I'm anxiously awaiting my first P-64...it's due to be delivered from AIM today. I've used my C&R for years as a cost saving tool, but never to purchase a firearm designated C&R. That has changed. And I'm fairly certain that when my newest addition arrives today, it will open up yet another needy pocket of gun-love in my brain. So that's me...hello all!
Now since this is my first Mil-Surp firearm, I have zero experience with removing cosmoline. I've read several different methods online and here as well. I have two chemicals currently available in my home. Acetone and Xylene. Are either of these suitable for the removal of cosmoline? If not, not worries, I can go purchase something better suited. But I like to ask first.
I've already ordered the most common flavors of main/recoil springs from Wolff (a company not far from me actually). I'll fire the gun before making the switch, but have read too many positive posts about the aftermarket springs to ignore them. I can't wait to tear this thing apart and learn what makes it tick.
Once I get a feel for the firearm, I'll most likely choose a grip that suits me from Marschal.
Anyway, this is my long winded way to say hello and ask a question.
Take care,
Giovanni
New member with question
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surfzombie
- Member
- Posts: 181
- Joined: June 29th, 2010, 10:07 pm
- Location: Utah
Re: New member with question
Welcome to the board from Utah. many use mineral spirits. I like to use brake cleaner because it's fast and cheap but make sue that you take the grips of first. DO NOT GET BRAKE CLEAN ON YOUR GRIPS. The other chemicals you mentioned will probably work just fine but if in doubt test a small area first. I have even used an automotive parts washer at work before to remove cosmo. I have never bought a gun from AIM so inspect it first it may have only a little or no cosmo at all you may just need a good cleaning only.
Re: New member with question
I use a recipe found on the Makarov.com website called "Cleaner/Lube for Firearms" found at http://www.makarov.com/tech.html towards the bottom of the page.
I think it is the mineral spirits in it that does the work on the cosmoline. I field strip it and let it soak, grips and all, overnight if necessary. I think it works better if it is warm so I might set it out in the sun if that works for you. Scrub with a toothbrush occasionally where you can reach. Blow it dry with compressed air.
This has always worked for me but I have never had a really bad case to work on.
I think it is the mineral spirits in it that does the work on the cosmoline. I field strip it and let it soak, grips and all, overnight if necessary. I think it works better if it is warm so I might set it out in the sun if that works for you. Scrub with a toothbrush occasionally where you can reach. Blow it dry with compressed air.
This has always worked for me but I have never had a really bad case to work on.
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Autosurgeon
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- Joined: July 29th, 2010, 12:13 pm
- Location: Lawrence MI
- Contact:
Re: New member with question
Acetone and Xylene could damage the grips as well... I just use mineral spirits and a soft brush. Then blow it all dry with compressed air and follow your standard cleaning procedure.
Anything I post may be my opinion and not the law... you are responsible to do your own verification.
Blackstone (1753-1765) maintains that "the law holds that it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."
Blackstone (1753-1765) maintains that "the law holds that it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."
Re: New member with question
Thanks all.
I just got back from errands, so now I can give it my full attention. First glance at externals, it's an IO Inc import, 1973, some wear around muzzle, trigger guard, front side of mag well. No major dings or dents, grips look good. One mag looks unused while the other shows wear. Bore looks cruddy, nothing concerning on the crown but too dirty to really see, will get into that this evening. Rust on the breech face, caked on grime around the breech face and ejector. I didn't notice much in the way of grease/goop except on the mag follower, but I'm going to tear it down anyway.
Take care,
G.
I just got back from errands, so now I can give it my full attention. First glance at externals, it's an IO Inc import, 1973, some wear around muzzle, trigger guard, front side of mag well. No major dings or dents, grips look good. One mag looks unused while the other shows wear. Bore looks cruddy, nothing concerning on the crown but too dirty to really see, will get into that this evening. Rust on the breech face, caked on grime around the breech face and ejector. I didn't notice much in the way of grease/goop except on the mag follower, but I'm going to tear it down anyway.
Take care,
G.
Re: New member with question
Welcome from Missouri. I know you will like it here. Lots of helpful peps.
Re: New member with question
Thank you.
As it turned out, there was no cosmoline to be found on my P-64. Just a fair amount of excess oil inside the grips and the one used magazine. Also the large build up of rust/crud/gunk around the chamber and breech face was easy to clear away. All of the internals look great, along with the springs. Nothing brittle or scored. Easy gun to detail strip. The sear/hammer engagement leaves a bit to be desired, I'm not getting the crisp break that I'm accustomed to with my other pistols/rifles. I'm certain that this is all common knowledge to the P-64 vets.
