The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Hi, this is my first post in this forum, I received my first Mosin last Saturday ( still a newbie trying to learn how to keep this baby clean ;D)
So I gave it the first cleaning/bath on Sunday but today(Tuesday) I notice there is rust in the chamber, I do not know if it was already rusty when I got the rifle, or the rust was caused by my improper cleaning ( did not dry it completely?).


Should I worry about it ? if so, how do I remove the rust ?

Thanks!

It doesn't look like anything a bronze brush and a little oil won't fix.

Looks more like dried grease. A good chamber scrubbing should improve it.

My first step cleaning is to put a kettle on the stove and heat the water to very hot, usually hotter than you could put your finger in. Usually a bit hotter than hot water from the tap. Then I pour a fair amount through the chamber. You can leave the barreled receiver in the stock if you're very careful but I usually remove it from the stock so I'm only dealing with the metal parts. Using hot water does a few things. It loosens up and even liquefies dried grease. It also dissolves salts left behind from corrosively primed ammo and the heat from the water transfers to the barrel and will help to dry/evaporate any water left behind it afterwards. Then you can do your do your usual cleaning routine with a good solvent. The first step can be repeated if necessary after some scrubbing then repeat the cleaning routine. Finally once it's cleaned to my satisfaction I use a good preservative oil as a final step. I personally like Breakfree CLP. I'll add, what I see in that chamber looks liked dried grease as mentioned before. If this routine doesn't clean it you can try a 20ga shotgun brush. Jim aka JunkYardDog can tell you more about his routine which includes using a 20ga brush with some fine steel wool on it for particularly stubborn chambers. Once the chamber's clean oil will protect it. If it is rust, once it's cleaned thoroughly you'll be able to see how bad it was. I doubt that's the case here though. A good cleaning should fix this right up.

WeldonHunter wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:56 pm My first step cleaning is to put a kettle on the stove and heat the water to very hot, usually hotter than you could put your finger in. Usually a bit hotter than hot water from the tap. Then I pour a fair amount through the chamber. You can leave the barreled receiver in the stock if you're very careful but I usually remove it from the stock so I'm only dealing with the metal parts. Using hot water does a few things. It loosens up and even liquefies dried grease. It also dissolves salts left behind from corrosively primed ammo and the heat from the water transfers to the barrel and will help to dry/evaporate any water left behind it afterwards. Then you can do your do your usual cleaning routine with a good solvent. The first step can be repeated if necessary after some scrubbing then repeat the cleaning routine. Finally once it's cleaned to my satisfaction I use a good preservative oil as a final step. I personally like Breakfree CLP. I'll add, what I see in that chamber looks liked dried grease as mentioned before. If this routine doesn't clean it you can try a 20ga shotgun brush. Jim aka JunkYardDog can tell you more about his routine which includes using a 20ga brush with some fine steel wool on it for particularly stubborn chambers. Once the chamber's clean oil will protect it. If it is rust, once it's cleaned thoroughly you'll be able to see how bad it was. I doubt that's the case here though. A good cleaning should fix this right up.

I use hot boiled water also when I clean a new to me milsurp slathered in grease. The only things I'll add is I use an old over mitt to hold the barrel when I pour the water in. The barrel heats up pretty damn fast. Another trick I use is I take tool drawer foam (the one with the adhesive back) and cut a small piece and stick it to the muzzle end of the barrel, stand it up in a bucket, then pour the water, or cleaning agent, let it sit, pour out the liquid and repeat IF needed. It only has to last for one barrel then I throw it away.

ffuries wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 5:07 pm

WeldonHunter wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:56 pm My first step cleaning is to put a kettle on the stove and heat the water to very hot, usually hotter than you could put your finger in. Usually a bit hotter than hot water from the tap. Then I pour a fair amount through the chamber. You can leave the barreled receiver in the stock if you're very careful but I usually remove it from the stock so I'm only dealing with the metal parts. Using hot water does a few things. It loosens up and even liquefies dried grease. It also dissolves salts left behind from corrosively primed ammo and the heat from the water transfers to the barrel and will help to dry/evaporate any water left behind it afterwards. Then you can do your do your usual cleaning routine with a good solvent. The first step can be repeated if necessary after some scrubbing then repeat the cleaning routine. Finally once it's cleaned to my satisfaction I use a good preservative oil as a final step. I personally like Breakfree CLP. I'll add, what I see in that chamber looks liked dried grease as mentioned before. If this routine doesn't clean it you can try a 20ga shotgun brush. Jim aka JunkYardDog can tell you more about his routine which includes using a 20ga brush with some fine steel wool on it for particularly stubborn chambers. Once the chamber's clean oil will protect it. If it is rust, once it's cleaned thoroughly you'll be able to see how bad it was. I doubt that's the case here though. A good cleaning should fix this right up.

