New Un-Issued SKS

[Pete123]

I bought one of the un-issued SKS's from S.O.G.  

 

Pictures are shown below.

 

Question for the SKS buffs.  The oldest stamps in the owner's manual are 1997.  Was this gun made then, or is it much older and they got around to processing them then?  It looks brand new.

 

Also, the pictures don't do justice for the stock - it has a nice golden hue.

 

The photo of the words wasn't complete.  It says, 'PW ARMS REDMOND WA ZASTAVA M59/66 7.62 X 39 YUGO

 

Now, it's time to enter the ......cosmoline zone!

 

Here is a link to the pics:

 

http://s300.photobucket.com/user/pete2041/library/Guns/SKS

Edited August 22, 2015 by Pete123

[monkeylizard]

Classic has a video of cleaning out the cosmoline. Apparently mineral spirits works well. I used Simple Green to de-cosmo a Mosin. Worked pretty well.

 

The Yugo SKS was made from 1967-1989

http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=81.0

Edited August 22, 2015 by monkeylizard

[Garufa]

Looks good!

 

How much cosmo is on it?  No need to go overboard on cleaning as the internet usually suggests.  Just take it apart, wipe the metal down with mineral spirits if you like....and go easy on the wood.  If the wood is sticky just wrap in paper towels, stick it in a black garbage bag and put it in your car in the sun for a day or so...or put it up on the roof.

 

The best thing to remove cosmo is heat.  If you have a heat gun you can just go over the metal with it and melt the stuff off.

 

One thing you WILL want to do is COMPLETELY disassemble the bolt.  It can be a pain to get the pin out but well worth the effort to clean out any cosmo that may be in the firing pin channel.  SKS' have free floating firing pins (no spring) so any gunk in there can lead to a slam fire.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Garufa

[Pete123]

Great input from both of you.  Monkey's input helped me learn that it was made in 1977.

 

Two great things from Garufa are taking the firing pin apart and how to get cosmoline off the stock.

 

By the time I read his input I had already taken the gun apart.

 

Here's what I did.  Went to the hardware store and got a small metal pail, a 3 ft length of 4 inch PVC, an end cap and glue.

 

The small parts are soaking in mineral spirits in the little pail.  The long parts are soaking in the capped and glued PVC pipe.  Tomorrow I'll have to turn the barrel over to soak the rest of it.

[dangerdawg]

Classic has a video of cleaning out the cosmoline. Apparently mineral spirits works well. I used Simple Green to de-cosmo a Mosin. Worked pretty well.

 

The Yugo SKS was made from 1967-1989

http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=81.0

 

I wouldn't recommend Simple Green because of it's ammonia base, high akalinity, PH9, unless properly diluted can harm bluing and finish on firearms. I do know people that have soaked too long at too high of a concentration and completely removed bluing from AK magazines etc while attempting to clean cosmo. I've used boiling water and mineral spirits with success in removing cosmo.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpUPwcE_AFU

Edited August 23, 2015 by dangerdawg

[Trekbike]

I agree with Garufu, heat really works well to get cosmoline out of the stock.

We have some test ovens where I work and I used a very low heat. It's unbelievable how much came out of the wood for several hours. Edited August 23, 2015 by Trekbike

[runco]

When I was new FFL dealer in 1994, one of my first major purchases was 100 Chinese SKS from SOG @ a whopping $2900.00.  I grieved myself of the risk I was taking, I sold each and everyone within 2 weeks at 35% markup, and I was pleased.  Bought many more after that.  SOG and SKS are special to me :up: .

[Pete123]

 

 

One thing you WILL want to do is COMPLETELY disassemble the bolt.  It can be a pain to get the pin out but well worth the effort to clean out any cosmo that may be in the firing pin channel.  SKS' have free floating firing pins (no spring) so any gunk in there can lead to a slam fire.

 

Garufa,  is there a trick to getting the first pin out?  I've been hitting it really hard and it won't budge.  I don't have a vice, which the guy on YouTube has.

[ironsniper1]

Get this done for your bolt http://www.murraysguns.com/sksown.htm


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Garufa]

Garufa,  is there a trick to getting the first pin out?  I've been hitting it really hard and it won't budge.  I don't have a vice, which the guy on YouTube has.

 

Determination.  :lol:

 

I didn't have a vise when I took mine apart, just a couple blocks of wood, a hammer and punch.  It was a giant PITA and required substanial whacks with the hammer.

 

There is still the question of just how much cosmo might be in the bolt. Does the firing pin move freely right now? You could just soak the whole thing in mineral spirits and hope there is only a little bit there, if any.

[peejman]

I'd just make sure the firing pin is loose.  If not and the pin isn't coming out easily, heat the bolt up to 150-180 deg and soak it in solvent.  I've never taken mine apart.  All I do is shoot some aerosol solvent in there and blast it with compressed air. 

[Pete123]

These are great ideas.  Thank you.

[h2o]

I used mineral spirits for my SKS on metal and it worked fine. The wood I placed in an incubator we had here that was old and unused anymore and it came up to 140 degrees wide open. I cooked the wood in it and took it out ever few hours and wiped it down with rags. It took about 24 hours to get it to the point that no more cosmo came to the surface. Came out pretty clean.
I did an m44 also but it did not fit in the incubator very well. I just could not angle it where it did not stick out about an inch or two. I taped the door and stuffed rags in it till it was done. A regular Mosin stock would not fit at all. It would stick out too much.

[Pete123]

I like your incubator idea.  I followed peejman's advice and put the firing pin assembly in the oven on low heat and it worked like a charm to get the cosmoline out of there.

[James in Franklin]

Sounds like some great advice.