Judging by the level of shine on the parts that rub, it looks like this pistol has been fired quite a bit, which is cool with me. I didn't buy this as a collector, I bought it to be a shooter. Once cleaned, the bore/crown look 100%.
I ordered a set of fancy grips from Marschal's. I'll be taking it to the range next week most likley. I've got a batch of AR reloads to Chrony and this will be a nice diversion between the brainy stuff. I have some Silver Bear (FMJ), CCI Blazer (JHP), and PPU (FMJ). Think I'll go ahead and Chrony those as well, report what I find if there is any interest. There is plenty of data out there for 9x18, but I'm interested in seeing how my particular firearm performs.
Thanks again for all the guides/pics/posts in these forums. Like other gun specific forums, it really helps empower the untrained hobbyist like me.
Take care,
G.
As it turned out, there was no cosmoline to be found on my P-64. Just a fair amount of excess oil inside the grips and the one used magazine. Also the large build up of rust/crud/gunk around the chamber and breech face was easy to clear away. All of the internals look great, along with the springs. Nothing brittle or scored. Easy gun to detail strip. The sear/hammer engagement leaves a bit to be desired, I'm not getting the crisp break that I'm accustomed to with my other pistols/rifles. I'm certain that this is all common knowledge to the P-64 vets.
Judging by the level of shine on the parts that rub, it looks like this pistol has been fired quite a bit, which is cool with me. I didn't buy this as a collector, I bought it to be a shooter. Once cleaned, the bore/crown look 100%.
I ordered a set of fancy grips from Marschal's. I'll be taking it to the range next week most likley. I've got a batch of AR reloads to Chrony and this will be a nice diversion between the brainy stuff. I have some Silver Bear (FMJ), CCI Blazer (JHP), and PPU (FMJ). Think I'll go ahead and Chrony those as well, report what I find if there is any interest. There is plenty of data out there for 9x18, but I'm interested in seeing how my particular firearm performs.
Thanks again for all the guides/pics/posts in these forums. Like other gun specific forums, it really helps empower the untrained hobbyist like me.
Take care,
G.
Re: New member with question
A couple things I did right out of the box:
The safety was chunky, which I expected after reading a good bit of the posts here while waiting for AIM to ship. So when I had everything completely stripped, I went ahead and removed the tooling marks on the safety round. Very simple, nothing drastic. I also cut one coil off of the safety detent spring. Now, the safety operates much more freely, but still has a very positive retention in each position. Simple but effective.
Feed ramp. I see there is a sticky thread on feed ramps and it has good info in there. The usual rust and metal removal warnings, which are adequate. I've never had a rust issue with any compenent I've altered. But I have removed too much material from a couple components and rendered them useless, so I only alter geometry on parts that I have spares of, or easy access to affordable spares.
Barrel. Purely aesthetic and sort of my signature on my pistols. This does absolutely nothing for performance, it does absolutely nothing for/to function, it is purely because I like it this way. Like I said, this has become a signature of sorts for my firearms. All of my pistols have mirror polished barrels. Disclaimer time: No, they haven't rusted. Yes, I understand that the resale value has been lowered by my actions. That's fine by me, I don't plan on selling them. No, I haven't decreased the outer circumference of the barrel by any significance. Yes, the polish doesn't stay perfect as the slide action mars it (just like it mars the original finish). Once more for good measure. No, they haven't rusted after years of heavy use and in some cases, concealed carry. That may sound defensive, but I've grown accustomed to the standard arguements from the 'don't mess with it' camp. Well, I 'mess with it' and I love every minute of 'messing with it'.
Internals. Like I mentioned, I tempered my desire to alter the geometry soley as a result of the parts availability. If my fabrication friends can reproduce any of the parts, I will have at it, but I won't mess with originals in this particular firearm.
:::Pics:::
First, a naked look at the finished product. The wear marks on the frame below the barrel were aleady there, not put there by my polishing methods.
And how it looks assembled
I can't wait to get my grips from Marschal, they will really make this little bugger look top shelf.
Bonus pic: This is a much more ambitious piece I did, a Beretta 96 Inox:
Take care,
G.
