It's been awhile, but as I recall, tranny fluid worked well.

 

I never even thought about using that stuff. Your post implies you have already what is your experience so far?

I used boiling water to get most of it then a black garbage bag left in the sun while it was wrapped in rags.

 

Not on firearms- cleaning appliances around the house, bicycle parts, etc.

 

brake cleaner works wonders

 

So does carburetor cleaner...my favorite all-around solvent.

 

Goo-B-Gone rocks! But if that fails, try "Ooops!". It's petroleum based.

 

kerosean works good gas works better but more dangerous no smokeing or sparks,anything that cuts greese will work.auto shops have a degresser tank set up for cleaning parts,steam cleaners under pressure.

 

Carb cleaner leaves a dry lubricant behind when it dries. Electrical cleaner is easier on components than brake cleaner (extremely caustic). WD40 is basically like kerosene. Mineral spirits are very similar to goo-b-gone but work better from my experience.

 

Brake cleaner is the best for cosmoline that I've found. It cleans it with no residue and cuts it quickly.:thumb:

 

Not my idea, but it works great. I put my Mosin m44 in the dishwasher after breaking it down. Stock and all. Got everything super clean. Just have to oil everything metal ASAP because it gets so dry. :thumb:

 

NICE.. I Love it..

 

elbow grease and pretty much any hot soapy water will work

 

If you do use the dishwasher, DO NOT tell the wife!!

 

check this out...very informitive...http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu23.htm

 

I just haul the parts down to the local coin op car wash and pressure blast the cosmoline out. Takes a whopping minute or two and no effort whatsoever. Beats soaking and scrubbing.

 

I tried mineral spirits, simple green, a mini steamer, goo b gone... none of those methods replaced elbow grease. Some helped but none were fantastic.

Even when I used heat the gunk just ran to another nook or cranny and then cooled and stuck there which required me to use more elbow grease. I haven't yet found a way around it.

 

I have used lighter fluid in the past as well as WD40. Both work pretty good but still need to scrub away at the nooks and crannies.

 

My Father used to use Diesel Fuel to clean out Cosmo. Bought a gallon and soaked the parts for about an hour and then a stiff bristle brush (not a wire brush, boars hair brush) Followed by repeated soakings and then old paint brush to clean it all out. Dad bought each of us an old M1 Cabine still wraped in paper and cosmo. Made us clean our own weapons! (mean ol' Dad) LOL!

 

I used clear K1 Kerosene to clean all the metal parts on both my SKS rifles worked like a charm. Used the leftovers to soak my kindling wood in for my firestarter.

Chinese stock was fine didn't need cleaning used mineral spirits on the Yugo stock them let the hot sun do the rest finished it up with several coats of Tung Oil,steel wool in between coats I like the dull finish best nothing like sending flash signals to your game or bad guys where your located with a shiny stock.

If your cheap good old hot soapy water works just as well best of all it non-toxic at least till your finished cleaning the rifle. I never put water on the stock it caused the wood to swell and may cause fit problem later on.

 

easy off oven cleaner, it works great