from both the metal and wood parts from this rifle?

[gun nutty]

What is "crud and grime"? Rust?

 

For the wood, if the finish is shot, use Easy Off oven cleaner (unscented). Be sure and rinse with water afterward.

 

Metal? For non-rust, I've had very good luck with Shooter's Choice and some cleaning patches. For rust - if the finish is gone - try naval jelly and follow the directions. Kroil is also rated highly, although I've never used it.

[Jimro]

For the metal use carb cleaner and WD40. Use a stiff bristle toothbrush, rag and cotton swabs as needed.

 

Jimro

[ken98k]

Kroil is also rated highly, although I've never used it.

 

I can vouch for Kroil. Soak your paerts in it for a day or two, then clean as normal.

 

A dish washer works good also but, remove the parts right away and sray them with WD-40 or they'll rust.

[rivitir]

What is "crud and grime"? Rust?

...

 

By crud and grime I mean a black sticky nasty substance that is VERY difficult to remove. I think its a mixture of oil and dirt and maybe some cosmo is my guess. See the first two pics.

 

For rust on my Mosin I used navel jelly, but surprisingly my Turk never had any rust on her. The last pic is the barrel on my Mosin. It's got some pretty nasty pitting from rust. Should I be worried about it? Is their anything I can do to repair the pitting damage?

[Brenden]

98 and gun nutty have stated what imo is the best stuff out there. I think Kroil would cure a.i.d.s. lol. My mexican looked as bad if not worse than your turk. 30 mins of cleaning with Kroil, and it looks like it came off the production line. Brake cleaner (available at napa for $3) works well too.

 

Brenden

[rivitir]

OK, I'll head out and pick me up some then.

 

What about the pitting on my Mosin barrel? Is it enough to worry about? Is their a way to fill in the pitting?

[AzRednek]

I'm speculating but from the description of the crud my guess is you have a Chinese dug-up. After Mao came to power in China and began dis-arming the millions of revolutionaries most the weapons were buried in the ground. Some of the rifles were treated with cosmo, grease, oil, tar or what ever was available, many were just buried. The weapons started flowing into the USA in the 80's at dirt cheap prices.

 

I dealt with some of these back in the 80's when I had an FFL. The few I cleaned like 03 Springfields or some other oddities I soaked in gasoline and used a scrub brush. After dis-assembly I ran small parts in a screen basket through my dishwasher using TSP for a detergent. I was single at the time, wouldn't dare try it today.

 

All the Chinese dug-ups I or people I knew got, at best most were suitable for parts salvage. Friend of mine that was involved with military surplus sales did manage to get a shootable low numbered 03 Springfield and a few Type 99 Arisakas that looked near mint after he cleaned off the crud.

 

Be cautious of your Mauser. Some of the dug-ups had Chinese mfd replacement bolts. The gunshow rumor mill had all kinds of horror stories of Chinese made bolts for Mausers and Gew 88's but I never knew anybody that could factually claim they had fired one. I recall only seeing one Mauser with a Chinese (or possibly Japanese) marked bolt.

[rivitir]

Thanks for the little history lesson Az. I had never heard of this before. Why did they bury them? Seems an odd thing to do.

 

I did check over the bolt as you said, didn't see any chinese like markings on it. And the numbers on the bolt match the rifle.

 

I've shot it several times over the years, and so has 8uck. Surprisingly it shoots very well.

 

Its a good rifle, but I'm tempted to change this one over to either a 6.5x55 or 7x57 (or an american version) since the 8mm kicks kinda hard. The rifle is heavy so the kick isn't a problem right now, but since I am sporterizing it that will soon change. That and my Mosin is already a heavy hitter so I really don't need two.

 

I couldn't find any Kroils, but I did get some brake cleaner and engine degreaser. That way I can clean it up and then degrease it.

[ken98k]

I've read about people finding and digging up weapons that were buried after big ww2 battles.

Frequently the weapons were thrown into a mass grave along with the bodies.

[pacrat]

Looks like crusty old dried cosmolene to me. Nasty stuff.

 

Disassemble everything. Soak in gasoline. Even at $3 a gallon still the cheapest strong solvent around. Cut the top off of a milk jug or bleach bottle so the reciever will slip in. Stand it in a corner barrel up, drop everything else around it in the container, cover it all with gas and wait a few days before you even start scrubbing. More time on the calender but less time by the hr. scrubbing.

 

BTDT..........JM2C

[Sailormilan2]

For the stock and handguard, you can use Easy Off as was mentioned earlier, or:

#1. Simple Green/Purple Power/Orange Cleaner/ or similar stuff.

#2. CitriStripper paint cleaner......works really well.

#3. If you can sneak it past the SWMBO, the Dishwasher works wonders(if you can fit it in). Does an excellant job of degreasing, and steaming the dents out of the stock.

