The SKS rifle is a semi-automatic carbine that was designed by the Soviet Union in the late 1940s and widely used by various communist countries during the Cold War. The Yugoslavian version, also known as the M59/66, is one of the most popular variants of the SKS rifle among collectors and enthusiasts. It features a grenade launcher, a night sight, a gas valve, and a rubber buttplate. However, due to its age and history, many yugo SKS rifles are in need of cleaning and restoration to bring them back to their original glory. In this blog post, we will show you how to clean and restore a yugo SKS rifle at home and what all is needed. 

What You Will Need To clean and restore a yugo SKS rifle, you will need the following tools and materials: 

- Cleaning rod 

- Bore brush

- Chamber brush

- A patch holder 

- Cleaning patches 

- Pull thru twine

- Gun oil 

- Gun solvent 

- A brass punch 

- A hammer 

- A screwdriver 

- A pair of pliers (normal and needle nose)

- Pair of wire cutters 

- A file 

- Cloth

- A toothbrush 

- Metal polish 

- Wood finish 

- Safety gloves 

- Pair of safety glasses 

You can find most of these items at your local gun store or online. However, some of the parts of the yugo SKS rifle may be hard to find or expensive to replace. If you need to buy any parts for your yugo SKS rifle, we recommend you to check out AKOptions,LLC, a reliable and affordable source of SKS parts and accessories. They have a wide selection of original SKS spare parts and accessories for your SKS rifle, such as bolts, carriers, stocks, magazines, sights, bayonets, and more. 

How to Field Strip the Yugo SKS Rifle 

Before you can clean and restore your yugo SKS rifle, you need to disassemble some of its main components. To do this, follow these steps: Make sure the rifle is unloaded and the safety is on. Remove the magazine by pushing the magazine latch forward and pulling the magazine out. Pull the bolt back and lock it in the rear position by pushing the bolt carrier up into the notch on the receiver. 

Push the takedown latch on the rear of the receiver and lift the receiver cover up and off the rifle. Pull the recoil spring and guide out of the bolt carrier. 

Slide the bolt and carrier forward and out of the receiver. 

Remove the gas tube by pushing the gas tube lever up and lifting the gas tube off the gas block. Remove the piston and piston extension from the gas tube by pushing them out with a cleaning rod. Remove the handguard by pushing out the handguard ferrule pin and sliding the handguard off the gas tube. 

Remove the front sight base and grenade launcher by unscrewing the bayonet screw and pulling the front sight base off the barrel. 

Disconnect the bayonet by pushing out the hinge pin and sliding the bayonet off the front sight base. 

Tackle the trigger group by pushing out the trigger guard latch and pulling the trigger group down and out of the stock. 

Remove the magazine follower and spring by pushing out the hinge pin and lifting the magazine cover off the trigger group. 

Take off the stock by pushing out the stock ferrule pin and the recoil lug pin and sliding the stock off the barrel and receiver. 

Remove the buttstock cleaning kit by opening the trapdoor on the buttplate and pulling the cleaning kit out. You have now field stripped your yugo SKS rifle into its main components. You can further disassemble the bolt, carrier, trigger group, and other parts if you need to, but be careful not to lose any small parts or springs. 

How to Clean the Yugo SKS Rifle To clean your yugo SKS rifle 

You are likely going to need to remove dirt, grease, rust, and cosmoline from the metal and wood parts. Cosmoline is a preservative that was used to protect the rifle from corrosion during storage and transportation, but it can also interfere with the function and accuracy of the rifle.

To clean your yugo SKS rifle, follow these steps: 

Clean the bore and chamber of the barrel with a bore brush and solvent. Run the brush back and forth several times to loosen any fouling and cosmoline. Then, use a patch holder and patches to wipe the bore and chamber clean. Repeat until the patches come out clean.

Next, clean the gas port, gas block, and gas valve with a chamber brush and solvent. Scrub the gas port and gas block to remove any carbon and cosmoline. Then, use a patch holder and patches to wipe them clean. To clean the gas valve, unscrew it from the gas block and soak it in solvent. Then, use a toothbrush and a cloth to scrub and wipe it clean. 

