Cleaning cosmoline off a Nagant revolver

[Bored1]

Recently acquired a new to me 1895 Nagant revolver [smilie=w:

Happens to be COVERED/CAKED in cosmoline. :shock: Imagine that. Looking for ideas on how to get this gunk off without ruining the finish.

Searched everywhere I can think of but I can't find a way of doing this that I am comfortable with. It looks like the best way would be to completely disassemble it and boil it in water. I am not sure that I have the ability to get it back together and working correctly. Managed to get my MN 91/30 bolt back together after cleaning it this way, however that was alot less complicated than this revolver appears to be.

Have also thought about using a heat gun, but not sure how to get the cosmo out of the insides of the revolver if I do it this way?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[462]

Mineral spirits.

Can't imagine thoroughly removing cosmoline without a complete disassembly, though.

[turtlezx]

take the grips off and put in boiling water pull it out in 1 min all done
will leave a light oil coat on it and wont rust

[Bored1]

take the grips off and put in boiling water pull it out in 1 min all done
will leave a light oil coat on it and wont rust

Won't the water & cosmoline inside gunk up and rust doing it this way though?

[Gee_Wizz01]

+1 on the mineral spirits. I cleaned my M57 in about 5 minutes with mineral spirits.

G

[dnotarianni]

Put it on the BBQ grill with a pan under it and bake it. Cosmo will run right off

[Old Iron Sights]

I have good luck with kerosene. Mineral spirits are a solvent of sorts but if guys here have good luck with it then that's good enough for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

[I'll Make Mine]

Mineral spirits took the cosmoline right off my Mosin Nagant when I got it -- I dropped the stripped barreled action into a length of three inch plastic pipe, which allowed me to soak the barrel in significantly less than a gallon of spirits (about $6 at Lowe's). The rest of the parts I brushed clean in a bowl of the spirits; all the solvent went back in the can, and I'll use it again next time I buy a milsurp.

I'd agree, with a revolver you should disassemble the trigger, sear, bolt and hammer parts from the frame so you can clean the frame inlet and small parts; I'd probably take the cylinder and crane off the frame, too. The more cosmoline you can get out now, the less trouble you'll have with it when you're out shooting.

Another useful trick is to mount a .30 or .338 bore brush on a dowel and spin it in each chamber with a hand held power drill; this will get the cosmo out of the chambers and prevent fired cartridges from sticking.

[Jack Stanley]

I've used laquer thinner on such heavy grease in the past and found it's the least effort to remove the sticky stuff . I would remove any wood from the project though because it will eat most wood finishes .

The idea of boiling water and leaving a light film does sound like a good way . That would leave some preservative on parts that are hard to get to .

Jack

[Shiloh]

Warm it up, warm up kerosene, or mineral spirits, and have at it. This is easier in the summer but that does not help you now.
Know any auto mechanics with a parts washer?? A couple of Lil' Ceasars pepperoni pizzas could be a cheap price to get 'er done.

Shiloh

[Dan Cash]

GASOLINE!!! Just work down wind from your house and stay upwind of your work.

[warf73]

GASOLINE!!! Just work down wind from your house and stay upwind of your work.

+1 I used gasoline and air hose on my Mosin cleans up fast. I even gassed the lumber on it, took off all the oils and finish. I 0000 wooled it smooth then spayed clear lacker on it(pretty wood for war erra). 0000 wooled it after dry (3 days setting) then spayed it again now its smooth as silk.

[Bored1]

Thanks for the ideas. Been watching alot of videos on completely disassembling the nagant revolver, doesn't appear to be as bad as I originally thought. Now just trying to decide between boiling everything or mineral spirits.

Boiling everything is how I go the bolt cleaned on my 91/30 and that wasn't so bad. Even still have the pot I used since my lady "donated" it to the cause once she saw what I was using it for!

[tgator]

Taking it apart isn't that bad. When you reassemble, put bore paste or toothpaste on everything that contacts. Dry fire while watching tv about a thousand times. When you take it apart to clean and lube, try putting a small lead bullet between the spring and front grip frame. Play with the bullet size and placement. You will be amazed at the difference. You may need a bigger glove for the hand you dry fire (double action) with!


