Heat will liquify the solid stuff and it'll mostly run off. Then Mineral Spirits has always worked for me to do final clean-up. Don't use the wife's good stove or dishwasher - unless you like the taste of Cosmoline in your food......
get as much of the cosmoline off mechanically as possible before going to solvent or heat. I cut out the cosmoline in the bore with a coated wired and pushed out a lot more with a wooden dowel. best bet is to disassemble as far as possible, take apart magazines (if so equipped) I found that brake cleaner does and excellent job. So does heating the parts in an WARM oven if you are single or want to soon become single. As the entire house and every meal you cook for a month will smell / taste like cosmoline. I stress WARM oven, you are not trying to heat treat it. Cosmoline melts at 113-125F and has a flash point around 350F. I used an electric oven so no open flames. Again you need something to catch and hold the liquid cosmoline so it doesn't coat the bottom of your oven (which will add more unwanted flavor to your food) preferred method for me Disassemble weapon clean and scrape/wipe off the bulk of the cosmoline soak in brake cleaner scrub with old toothbrush blast break cleaner so you can ensure that the firing pin has no remnants of cosmoline remaining. make sure it is all gone. reassemble oil with a good quality firearm lubricant. If you have wood stock, it's probably saturated with cosmo and will require multiple cleanings. Heating followed by solvent let dry, repeat cycle again until wood no longer expels cosmo (yeah i say that but mine still feels like cosmoline and smells like it too) YMMV
Get a solvent proof container long enough for the metal items (PVC tubing SHOULD work OK, although I haven't tried them), I use metal troughs, metal pipes, such as down spouts/gutters will work too. Fill with carb cleaner and put the metal parts inside and soak over night. I HIGHLY recommend you cover the carb cleaner to keep it from evaporating off as well while soaking items. I don't really recommend you do this with wood as it will strip wood right down to the bare wood and leave no oils or finish on it at all and bleach it pretty good too.
Cheapest and most effective way I have found is to soak it in gasoline(very flamable so be careful--and do it outside). It cuts the cosmo fast and completely. Wear gloves and do not breathe the fumes. A five gallon bucket and a long handled brush works great. You only need a gallon to do the trick. ETA: not a steel brush--you do not want sparks
Thanks,everyone for the great ideas on cosmoline,I have some SKS's that I'm building and they are caked,I'm an SKS nut and every time i get one built,a family member wants it! Thanks,Bob
