David,
Welcome to the Forum. From what I gather from you post, you did not carefully inspect the 4 guns before you bought them and took them out of the box. I always thoroughly inspect prospective purchases before I buy them. It seems like $200 per SKS to refinish them would have been better spent on buying Excellent+ condition arms from the get go. I am not trying to second guess you here.
Most SKSs have chrome lined bores so they should be shiny, even if well worn. I remove cosmoline by dunking parts in hot, soapy water and melting the gung off. A large coffee can of water at near boiling will soften the grease.
For your next project, you might consider a M48 Yugo or a Russian Mosin as they seem to be quite common these days.
Adam
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Adam Helmer
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