Cosmoline & Magazines

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So I have read through several posts here relating to cosmoline removal. Most of it pertains to stocks & SKS bolt & firing pins. What about removal on magazines?

Is it best to just to soak them mineral oil and do a little external scrubbing or disassemble and do each part individually and inside & out?

These are AK mags I am talking about.
 
If cosmoline is involved (with anything) I tend to be fastidious about cleaning. Soak it, sonic it, #9 it to death, but I always get that stuff out of anything that moves.

And yes I have bought ‘new’ old AK mags packed with cosmoline and had some FTF because I didn’t get it all out. However, as always YMMV.
 
Me, I'd disassemble it and clean off all the goo. Cosmoline melts at about 125 degrees or so, you can just pour really hot water over the parts, let them cool, wipe down with your favorite degreaser, inspect for any defects, give them a light coat of your favorite rust preventative, reassemble and you're probably good for the next 30 years or so.
 
A teapot of boiling water & a bucket worked great on the CMP Springfield parts - the goop melts & floats up (you could probably even recycle it - it solidifies when the water cools (gotta dewater it though)
 
My dad was an armorer In WWII and used to put wat needed to be de-cosmolined in a tub of boiling water. He was of the opinion that it was better than soaking them in gasoline, especially in winter! [laugh]

When they came out, they were hot, and the residual moisture would evaporate quickly. Then a coating of light oil...all done....
 
The last batch of AK47 mags that I bought were covered in the stuff (though, not uniformly, as there was some pitting... ugh). I didn't have any fancy ideas so I just used my typical cleaning spray and a brush... took hours to get all that crap out.
 
Read an article recently that recommended using one of the many handheld steam cleaners for this purpose.

Has anyone tried this?

Thanks,

Rich
 
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