Clean and preserve Stock

Hi Everyone,
Can I get some advise on the cleaning off of Cosmoline and preserving a 100 year old Mosin Stock.

JimB said:

Hi Everyone,
Can I get some advise on the cleaning off of Cosmoline and preserving a 100 year old Mosin Stock.

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Is it a soviet stock or a Finn? If its soviet, it's going to have shellac under all that cosmoline and you're going to want to avoid alcohol or other solvents that would dissolve the shellac.

A hand-held steamer like you'd use for steaming clothes when traveling tends to do rather well, as does a heat gun on low being moved over the stock (don't let it sit or you could char the wood or ruin the finish under the cosmoline). The heat from both of these methods will cause the cosmoline to run, so you'll want plenty of old rags or paper towels handy.

Other methods are putting it in the oven on low (~170°F) wrapped in old towels for a few hours (though everything you cook in the oven will smell like petroleum distillates for a bit). Wrapping it in old towels and stuffing it in a black trash bag and letting it sit on the dashboard or rear window of a car in full sun for several hours, etc.

A lot of people advocate for "Simple Green" and a non-abrasive scrubber like a sponge or some balled up old t-shirts, but I've never tried this method

Copious amounts of mineral spirits will also work.

In my experience, the safest ways are the heat methods.

Once all of that cosmoline is off, check the finish on the stock. If the shellac is intact, but brittle, you can use something like Formby's Furniture Refinisher which will dissolve the shellac just long enough to pick up any contaminants and then lay it back down to dry. You can also use pure denatures alcohol (not isopropyl, but denatured ethanol from the hardware store) on a rag to pick up the shellac, dissolve it, and lay it back down. The re-laid finish will be thinner due to the very nature of the process, but will keep it more intact. Shellac is "correct" for these stocks if they're post-war refurbs.

Some choose to use a wipe-on polyurethane, but this will harm the value.

Others on here can give you some more ideas, there's 100 ways to clean cosmo and protect wood, the trick is determining what the right method for you and the wood in hand is.

Some people use furniture stripper or other chemicals to strip cosmoline, some will use a dishwasher (not recommended unless you want to ruin your dishwasher and piss off your wife at the same time, and possibly mess up your stock with water damage).

My recommendation is to use heat and time. I've gotten good results from putting it out in the summer sun (ideally in a hot car) with a lot of newspapers / rags underneath to catch the cosmoline as it weeps out. I've heard of ovens being used on low settings for the same purpose...good luck getting that stock in an oven unless you own a pizza parlor. Heat guns I've also heard work well. Personally...let the sun take care of it. It'll take some time, but you'll damage the stock less than other methods IMHO.

Good luck, and show us pics of the process you end up with.

Thanks for the Ideas. It is supposed to be in the 80's this weekend. Im going to give the car heat a try.

If its the NEW M91 you posted in the other thread, the answer is DONT, it looks great how it is, you will ruin any collector value of the rifle to a lot of people. Putting it in a warm trunk to try to melt some cosmoline off is fine but as soon as you touch it with chemicals or anything abrasive or steam it is a done deal.

I've never understood the need some people have to "pretty up" old stocks on military rifles. The stocks on some of my best shooting rifles look like they've been to hell and back because they probably have, enjoy it for what it is.

Anything you do will only decrease the value to people who would want to buy your gun.

Obviously its your gun do what you want and this is just my opinion but I had to get that out there as I would hate to see anything happen to it

Rodger that

I didn't mean to come off as harsh at all, sorry if I did, you have a really cool rifle I just think its best left the way it is

The best way I have heard of for removing Cosmoline is to wrap it in a heavy trash bag and then leave it in your car - standing up preferably - on a hot sunny day.

I hate cosmoline, but it gives us these wonderfully preserved rifles. I disassemble it and put the parts on a towel and wrap them in a black trash bag. I then put the bag o parts in the summer sun for a few hours. I had not thought of the car idea, but that might work even better. As Red says though - as soon as you start to refinish the stock or "preserve" it, the rifle loses it s value. But hey, if it makes you happy, by all means! You would not be the first person to refinish Mosin furniture, and you would not be the last.

In terms of refinishing...think less "refinishing" and more "gently cleaning it up." I've always gotten rid of cosmoline via the car method and then rubbed the stock down with some BLO. The BLO will both gently clean the stock, help protect it, and won't ruin any of the patina. All that said, I'm not a Mosin guy...so I've never cleaned up a shellacked stock before but I would think the BLO would be fine with shellac.

People sometimes like to "steam" stocks to get out dings / scratches etc. Don't ever use steam, and don't sand it...which usually follows steaming because the steam raises the grain of the wood.

I am not going to change anything. My intention is keep it just like it is. I just don't want it to get any worse. The metal is easy. It's the wood I worry about. I'm liking the inside the car thing.

JimB said:

I am not going to change anything. My intention is keep it just like it is. I just don't want it to get any worse. The metal is easy. It's the wood I worry about. I'm liking the inside the car thing.

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Inside of the car definitely works well, and if your weather today is going to be anything like mine, (Read: Mid-80's) it'd be a good day for it.

Don't worry about getting every last drop of cosmoline out of the stock either. If you're not going to apply an other sort of perservative to the wood, the residual will help prevent dry-rot.

I'm in Frederick County. I think I'll put it in the car while I cut grass tomorrow.

tallen702 said:

Don't worry about getting every last drop of cosmoline out of the stock either. If you're not going to apply an other sort of perservative to the wood, the residual will help prevent dry-rot.

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Plus you yourself will acquire the wonderful smell of warm cosmoline when residual amounts leak out when you shoot your rifle on a warm day.

bbrown said:

Plus you yourself will acquire the wonderful smell of warm cosmoline when residual amounts leak out when you shoot your rifle on a warm day.

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One of the best parts!