I use hot boiled water also when I clean a new to me milsurp slathered in grease. The only things I'll add is I use an old over mitt to hold the barrel when I pour the water in. The barrel heats up pretty damn fast. Another trick I use is I take tool drawer foam (the one with the adhesive back) and cut a small piece and stick it to the muzzle end of the barrel, stand it up in a bucket, then pour the water, or cleaning agent, let it sit, pour out the liquid and repeat IF needed. It only has to last for one barrel then I throw it away.

Yeah boiling to very very hot is good. It needs to be hot enough to melt the grease and remove stuff. I use an oven mitt. Forgot to mention that, lol. I do this part on the carport off the back of the house so I just walk out in the grass when I'm pouring the hot water. You're right the barrel does get hot pretty quick. Been a few years since I did this. Getting old so I got the CRS "Can't Remember S**t"

WeldonHunter wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 5:28 pm

ffuries wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 5:07 pm

WeldonHunter wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 4:56 pm My first step cleaning is to put a kettle on the stove and heat the water to very hot, usually hotter than you could put your finger in. Usually a bit hotter than hot water from the tap. Then I pour a fair amount through the chamber. You can leave the barreled receiver in the stock if you're very careful but I usually remove it from the stock so I'm only dealing with the metal parts. Using hot water does a few things. It loosens up and even liquefies dried grease. It also dissolves salts left behind from corrosively primed ammo and the heat from the water transfers to the barrel and will help to dry/evaporate any water left behind it afterwards. Then you can do your do your usual cleaning routine with a good solvent. The first step can be repeated if necessary after some scrubbing then repeat the cleaning routine. Finally once it's cleaned to my satisfaction I use a good preservative oil as a final step. I personally like Breakfree CLP. I'll add, what I see in that chamber looks liked dried grease as mentioned before. If this routine doesn't clean it you can try a 20ga shotgun brush. Jim aka JunkYardDog can tell you more about his routine which includes using a 20ga brush with some fine steel wool on it for particularly stubborn chambers. Once the chamber's clean oil will protect it. If it is rust, once it's cleaned thoroughly you'll be able to see how bad it was. I doubt that's the case here though. A good cleaning should fix this right up.

I use hot boiled water also when I clean a new to me milsurp slathered in grease. The only things I'll add is I use an old over mitt to hold the barrel when I pour the water in. The barrel heats up pretty damn fast. Another trick I use is I take tool drawer foam (the one with the adhesive back) and cut a small piece and stick it to the muzzle end of the barrel, stand it up in a bucket, then pour the water, or cleaning agent, let it sit, pour out the liquid and repeat IF needed. It only has to last for one barrel then I throw it away.

Yeah boiling to very very hot is good. It needs to be hot enough to melt the grease and remove stuff. I use an oven mitt. Forgot to mention that, lol. I do this part on the carport off the back of the house so I just walk out in the grass when I'm pouring the hot water. You're right the barrel does get hot pretty quick. Been a few years since I did this. Getting old so I got the CRS "Can't Remember S**t"

LOL, it's a self critiquing thing, you do it the first time scald your hand, then an oven mitt becomes part of your cleaning kit.

We all suffer from CRS in some form Can't Remember S**t or Can't Repair S**t. The last one I learned from my dad, in the USAF CRS was the Consolidated Repair Squadron, he'd say they Can't Repair S**t!

thank you all for the helpful advices when I cleaned it for the first time, I just leave the barreled receiver in my bathroom tub fills with hot water from the tap for 2, 3minutes, I'll se boiled water next time for better result.
so from the image above, is it possible to tell if the dried grease is from the solvent oil or the preservative oil? I use Hoppe's 9 gun bore cleaner for solvent and Hoppe's lubrication oil for preservative oil. how do I avoid it next time (or just don't oil it too much ?)

ironhong wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:59 pm thank you all for the helpful advices when I cleaned it for the first time, I just leave the barreled receiver in my bathroom tub fills with hot water from the tap for 2, 3minutes, I'll se boiled water next time for better result.
so from the image above, is it possible to tell if the dried grease is from the solvent oil or the preservative oil? I use Hoppe's 9 gun bore cleaner for solvent and Hoppe's lubrication oil for preservative oil. how do I avoid it next time (or just don't oil it too much ?)

