Nickel Plated Question

[Rogelio]

Hi!

Yesterday a friend of mine showed me his Makarov, and he had it nickel plated..the gun actually looks great (he uses car wax on it to make it shine and prevent scratches)...

Now the thing is that I want a "pimp gun" and I am looking forward to have my 4" Ranger .38spl nickel plated but I have been searching up this great board and some people say that Nickel plated guns start to flake off...is that due to bad caring or is it just the way things are??

All tips, suggestions and comments will be really appreciated..also please send me some pics of your nickel plated or SS guns!!

Thanks!

[Standing Wolf]

Wax doesn't prevent scratches.

A good nickel plating job is as durable as a good blueing job, and perhaps even slightly more so, since you can sometimes polish small scratches out of nickel plating.

[Mike Irwin]

Old-style nickle plating was done by applying a layer of copper over the steel, and then electrochemically plating the nickle onto the copper.

That would eventually flake.

New types of nickle plating are a LOT more durable.

[mete]

What is essential in any plating job is a chemically clean surface otherwise the plating will flake off. There are two types of nickel plating ; electrolytic and electroless . Electroless does not use electricity to plate and it has some phosphorous in it which makes it harder . It's color is grey rather than silver.

[Majic]

You can polish SS to a high luster to rival a nickel finish.

[SirVette]

How it holds up depends on the quality of the plating. Have always disregarded comments about it not holding up. I like it from the practical standpoint. Do not get "pearl" type grips.

Bought a used in the 70s COLT Diamondback .38 Special 4" nickel w/ the Colt/Pachmayr grips with gold Colt medallions. Bought a pair of BERSA 85 nickel new over 10 yrs. ago. No problems & all still look great.

You would expect to have no problems w/ a quality gun nickel from the factory (when new).

[MikeJ]

I have two nickel plated guns; a S&W 586 purchased in 1986 and a S&W 37 purchased in 1989. They both look as good as the day I bought them. As long as you take care of them the nickel plating will last but if you start scratching them various solvents will hasten the deterioration process. Mike

[BigG]

Nickel is one of my favorite finishes. The only weakness I know is to avoid ammonia containing solvents, such as copper solvent, in cleaning. The ammonia eats copper, obviously, and can attack the copper underneath the nickel if it can reach it. Places like the edge of bore and front of cylinder can allow the solvent to touch the underlying copper. Not good. Other than that, it is more durable than the old fashioned blue.

[Rogelio]

I have this S&W topbreak from 1880 (.38 S&W) and it is nickel finished...but the lower right side of the frame has some slight rust over it. How can I take it off without messing up the nickel??

[JERRY]

a nickle sulfamate finish will look like chrome with a slight pinkish tinge.

and its long lasting.

been thinking of getting my makarov chromed or nickled and yea, the pearl like pimp grips. i just like the look, but mine isnt my carry gun, it just for fun so why not slick it up?

[Navy joe]

somebody has to say it... :neener:

[Kurt]

I have had several guns over the years re-done in electroless nickel. It always has a more golden of straw color to it rather than a gray or bluish tint.

Even the gun done around 17 years ago has held up great. As a bonus, it can cover alloy and steel surfaces equally well.