spent last night cleaning up the remainder of the various C&R rifles that I have acquired recently...apparently the use of cosmoline is a high art in China....

Just a few observations....

#1. Cosmoline sucks obviously, but is a necessary evil...
#2. WD-40 does a good job breaking down gunked on stuff if you let it sit for a bit
#3. "Green" mineral spirits look like milk and don't do as good a job as regular
#4. When in doubt a good bath in boiling water will remove the remnants, put a drop of dawn dishwashing liquid on the surface of the water before removing the part to get the oil to dissipate to the sides so you don't cover it back up when you take it out.
#5. An air compressor is a godsend to blow out the water...oil afterwards
#6. Need to come up with some type of "hot box" made of wood, reflective foil and heat lamps to reach a temp of around 140-150 degrees in order to sweat the cosmo out of stocks in the future (side job Kev?), mineral spirits does a good job on the surface but affects the finish and doesn't get it done deep down or in the nooksand crannies.
#7. Even the nastiest looking rifle coming out of a box may have a hidden gem within if you take the time to give it the care it needs...
#8. I love old wood....

What I want is something long enough to put an entire rifle stock (Mosin length should suffice for most rifles) that has a mesh floor that the grease can drip through to a drip pan.  Like a coffin with a lid on top...

ah, but thats half the fun....

boiling the metal to get it to melt out of nooks now instead of later when it may drip at a non-favorable time or place...

hewy, I have a design for just what you are looking for, shoot me a pm if you want it

Oooh, me too! Me too!

Just build a smoker. Get an old school locker, or build a box about that size. Electric element in the bottom with a drip pan to cover it. Thermostat and an oven thermometer to control and monitor the temperature. All the materials are at Home Depot or Lowes in the Barbecue section.

I'm not sure if the cosmoline would end up flavoring the meat if you used it for both though. On my AK I just used boiling water poured out of a tea kettle in my driveway. I put the small parts in an old sauce pan. It seemed to work great  No wood stock though.

For petesake build a steamer!
Six foot long pvc tube built at an angle to drain into bucket.
Cap at one end witb a flow hole.
Cap at bottom with hole for staemer insertion and drain hole.
Insert steamer and steam/cook away til its done.
You spend like $20 for tube an caps?
I think ill build one and video the process.
Of course I will have to purchase another Mosin Nagant for the project.


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I love the smell of cosmo cooking in the morning.

I hear of people using steam to clean it out all the time.

I like to use mineral spirits myself.  Lacquer thinner should work too.

Steam heat can be either.
The hotter the drier.
But when you are using the steam just to transfer the heat energy to boil out the cosmoline it doesn't need to make contact.
The steam is the heat source.
A tube within a tube could be made so the steam is used just to supply a controlled heat energy.
Wrapped in some type of absorbent materials....could work well.

 
I like the smell.  I'm weird like that.

Just de-grease with mineral spirits directly.  It ain't rocket science!

I was talking about degreasing the stock.
Not stripping it down to nothing, FMJ. LOL!

Sunlight, direct.

Or heat.

Yeah. that's the idea and steam cleaners are cheap nowadays.