Nickel cases don't scratch hardened tool steel S7 , titanium nitride coated or carbide dies . They lube better and are harder than just brass cases .
Yes you can re-induce ductility back into the nickel case as well as Brass cases with Heat aka annealing . Pistol cases I DON'T Ever do period .
Rifle cases YES most definitely and without any problems what so ever . Over repeated annealing some inferior cases WILL begin to flake but I've found generally the cases fail before they crack peel or chip the nickel .
Nickel melts at 2,647 degrees F. Copper at 1983 F and Brass at 1710 F so ductility happens around 750 -900 F ,for all intent and purpose .
Traditional electrolytic nickel plating requires a catalyst and a direct current (DC) charge to start a chemical chain reaction to coat an object (the substrate) with a thin layer of nickel—however, with electroless nickel plating, no catalyst or charge is needed. Instead, electroless formulas include a chemical reducing agent (phosphorous) that allows the user to coat the substrate without further processing.
Both methods add a thin layer of nickel to the target surface, but electroless nickel plating (ENP) provides additional wear- and corrosion-resistance, lubricity, and ancillary performance characteristics compared to its electrolytic counterpart. Also known as autocatalytic coating, ENP can be used on projects with tight tolerance specifications and is easy to apply in uniform layers.
Electrolytic nickel plating, on the other hand, is typically thicker around the substrate corners and edges and can’t deliver the same level of precision. During electrolytic plating, deposit density is controlled by the length of time the product is submerged and how many amps per square foot are applied.