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Cosmoline is the genericized trademark for a common class of brown, wax-like petroleum-based corrosion inhibitors, typically conforming to United States Military Standard MIL-C-11796C Class 3. [1] They are viscous when freshly applied, have a slight fluorescence, and solidify over time with exposure to air. The main ingredient in cosmoline is aliphatic petroleum solvent, which is volatile and evaporates over time. [2]
![]() | This section needs expansionwith: cosmoline's invention and production. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017) |
Cosmoline was developed by Houghton International in the 1860s or 1870s as a pharmaceutical product. The original Cosmoline was an ointment and was used for many different cosmetic and medical purposes, it was even advocated to promote hair growth. [3] It was kept in homes to disinfect wounds and was used by veterinarians to treat cuts, abrasions, bruises and sprains. Cosmoline could even be found on farms, where it was used to relieve swelling in cow's udders.
Cosmoline became widely known when it received a government specification as a rust preventive and began its use by the military to protect various equipment from rust and corrosion. Cosmoline could be found on military equipment in the Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. [4] [5] Cosmoline conforms to MIL-SPEC (MIL-C-11796C, Class 3) for Preservative and Sealing Compounds. [6]
Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It is always brown in color, but can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 45–52 °C (113–126 °F) and has a flash point of 185 °C (365 °F).
![]() | This section needs expansionwith: cosmoline's application and storage. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017) |
The most common use of cosmoline is in the storage and preservation of some firearms, hand tools, machine tools and their tooling, and marine equipment. Entire vehicles can be preserved with cosmoline, as was attempted with Miss Belvedere .
Cosmoline is also frequently applied to automotive disc brake rotors at the factory, to prevent corrosion inside the box before the rotor is placed into service on a vehicle. It is easily removed by spraying brake cleaner on the braking surfaces of the rotor although brake pad manufacturers do not recommend this technique.[ citation needed ] These manufacturers recommend that rotors be washed with dish soap and water to remove cosmoline, as well as after machining brake drums and rotors.
During World War II cosmoline was used to coat weapons, including entire tanks, for long sea voyages, to prevent corrosion in salty maritime conditions.[ citation needed ] U.S. Coast Artillerymen serving the huge coastal artillery batteries were known as "Cosmoliners" as they were regularly assigned the task of "greasing down" their big guns.
Cosmoline was also used during the Pacific island campaigns in World War II by the United States Marines, who sang a song about it [7] to the tune of the popular big-band hit Tangerine: "Cosmoline...keeps my rifle clean". Many felt that it had been invented not merely to prevent rust on their weapons but for making soldiers' lives miserable. Historical fiction author W.E.B. Griffin, in his 1986 novel Semper Fi, describes in great detail the difficulties that cosmoline removal presented to a typical group of U.S. Marine Corps officer candidates in the months leading up to U.S. involvement in World War II.
Freshly applied cosmoline, or that which is hermetically sealed in a plastic bag or shrink wrap, retains its grease-like viscosity and wipes near clean with a rag, leaving only a thin film behind. Older cosmoline which has had air exposure usually solidifies after a few years, once its volatile hydrocarbon fraction evaporates and leaves behind only the waxy remainder. This solid wax does not readily wipe off. It can be removed with laborious scraping but leaves crumbs to be swept or vacuumed away. [8]
The most effective and non-abrasive method to remove all cosmoline safely is accomplished using a dry ice blaster. High pressure compressed air with solid CO2 particles is directed to any area to be cleaned until removed. An experienced operator is required in order to protect the underlying substrate. Once removed, the cosmoline is blown away from the subject with gravity bringing it to the floor or surrounding horizontal surface. If properly performed, the results do not harm or change the finish of the protected surface. Application of gentle heat sufficient to melt the waxy hydrocarbons allows cosmoline to drip off. Penetrating oil (such as WD-40 or CRC 5-56 CLP) sprayed and allowed to soak in until cosmoline is restored to a viscous-fluid state allows it to be wiped off. A closed-cabinet parts washer may be used to power wash smaller items. An aqueous rather than petrochemical-based wash requires high heat, the proper aqueous detergent, and the correct hydraulic impact pressure. [8]
Soldiers in field conditions have often used gasoline or another handy petroleum-based solvent (such as kerosene) to clean cosmoline off stored weapons. [9]
It is not recommended to use harsh chemical solvents that could strip paint, finishes, or other aesthetic/functional coatings from the gun's surface. A better solvent is Stoddard Solvent, or mineral spirits, Coleman fuel, or its camp fuel equivalent [10]
All cosmoline cleaning methods create hazardous waste that must be disposed of in the proper manner. Aqueous or solvent cleaning both have accepted methods to dispose of the "sludge" created. It has been reported that talcum powder can be used as an absorbent of cosmoline by packing the powder around the item to be cleaned and applying sufficient heat to melt the solid film, allowing the compound to be wicked from the coated surface into the talcum, which can be scraped off more easily. [11]
Cosmoline has been highly effectively cleaned from rifles using ultrasonic cleaning systems. [12]
A lubricant is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, transporting foreign particles, or heating or cooling the surfaces. The property of reducing friction is known as lubricity.
