Flip sight with some Cosmoline
Printed From: The Carbine Collector's Club
Category: The Club
Forum Name: Parts Markings
Forum Description: Questions and Answers
URL: http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7731
Printed Date: Mar 26 2026 at 11:01pm
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Topic: Flip sight with some Cosmoline
Posted By: Superdort
Subject: Flip sight with some Cosmoline
Date Posted: Nov 29 2025 at 11:39am
I bought this flip sight last week and it arrived this afternoon. It has some Cosmoline grease on it that is very hard. In the photos, it looks like rust. Leaf is stamped U and on the left side, an S is very faintly visible. It was once removed with a punch, causing some damage to the right side. Does anyone have any tips on how to remove the hard Cosmoline without causing further damage?     Regards Rico |
Replies:
Posted By: Marty Black
Date Posted: Nov 29 2025 at 2:01pm
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Old hard cosmoline can be very difficult to remove. I'm hoping someone else will chime in with a better, less risky solution, but I've found that acetone is the best. It's available in hardware stores (In England, hardware stores are called Iron Mongers, which I find humorous. I have no idea what they are called in The Netherlands.) The fumes of acetone are toxic (so use it outdoors or in a well-ventilated area), and acetone will eat rubber gloves and the hair on the back of your fingers! It will also eat the plastic bristles on the old toothbrush that you use to scrub the rear sight, so have a couple extra toothbrushes available. But with all that said, acetone will also eat the old hard cosmoline without damaging the parkerizing. The sight will be left bone-dry gray, so apply some oil afterwards to restore the normal color to the sight. Enjoy! :-) Regards, mb ------------- Marty Black |
Posted By: New2brass
Date Posted: Nov 29 2025 at 4:01pm
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As a general cautionary statement, acetone is flammable. Nail polish remover contains acetone. So you may hove some on hand from the wife/girlfriend. If you heat the part the cosmoline will soften to the point you can wipe it down. Not too hot, just as much as you can still handle it. ------------- http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/wtb-magazines_topic7446.html" rel="nofollow - My Wish List |
Posted By: DogDoc
Date Posted: Nov 29 2025 at 5:09pm
| I’m with Dan on the heat. I use a little mini torch. Since I’ve started that, I’ve not used any chemicals at all. Good luck! |
Posted By: Superdort
Date Posted: Nov 29 2025 at 5:50pm
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Thanks for the tips. We have a 4-oven AGA Cooker, each oven of which has a different temperature. I'll put it in the 100 degrees Celsius oven tomorrow for 10 minutes. Let's see if I can get it clean then.
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Posted By: New2brass
Date Posted: Nov 29 2025 at 7:56pm
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Also start at 50 - 55 c You want to warm it, not cook it. You could also boil water. Pull off heat and add a few drops of dish soap. Then soak the part. But then you would have to remove all water, and then oil part so it does not flash rust ------------- http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/wtb-magazines_topic7446.html" rel="nofollow - My Wish List |
Posted By: Superdort
Date Posted: Nov 30 2025 at 2:24pm
| The fumes won't be a problem. This is an English cast iron Aga Range Cooker that vents its fumes outside through an exhaust pipe. The flip sight has been in there for about an hour. After that, I was able to rub most of it off. Now it's sitting in Coca Cola to remove the little bit of surface rust on it. It may sound silly, but I've had the best experience with that for removing surface rust. |
Posted By: New2brass
Date Posted: Nov 30 2025 at 3:32pm
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The leaf springs were blued. AKA black oxide The rest was phosphate conversion (parkerizing) Both are a form of oxidizating. AKA rust. The Coca-Cola will remove all of the finish! Note on the phosphate, it was designed so that it can hold oil on the surface in the noncrystalline finish. Things like acetone will remove these oils, so after cleaning a good oiling would be required. ------------- http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/wtb-magazines_topic7446.html" rel="nofollow - My Wish List |
Posted By: Jond41403
Date Posted: Nov 30 2025 at 5:29pm
| I would just let it soak in some good old kerosene. It will dissolve a lot and certainly soften up the hard cosmolene and leave a protective oily filmed behind when it evaporates once you take it out of the kerosene. Dan is correct, the Coca-Cola will remove all the bluing which is just another form of rust which you do not want to do if the leaf is blued |
Posted By: floydthecat
Date Posted: Nov 30 2025 at 6:56pm
| Leave it alone….it was on there for a purpose…😂. |
Posted By: Jond41403
Date Posted: Dec 01 2025 at 4:43pm
| thank you Dan for that explanation, I knew soda would remove bluing but I did not know it would also remove the parkerizing too. I didn't know that Parkerizing was also a form of rust |
Posted By: New2brass
Date Posted: Dec 02 2025 at 7:22am
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Rico, any updates? ------------- http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/wtb-magazines_topic7446.html" rel="nofollow - My Wish List |
Posted By: Superdort
Date Posted: Dec 02 2025 at 2:37pm
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Hi Dan, Yes, most of the old cosmoline has been removed. There is still some left in the damaged areas, but that doesn't bother me. The leaf still looks good, only the base is missing its parkerizing. But that was to be expected. The S is now clearly visible. I'm going to oil it some more over the weekend. I'm very busy with work at the moment. Now you can also see how much it has been damaged by time.     Regards Rico |
Posted By: New2brass
Date Posted: Dec 02 2025 at 4:28pm
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Rico, thanks for the update. Someone sure banged up that base. @ JonD, next time you are enjoying a cola product, take a look at the ingredients. Coca-Cola contains carbonated water, sugar (or high-fructose corn syrup), caramel color, phosphoric acid, and natural flavors, along with caffeine. Yep the same stuff that created a phosphate coating, though with a little more chemistry to it. the amount of acid is watered down by the carbonated water, but I bet if you warmed the coke up it would remove "rust' faster. Some rust removers, like navel jelly, have a higher concentration of phosphoric acid and will remove "rust" much faster. ------------- http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/wtb-magazines_topic7446.html" rel="nofollow - My Wish List |
Posted By: Jond41403
Date Posted: Dec 03 2025 at 2:47pm
| thanks for the explanation Dan! |
Posted By: Smokpole
Date Posted: Dec 03 2025 at 6:12pm
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For years my father used coal ash and coke in a sack to remove rust from car bumpers. it worked very well! It left the steel clean and bright. ------------- OGCA Life member NRA Life member Ashtabula Rod and Gun Life member |
Posted By: HARLEY08
Date Posted: Mar 23 2026 at 2:08pm
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After it is dry, try to put some blue on the sides to darken them. (just an idea) Keep collection!
------------- M1DB |