I just got 3 yugo AK bolt hold open mags.....covereed in cosmo and some light rust.....what is the best way to clean these things, I have heard leaving them to soak in gas(dont know how safe that is, and if ok for how long?)  

rusting issue I have heard use a very fine sandpaper(what kind?) or will a green scrubbly(used to wash dishes work ok?)


any help or advice greatly appreciated

Try soaking the mags in Mineral Spirits until the Cosmoline disolves and runs out, let air dry, than use either CLP or WD40 on a scrubby pad for the rust,  works great!!

I just cleaned up my mags from Sportsman's Guide this weekend. I picked up some cleaner called Greased Lightning at Lowe's. It did a pretty good job of dissolving the cosmoline, except for the really heavy, dried deposits. I just let the mags soak in a bucket for a while, then lightly scrubbed them with a nylon brush. You definitely want to wear rubber gloves and glasses, though! (The same would be true with mineral spirits or any other solvent.) It was pretty low odor (I left the bucket sitting in the garage for two days -- no smell at all).

A couple of hours work and I had all 12 cleaned and ready to go!

Jim