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Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known in the industry as "perc", is the most commonly used solvent, although alternative solvents such as 1-bromopropane, hydrocarbons, and supercritical CO2 are also used.
In physical chemistry and engineering, passivation is coating a material so that it becomes "passive", that is, less readily affected or corroded by the environment. Passivation involves creation of an outer layer of shield material that is applied as a microcoating, created by chemical reaction with the base material, or allowed to build by spontaneous oxidation in the air. As a technique, passivation is the use of a light coat of a protective material, such as metal oxide, to create a shield against corrosion. Passivation of silicon is used during fabrication of microelectronic devices. Undesired passivation of electrodes, called "fouling", increases the circuit resistance so it interferes with some electrochemical applications such as electrocoagulation for wastewater treatment, amperometric chemical sensing, and electrochemical synthesis.
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A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backhoes, hydraulic brakes, power steering systems, automatic transmissions, garbage trucks, aircraft flight control systems, lifts, and industrial machinery.
Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum, soft paraffin, or multi-hydrocarbon, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons, originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties. Vaseline has been an American brand of petroleum jelly since 1870.
In metallurgy, a flux is a chemical reducing agent, flowing agent, or purifying agent. Fluxes may have more than one function at a time. They are used in both extractive metallurgy and metal joining.
White spirit (AU, UK and Ireland) or mineral spirits (US, Canada), also known as mineral turpentine (AU/NZ/ZA), turpentine substitute, and petroleum spirits, is a petroleum-derived clear liquid used as a common organic solvent in painting. There are also terms for specific kinds of white spirit, including Stoddard solvent and solvent naphtha (petroleum). White spirit is often used as a paint thinner, or as a component thereof, though paint thinner is a broader category of solvent. Odorless mineral spirits (OMS) have been refined to remove the more toxic aromatic compounds, and are recommended for applications such as oil painting.
Petroleum ether is the petroleum fraction consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbons and boiling in the range 35–60 °C, and commonly used as a laboratory solvent. Despite the name, petroleum ether is not an ether; the term is used only figuratively, signifying extreme lightness and volatility.
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Grease is a solid or semisolid lubricant formed as a dispersion of thickening agents in a liquid lubricant. Grease generally consists of a soap emulsified with mineral or vegetable oil.
Ultrasonic cleaning is a process that uses ultrasound to agitate a fluid, with a cleaning effect. Ultrasonic cleaners come in a variety of sizes, from small desktop units with an internal volume of less than 0.5 litres (0.13 US gal), to large industrial units with volumes approaching 1,000 litres.
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Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, foul odors, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing offensive odor, and avoiding the spread of dirt and contaminants to oneself and others. Some cleaning agents can kill bacteria and clean at the same time. Others, called degreasers, contain organic solvents to help dissolve oils and fats.
Solvent degreasing is a process used to prepare a part for further operations such as electroplating or painting. Typically it uses petroleum, chlorine, dry ice or alcohol based solvents to dissolve the machining fluids and other contaminants that might be on the part.
A parts washer is a piece of equipment used to remove contaminants or debris, such as dirt, grime, carbon, oil, grease, metal chips, cutting fluids, mold release agents, ink, paint, and corrosion from workpieces. Parts washers are used in new manufacturing and remanufacturing processes; they are designed to clean, degrease and dry bulk loads of small or large parts in preparation for assembly, inspection, surface treatment, packaging and distribution. Parts washers may be as simple as the manual "sink-on-a-drum" common to many auto repair shops, or they may be very complex, multi-stage units with pass-through parts handling systems. Parts washers are essential in maintenance, repair and remanufacturing operations as well, from cleaning fasteners, nuts, bolts and screws to diesel engine blocks and related parts, rail bearings, wind turbine gears boxes and automotive assemblies.
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