[Jpyle]

Originally Posted by Hinermad

Nice work! The orange polish didn't leave the wood sticky, did it?

Dave

Not a bit, I really didn't let it dry on though. I sprayed the stock and immediately rubbed it down and repeated. The Murphy's Oil Soap did initially leave a tacky residue but I wiped it down with warm water followed up by the Orange Glo. The result is a feel that is neither slick nor sticky, just a good, solid gripping surface.

I would suggest that any stickiness remaining after cleaning is likely to be cosmoline. What I found doing this project is that the cosmo doesn't actually penetrate the wood through the heavy varnish but it does get in every nook, cranny and surface imperfection. Repeated, and I mean repeated like 10 times over, cleaning, rinsing, drying cycles are needed to get it all off. It's like cleaning spilled paint or oil, no matter how many times you wipe there is always something left.

[Hinermad]

Originally Posted by Jpyle

The Murphy's Oil Soap did initially leave a tacky residue but I wiped it down with warm water followed up by the Orange Glo. The result is a feel that is neither slick nor sticky, just a good, solid gripping surface.

That's good to know. I've worked with Murphy's before and it's been my experience that it takes a fair amount of rinsing to remove completely.

I would suggest that any stickiness remaining after cleaning is likely to be cosmoline. What I found doing this project is that the cosmo doesn't actually penetrate the wood through the heavy varnish but it does get in every nook, cranny and surface imperfection. Repeated, and I mean repeated like 10 times over, cleaning, rinsing, drying cycles are needed to get it all off. It's like cleaning spilled paint or oil, no matter how many times you wipe there is always something left.

I had to bake the cosmo out of my PSL furniture. Some people say just put it in the oven at like 200 degrees, but I like to put food in there sometimes. (grin) Other people (who I think live in Arizona) say to wrap the wood in paper towels, tie it inside a black trash bag, and leave it in the car in the sun for a few days. I ended up improvising a hot box using a corrugated cardboard box big enough to hold the wood with a drop light and a 100 watt bulb inside.

You warm the wood up to 170 degrees or so (I used a cooking thermometer to keep an eye on it) and the cosmo melts and oozes to the surface. You have to take it out and wipe it off a few times, but eventually it'll stop oozing. It's much easier on the shellac finish than using paint thinner or alcohol.

Dave

[Abner]

I just bought a Mosin rifle on Thursday from a local gun shop. The purchase was pretty much a impulse buy, but I think that I'm going to like the weapon.

One thing I am not looking forward to doing is the compline clean-up.

Thanks for this post.

[beaglesam]

You can't own just one.

[Tallguy]

I did the cosmo cleanup from my stock by wrapping it in newspaper and putting it on the dash of my white pickup truck on a 90 or so degree summer day in Kansas. One day like that, wiping it off real good got it very nice for me.

And beaglesam, your totally right. I have 5 M91/30s now and still looking to get some more!

[trip286]

Since this thread has been bumped up again, I'll add something.

Shot my mosin today with downsouth and his bunch, using silver bear 203 gain soft point, 20 rounds total. It took more to clean that rifle than it did the first time I fired 150 rounds of com bloc surplus ammo.

I don't know if that's a normal thing for silver bear or not, but in the end I just whittled a wine cork to fit in the muzzle, filled the barrel with hoppes, and just let it soak for a while.

It still ain't as clean as I want it, and it took me months to get it as clean as I wanted it to begin with. I'm all out of hoppes, and I don't even have any ATF sitting around.

I will NOT be buying that ammo again, regardless if that's normal or not.

[Jpyle]

Originally Posted by trip286

Since this thread has been bumped up again, I'll add something.

Shot my mosin today with downsouth and his bunch, using silver bear 203 gain soft point, 20 rounds total. It took more to clean that rifle than it did the first time I fired 150 rounds of com bloc surplus ammo.

I don't know if that's a normal thing for silver bear or not, but in the end I just whittled a wine cork to fit in the muzzle, filled the barrel with hoppes, and just let it soak for a while.

It still ain't as clean as I want it, and it took me months to get it as clean as I wanted it to begin with. I'm all out of hoppes, and I don't even have any ATF sitting around.

I will NOT be buying that ammo again, regardless if that's normal or not.

Soft point will always be dirtier and harder to clean than jacketed ammo. Have heard that a few rounds of FMJ does wonders to get that lead residue out of the barrel.

[trip286]

This was black sooty stuff. Like BP residue.