Clean the piston, piston extension, and gas tube with a bore brush and solvent. Run the brush through the piston, piston extension, and gas tube to remove any carbon and cosmoline. Then, use a patch holder and patches to wipe them clean. 

Clean the bolt, carrier, firing pin, extractor, and other parts with a cloth and solvent. Wear safety gloves and safety goggles and consider doing in an area with lot's of free flowing air. Wipe the parts with a cloth soaked in solvent to remove any dirt, grease, rust, and cosmoline. Then, use a toothbrush and a cloth to scrub and wipe the hard-to-reach areas, such as the firing pin hole, the extractor groove, and the bolt face. Be careful not to damage the firing pin or the extractor. 

Clean the trigger group, magazine, and other parts with a cloth and solvent. Wipe the parts with a cloth soaked in solvent to remove any dirt, grease, rust, and cosmoline. Then, use a toothbrush and a cloth to scrub and wipe the hard-to-reach areas, such as the sear, the hammer, the disconnector, and the magazine follower. Be careful not to damage the springs or the pins. 

Clean the front sight base, grenade launcher, bayonet, and other parts with a cloth and solvent. Wipe the parts with a cloth soaked in solvent to remove any dirt, grease, rust, and cosmoline. Then, use a toothbrush and a cloth to scrub and wipe the hard-to-reach areas, such as the grenade launcher sight, the bayonet lug, and the bayonet blade. Be careful not to damage the sight or the blade. 

Lastly, clean the stock and handguard with a cloth and solvent. Wipe the wood parts with a cloth soaked in solvent to remove any dirt, grease, rust, and cosmoline. Then, use a toothbrush and a cloth to scrub and wipe the hard-to-reach areas, such as the sling swivel, the stock ferrule, and the handguard catch. Be careful not to damage the wood or the metal parts. 

You have now cleaned your yugo SKS rifle and removed any dirt, grease, rust, and cosmoline from the metal and wood parts. You can also use a metal polish to shine the metal parts and a wood finish to protect the wood parts if you want to. 

How to Restore/Refinish the Yugo SKS Rifle To restore your yugo SKS rifle

Now we get to the restoration steps, you'll need to repair or replace any damaged or missing parts if you've discovered smoe missing pieces along the way or broke a spring or two. After everything is in place again follow these steps to refinish your SKS rifle: 

Inspect the parts for any cracks, dents, scratches, or wear. 

Check the bore and chamber for any pitting, corrosion, or bulges. Check the gas port, gas block, and gas valve for any clogs, leaks, or damage. 

Inspect the bolt, carrier, firing pin, extractor, and other parts for any cracks, chips, or wear. 

Inspect the trigger group, magazine, and other parts for any broken or missing springs, pins, or parts. 

Check the front sight base, grenade launcher, bayonet, and other parts for any bends, breaks, or damage. 

Check the stock and handguard for any cracks, splits, or rot. Repair or replace any damaged or missing parts. If you find any parts that are damaged or missing, you can either try to repair them yourself or buy new or used parts from AK Options, LLC or another surplus parts retailer.

Refinish or repaint the metal and wood parts. If you want to improve the appearance and durability of your yugo SKS rifle, you can either refinish or repaint the metal and wood parts. To refinish the metal parts, you can either use a cold blue solution or a hot blue process. To refinish the wood parts, you can either use a stain or a varnish. To repaint the metal and wood parts, you can choose between a spray paint or a brush paint. You can select the color and finish that you prefer, but make sure to follow the instructions and safety precautions of the products that you use. 

You have now cleaned and restored your own SKS, perhaps multiple. Maybe you only used part of these steps and it's a long term project but bookmark this post and you can reflect on it anytime you need to shine up your latest project.

Next, check out our super technical post on the inner workings and detailed aspects on the functionality of the AK47!