I would not put the whole barreled receiver in the tub. You're asking for water to get in to places it normally wouldn't and cause problems. I know guys that do this with rifles including AKs and it's ok to do (with no furniture) but they usually use compressed air to dry them afterwards. Once a thorough initial cleaning has been done occasional cleaning and reoiling is all that's needed externally. The bore and chamber should be cleaned after each use, especially if you're shooting corrosively primed (surplus) ammo. The reason for using hot water in the chamber and barrel is to remove salts (from corrosively primed ammo) or other contaminates associated with shooting. Not actually holding this in my hands and seeing what's in the chamber up close I can only guess from what I see and from experience that's dried grease from when the rifle was refurbished many years ago. They used grease not cosmoline to preserve these rifles after being refurbished and after decades of sitting in storage some grease tends to dry out and harden. I doubt seriously that's any oil you applied. I use Hoppes #9 also. Hoppes oil is fine and as far as I'm concerned you can not use to much of any preservative oil. The one thing that I do before I shoot a rifle that's been cleaned, oiled and put up is to run a patch through the bore/chamber to remove any extra oil that may be in there before shooting.

ironhong wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:59 pm thank you all for the helpful advices when I cleaned it for the first time, I just leave the barreled receiver in my bathroom tub fills with hot water from the tap for 2, 3minutes, I'll se boiled water next time for better result.
so from the image above, is it possible to tell if the dried grease is from the solvent oil or the preservative oil? I use Hoppe's 9 gun bore cleaner for solvent and Hoppe's lubrication oil for preservative oil. how do I avoid it next time (or just don't oil it too much ?)

Looks to be the grease they saturated these guns in to preserve them. I always take them completely apart and clean it like I'm OCD. After cleaning I wipe all the metal down with oil (When it comes to oil, just pick your favorite flavor) I use transmission fluid, after oiling reassemble and give the outside a wipe down and she'll be good to go.

After the initial de-greasing and cleaning, subsequent cleanings will be quick and painless, unless you use corrosive ammo. For normal ammo I just take the bolt apart clean and oil it, clean the chamber, barrel and oil them, then wipe the overall rifle down and I'm done. None of them have rusted, hell after Hurricane Michael dumped water in my gun room and I didn't get to them for over two weeks, only 2 or 3 guns out of 40 plus had any rust on them, even then it wasn't much.

Don't know the condition of your stock oil wise, but leaving it outside on a hot day will help draw the grease out of it. There are other tricks like wrapping the stock in a black garbage bag with paper towels (news paper, rags etc) and placing in your trunk, attic or other hot place and let the grease leach out. You can probably to a forum search for stock cleaning tricks.

20 gauge shotgun brush wrapped with 0000 size steel wool, smeared with JB bore paste and mounted on a section of shotgun cleaning rod that is then chucked into a drill. Drill the chamber for a minute or so, DO NOT drill into the rifling. Clean the mess, shoot the rifle to get the chamber hot and see if cases will stick. If they don't then you are good, if they do then just repeat the process. This is to remove the micro coating of old grease and commie cartridge case lacquer coating that is on the chamber walls. Once hot this mix liquifies and glues fired cases into the chamber causing " sticky bolt"

WD-40, Water Displacement formula 40, available online and most hardware stores, even grocery stores. After the hot water and the rest of the cleaning treatment just blast the action and chamber with the WD to get any trace of moisture out. I use a heavy wet oil for bores if I am not shooting it again for a good while, but WD is great for getting water trace out if needed. I boiled the water in my electric tea pot, and used the pot spout to direct the water down the chamber without a mess. I keep the action in the wood so I can hold onto the stock and not burn the shit out of myself, something very likely to happen if I didn't do it that way. I hold the stock so the barrel is pointed straight down, and pour right into the chamber with the bolt removed, the hit the bolt head and pin, and magazine follower once you pop it out of the magazine well. All commie surplus ammo is corrosively primed, most surplus is, even our stuff if it is older than 1955. Fail to clean the bore properly after shooting corrosively primed ammo even one time and rust will result. Then your bore looks like craters of the moon. The heat from the water transmits to the metal and helps steam off any residual water.