Tim

[9.3X62AL]

The shop where I scored my 1916 Tula re-arsenaled Nagant did me the favor of cleaning it up pretty well before putting it on display. They didn't take time for an action job, however. Its double-action trigger stroke must be experienced to be believed.

[Bored1]

Taking it apart isn't that bad. When you reassemble, put bore paste or toothpaste on everything that contacts. Dry fire while watching tv about a thousand times. When you take it apart to clean and lube, try putting a small lead bullet between the spring and front grip frame. Play with the bullet size and placement. You will be amazed at the difference. You may need a bigger glove for the hand you dry fire (double action) with!


Tim

I'd heard of this but wasn't sure if anyone had actually gotten it to work well for them.

[km101]

Take it to your local garage or service station and ask to use their parts washer. Remove the grips and use a medium bristle brush to scrub it. The naptha will disolve the cosmoline. If necessary soak it for about 15-20 minutes and it will come right off.

[Bored1]

None of my local shops are too keen on letting me use their parts washer :shock: Tried 6 this morning before calling it quits. Just got home from wally world with some mineral spirits so once the kiddos hit the sac I'll start working on it and see what happens. :-?


Thanks for the help & suggestions!!!

[DoctorBill]

I took mine completely apart and hand cleaned everything with Kleenex and Q-Tips.

No big deal - and I learned a lot by doing so.
http://www.gunpics.net/russian/nagant/nagantdis.html

One REALLY REALLy good way to get Cosmoline out (my Nagant had Axle Grease in it) is to pour boiling
water on and into it. Liberally and Patiently.

The Cosmoline melts, flows out and the hot metal then dries quickly.
Then do the oiling thing....

Here is my Thread...if interested.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?173797-Reloading-for-the-1895M-Nagant-Revolver-7-62x38R&p=1944557#post1944557

For reloaders...Graf & Sons has Prvi Partizan Brass for $38/100 cases and the LEE No. 19 Shell Holder (Auto-Prime) with
small pistol primers fit the PP Brass.
The Press Die Holder (the Lee Die Set) is No. 6 Shell Holder.

DoctorBill

[Bored1]

Well got a bit sidetracked for a day or two. But its all into pieces now and appears as clean as you can get a 85 yr old gun! Quite suprised by the bore and cyclinder condition, appears very nice!!! I'll see about picks when I get it all back together and working. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

BTW- Keeping an eye on your thread to DRBill looks like a great start to a ton of help/information there!

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Amazing what good condition many of these Russian milsurps are in, most of the ones I have seen are in never issued condition. The ones that look bad are the ones in the pawnshop that have had the cosmo cleaned off, fired with corrosive ammo, and left to rust!

[Bored1]

Took the old girl to the range today and fired 50 rounds of the PRVI commercial ammo through it, and what a BLAST! Double action isn't as bad as it was before it was cleaned, managed to stay on paper shooting it in double action.

However single action is also a TON of fun. Wasn't really concerned about groups with the commercial stuff just wanted to plink at some stuff. Ended up staying about a min from 2 liter bottle at 20 ft.

Never thought I would like a single action before but now I may just have to get one, to compliment this on range trips!

[o6Patient]

Any degreaser (defatting agent) will work fine. Paint thinner/mineral spirits will
work just fine, as good as gasoline and a bit safer. Suborn stuff use some wd
or bore solvent first then the mineral spirits to flush/finish.

[mikeyd23]

Running it though the dishwasher minus the grips works too, just be sure to dry all the parts off really good when its done...and it will strip the finish if you leave the grips on.

[Spedini]

I believe Ballistol could do the trick.It`s the only stuff l use on my vintage revolvers.
60228

[gunfan]

+1 on the Mineral Spirits. It worked on my Yugo M57; disassembled it after taking off the grips, and soaked it in the spirits. It worked just fine.

Scott