cleaning hardened grease off exterior of gun
 

How do you get old, hardened grease(I think) off the exterior of a gun completely covered in it? Covered so thick you can't read the lettering or open the gun,stock included.Bores appear to be full of it too.

What is the gun ?

Parker 10 bore? hammerless lower grade but can't see the engraving to tell for sure.

I’d start with an acetone soak.





.

I'll pass that on.He has a tank he uses to soak saws in to remove rust that the gun would fit in.Thanks.

Just the action, not the stock.

My guess is the gun may have been dipped in a vat of a Cosmoline. If so you might have a nice hidden gem underneath that old hardened barrier. If someone hasn’t gone after it with a metal scrapper.
I would proceed slow. Try a test area on the barrel. Use some penetrating oil let it soak in then apply some light heat such as a hair dryer or heat gun.
Google Cosmoline removal also contact Cosmoline for advise if you determine this is what has been applied to the Parker.

Acetone won’t harm the wood nor the color case nor the barrel bluing. It will however remove all of the finish on the wood. But I suspect the cosmolene has done that to the wood finish already.





.

The finish is what I was talking about Dean, and I found a Parker that had a thick coat of cosmolene or something similar and it was hard, soaked the action but the stock only had the stuff up to the wrist (probably dipped) and I worked carefully with soap and don't remember what else, but the finish was perfect underneath. So that's why I said action only.

Good point Eric - I stand corrected, thank you.





.

when in doubt get the WD 40 out!:bigbye:

I have had really good luck with the orange citric based Safari Charlie that the Frontier Pad people sell. It cleans the gunk from inside the gun and screw slots very well. It is a cleaner/lubricant so I wouldn't try it on wood.

Big45.com


I have used the household orange citric acid spray cleaner on a few nasty old recoil pads with great results, though. A salesman once demonstrated his product to me by dissolving a styrofoam cup in the palm of hs hand whilst spraying some on the cup. Impressive....

That's an old one. When I was a kid in high school and worked at a gas station my boss once handed me a styrofoam coffee cup and said "I need some solvent Dean, go get me a cup of gasoline."

I made it about 5 feet from the pump before the cup dissolved.




.

That sounds like a “white lamp black” deal.

Or when I was 10 at day camp and the councilors sent me to the girl scout camp down the lake to borrow 100 feet of shore line.....:eek:





.

I use lacquer thinner on old grease like that.

Remember my first day pumping gas. They started me with a 57 Chevy. Think I could find the gas cap?

xxx

It’s in the back of the left wing behind the taillight - turn the vertical chrome lock... but you know that now.





.

He learned it that day I'm sure........................

The 1956 Chevy had the filler cap behind the tail light also. Just after buying it I went to a self serve gas station to fill up. Judging from the expressions on the faces of the counter attendants, I believe they had a bet going on about how long it would take me to find the gas tank.

And the whole tail light folds down on the '56 models, right?

Yes