Wire Wrapped SMLE Cleaning?

[Skutatos]

Is it somehow possible to clean a wire wrapped enfield, and I mean entirely top to bottom because this thing is chaulk full of cosmoline and dirt, without removing the wire wrapping?

Im a little worried about attempting to slide the forestock off the front after removal of the nose cap but thats the only way I can see at this moment. I hope someone hear has some experience with this and can help me out, it would be much appreciated :)

[lt tahoe]

I've only heard of completely disassembling and re-wrapping them, which is very time consuming and requires some skill. It does make me wonder how the Indians did it.

[tercio67]

Maybe there is something on this site

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=57850

[Connaught Ranger]

When you say full of dirt, ... etc do you mean under the wooden furniture?

[Skutatos]

When you say full of dirt, ... etc do you mean under the wooden furniture?

Yeah, it is all over the thing, It looks like it was dragged through the Thar desert, tossed in a box and shipped to the US.

I guess it would be functional with a good cleaning of the bore, receiver, bolt etc...but I wanted to take the stock off so I could give that a good cleaning as well.

I thought the indian wire wrapped enfields were ishapore made, mine is L.S.A. made 1917 however, I guess they sold/gave a bunch to india after ww1?

[LineDoggie]

Try Murphys Oil Soap or Concentrated Simple Green.

When I got My SMLE I had to use that for about 4 days as Cosmoline kept leaching out of the wood

A Buddy uses Acetone to get the really bad crud off

[cbreedon]

I wrapped mine in foil and "baked" the wood at a low temp for a while, checking it often. It came out very nice in the end.

The cosmoline melts and comes out quicker and easier. Don't burn it.

[Skutatos]

I cant bake it in my oven(too small, and Im worried about the wire expanding with the heat and warping the wood and metal), so Im considering the use of steam at the moment.

Does anyone know a good material for filling in small gouges so that they are flush with the rest of the stock?

Also, does anyone know what the markings E.S.A. and F/14(with the f over the 14, like a fraction) mean? The rest of the markings I was able to find information on.

[LineDoggie]

I Steam Dents and gouges out.

I use a GI Brown towel or face cloth soaked in water and an Iron, pops the dents right out, most gouges too. Just remember to sela the wood later with Boiled Linseed Oil/Orange Oil or Tung Oil

[EZFEED]

Why even clean it? You wont be taking it apart without going through all of that trouble of unwrapping/rewrapping it. Let the cosmoline do its job and leave it under the wire so you dont have to worry about it rusting.

Oven cleaner works good on removing the rest but if you have a heat gun then hit it with the heat gun first to get it soft then spray it.

[orionhawk]

Im worried about the wire expanding with the heat and warping the wood and metal), so Im considering the use of steam at the moment.
if the wire expanded it would just get loose. it would also be unlikely to expand all that much. and steam heat will have the same effect, while also exposing the metal to moisture (and possibly swelling the stock, which quite possibly would result in damage to the wood, as the metal and wire might not expand as much as the wood would swell.)