The safety was chunky, which I expected after reading a good bit of the posts here while waiting for AIM to ship. So when I had everything completely stripped, I went ahead and removed the tooling marks on the safety round. Very simple, nothing drastic. I also cut one coil off of the safety detent spring. Now, the safety operates much more freely, but still has a very positive retention in each position. Simple but effective.
Feed ramp. I see there is a sticky thread on feed ramps and it has good info in there. The usual rust and metal removal warnings, which are adequate. I've never had a rust issue with any compenent I've altered. But I have removed too much material from a couple components and rendered them useless, so I only alter geometry on parts that I have spares of, or easy access to affordable spares.
Barrel. Purely aesthetic and sort of my signature on my pistols. This does absolutely nothing for performance, it does absolutely nothing for/to function, it is purely because I like it this way. Like I said, this has become a signature of sorts for my firearms. All of my pistols have mirror polished barrels. Disclaimer time: No, they haven't rusted. Yes, I understand that the resale value has been lowered by my actions. That's fine by me, I don't plan on selling them. No, I haven't decreased the outer circumference of the barrel by any significance. Yes, the polish doesn't stay perfect as the slide action mars it (just like it mars the original finish). Once more for good measure. No, they haven't rusted after years of heavy use and in some cases, concealed carry. That may sound defensive, but I've grown accustomed to the standard arguements from the 'don't mess with it' camp. Well, I 'mess with it' and I love every minute of 'messing with it'.
Internals. Like I mentioned, I tempered my desire to alter the geometry soley as a result of the parts availability. If my fabrication friends can reproduce any of the parts, I will have at it, but I won't mess with originals in this particular firearm.
:::Pics:::
First, a naked look at the finished product. The wear marks on the frame below the barrel were aleady there, not put there by my polishing methods.
And how it looks assembled
I can't wait to get my grips from Marschal, they will really make this little bugger look top shelf.
Bonus pic: This is a much more ambitious piece I did, a Beretta 96 Inox:
Take care,
G.
Re: New member with question
Quick reply: If a picture doesn't show, right click on 'x' and select show picture. I switched web hosting providers this month and have seen some pictures not showing up.
Take care,
G.
Take care,
G.
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normsutton
- Global moderator
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- Location: LAKELAND FL.
Re: New member with question
G.
its your gun to what you want to it , I polish all my 25 cal ,9mm , 45 cal barrels, think it looks better
NORM
its your gun to what you want to it , I polish all my 25 cal ,9mm , 45 cal barrels, think it looks better
NORM
NORMSUTTON@AOL.COM
N.R.A. LIFE MEMBER 1976
N.R.A. LIFE MEMBER 1976
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anjdrifter
- Forum supporter
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- Joined: March 23rd, 2006, 8:40 pm
- Location: delaware/Virginia eastern shor
Re: New member with question
my feelings also its my gun and if no one likes it I will take the football,whoops mean gun and go home.LOL
cant believe the finish on the Beretta... I have done a spanish 25 like that but not nearly as good... Hey norm I still remmeber when we did the barrel on the Molina ...
cant believe the finish on the Beretta... I have done a spanish 25 like that but not nearly as good... Hey norm I still remmeber when we did the barrel on the Molina ...
Re: New member with question
Nice to hear a couple people with a similar attitude towards guns. I've been blasted too often by internet commandos.
I took my P64 to the range this afternoon, WOW is it accurate. And a joy to shoot as well. For my hands/grip, the recoil was what I would call moderate. The first round I fired was dead center 'X' at 7 yards, the next two shots filled the same hole. I expected some adjustment period with a first-time range trip, but none was needed. Dead on repeatable. This thing is a shooter!
BIG GRINS!!!
I'm positive this gun will be seeing a lot of range time. Price for performance? Yeah, I can see picking up another one when I see some for sale again.
Take care,
G.
I took my P64 to the range this afternoon, WOW is it accurate. And a joy to shoot as well. For my hands/grip, the recoil was what I would call moderate. The first round I fired was dead center 'X' at 7 yards, the next two shots filled the same hole. I expected some adjustment period with a first-time range trip, but none was needed. Dead on repeatable. This thing is a shooter!
BIG GRINS!!!
I'm positive this gun will be seeing a lot of range time. Price for performance? Yeah, I can see picking up another one when I see some for sale again.
Take care,
G.
Re: New member with question
Another area that you may want to polish is the frame where the trigger connection slides and where the trigger connection slides along the hammer spring pin (upper end).