 

Once done with cleaning the stock, you might try Wood Bleach. I use crytaline Oxalic acid. It also cleans the wood, but lightens it, and high lights the grain. I get mine from Home Depot. Desolve in hot water, paint on stock with paint brush, let sit for about 1 - 2 minutes then rinse off.

[ken98k]

Looks like crusty old dried cosmolene to me. Nasty stuff.

 

Disassemble everything. Soak in gasoline. Even at $3 a gallon still the cheapest strong solvent around. Cut the top off of a milk jug or bleach bottle so the reciever will slip in. Stand it in a corner barrel up, drop everything else around it in the container, cover it all with gas and wait a few days before you even start scrubbing. More time on the calender but less time by the hr. scrubbing.

 

BTDT..........JM2C

 

Be careful about gasoline fumes!!!

They are heavier than air and will accumulate, waiting for a source of ignition.

[AzRednek]

Thanks for the little history lesson Az. I had never heard of this before. Why did they bury them? Seems an odd thing to do.

 

I don't really know the exact reason and can only speculate or repeat what I was told by a dealer selling dug-up 03 Springfields. The dealer told me they were buried because they didn't have proper storge faciltys and the reds wanted to disarm the populace asap. Mao wanted the large army he created disarmed as he feared another revolution as he began the so-called Cultural Revolution Some of the Reds attempted to preserve the weapons in case they needed to re-arm an army. Others just followed orders and buried all the weapons.

 

Originally after President Reagan nullified Pres Carter's executive order banning the importation of military rifles and later some pistols. The Chinese even though they are commies weren't against making a fast buck. First they emptied properly stored weapons from storage and sold them to USA importers. Motivated by making money the Chinese located buried weapons and sold them by the pound.

 

I did check over the bolt as you said, didn't see any chinese like markings on it. And the numbers on the bolt match the rifle.

 

I've only seen one that created a doubt. It was likely captured from the Japanese. It was if I remember correctly a BRUNO and it had some oriental markings and a bolt with no numbers. If I remember Mauser history, somebody whether it was the Germans, Czechs or somebody in Europe made some Mausers for Japan. Many of the Chinese dug-ups I saw had mis-matched bolts and many were sold without bolts leading me to believe the bolts may have been removed and buried elsewhere. I still have a 6.5 Jap rifle from the dug-ups, it has a serious headspace problem. My memory is a bit foggy but I think I only paid 10 bux for it and bought it because it came with the bolt dust cover and I was hoping the dust cover would fit my Type 99. My 20/20 hindsight really kicks me as I could have made a fortune if I had bought plenty of the dug-up bayonets.

 

 

[Dr.Hess]

For cleaning cosmoline off, I have found that plain #2 Diesel oil works wonders. I've had better luck with that than even using an automotive parts washer. It also isn't as volatile/dangerous as gasoline.

[rdm1962]

I use "Krud Kutter" (from Wally world) and 0000 3m steal (plastic) wool on the wood. I clean it afterwards with de-natchured alchol. WD40 and a med. tooth brush on the metal.

Ralph

"A bad day hunting or fishing is always better than a good day at work!"

[Clemson]

I agree with RDM. Easy Off is lye, aka sodium hydroxide. It can destroy the fibers of the wood. I suggest that you forget about using oven cleaners to remove oil from wood if you have any notion of saving the stocks. There is not an easy way past elbow grease to do this job. An industrial strength cleaner, a bucket of mineral spirits, a stiff bristle brush, and a sunny afternoon on the back porch form the best way to go after a cosmolined rifle.

 

Clemson

[pacrat]

Yes, gasolene is volatile and should not be used indoors or confined spaces. (figgered everybody knew that) But it is cheap and fast for soaking parts and makes the scrubbing time much shorter after a pre-soak.

[roscoedoh]

Of the handful of mil-surps I've cleaned up, I did my best work with a tub of hot water, a plastic dish scrubber, and some dish soap. Soap and water worked well to remove cosmoline and hot water dries quickly. Wipe the metal down with mineral spirits and oil it when you're done and you're good to go.

[8uck5nort]

I usually spread peanut butter all over rifle and then let the neighbors dogs lick 'em clean

 

Hehehehe....

 

Seriously all good suggestions.

 

I've used Purple Power from Walley World. I've got the best results when using hot, hot water and soaking the parts with degraser and scrubbing, anything to get the heat up on it will help liquify the oil based stuff. Someone on this board also suggested wrapping in tissue paper/towels and then leaving it in the trunk of the car on a hot day. Unfortunately you will need to wait about 4 months or so around here to do that.

[rivitir]

Thank you for all the great suggestions. Very helpful.

 

I think I'll start with the peanut butter suggestion. Their are some dogs I don't much care for around here.