Chrome, nickel,etc,etc

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Usmc-1

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or as in some of the adds Ive seen hard chrome , never had any guns with it , nor have I had Nickel , maybe some of you Hollywood cowboys could tell me something about these two and if they hold up well to regular abuse , or can they?
 
Nickle plating has been around since (at least) the middle of the 19th century as a gun finish and is very decorative. It is a bit fragile, and can age, turn yellowish, chip, and peel over time. Very few guns are now available (new) with a nickle finish.

Chrome plating can be purely decorative, too. When a car shop chrome plates a bumper, that's not the kind of surface you want on a gun.

"Hard chrome" or industrial chrome plating is a completely different process, providing an extremely durable surface similar to what's installed on mechanical components like hydraulic pistons and such that have to remain smooth and corrosion-free under very demanding conditions. It is a terrific treatment, but has only become somewhat commonly available for guns in the last 10-15 years.
 
My Dad's got a WWII Remington Rand 1911, and it's been nickel plated since the '70s- it's held up really well. It has a slight yellowish cast to it but only so you'd notice against something really silver. The edges have worn to a higher polish than the flats, which gives it a really nice look.

His pistol gets pretty light use, but has held up beautifully.

He did it becuase his sweat (like mine) will eat through Blueing or Park, and raise rust in a day. (most of mine are SS, execpt for a Colt Officers ACP that I am going to Electroless Nickel myself as soon as I get my nerve up).
 
Nickel was the stainless steel finish of the old days. You didnt have to lubricate the exterior with oil just keep it dry. Think of it as a permanent coat of oil. I like nickel on my frontier guns but not my field guns.
 
I find myself having to "patch" wear spots on my blued guns because of use.
Is stainless any better than chrome?
 
Absolutely.
Chrome and nickel are simply coatings that can be applied to steel.

Stainless steel is not a finish, it's a metal. It's stainless steel all the way through. As such, there is no finish to wear or degrade.
If a stainless gun is marred or scratched, it can be re-polished to a like-new appearance.

A better option than bright nickel or standard decorative (bumper) chrome is bright polished HARD chrome.

This is a special chrome that applied directly to the steel and is probably the best all-around gun finish.
The level of shine depends on how the steel is treated before the hard chrome is applied.
The finish can range from the original satin flat gray, to a stainless steel look, to a full mirror bright shine.
Companies like APW-Cogan and Ford's can apply hard chrome in bright polish.
 
Hey dfariswheel, how much does a hard chroming cost?

I know some of the treatment options for DIYers can be relatively cheap like parkerizing and electroless nickel, but it seems to cost major bucks to send in a firearm for plating/chroming/etc.
 
I can't say for sure that you always could tell, but 1st off, auto chrome plating shops generally aren't FFL 001 gunsmiths so they shouldn't be doing refinishing work on guns, legally.

A "bumper" chrome plating job would probably look poor on close inspection. Obscured engraved lettering and such. Possibly even making parts fit poorly.

A real "hard chrome" industrial finish will look like quality. It should look like a factory finish, or better.
 
I'm a fan of the shiney guns but unless you find a nickeled piece in great shape the thing to do is buy polished stainless and be ahead of the game or regular stainless and have it polished or polish it yourself. Once it's done it's easy to maintain with Flitz cleaner, polish, and wax.

I'm not patient enough to polish out a gun myself so when I had some work done on my Detonics CombatMaster I had the shop put a bright polish on everything but the top strap, which is bead blasted. You could shave in it now.

Before-
14863.jpg

After-
SDC11372.jpg
 
Cost of hard chrome depends on the appearance you want and what the plater charges.
Hard chrome is nothing like decorative (bumper) chrome. It's far more durable.

Each company offers different options and pricing.
At least one will also plate the inside of the bore and chambers.

Here's the top gun platers. These people are all professionals with years of experience:

http://www.apwcogan.com/
Possibly the best gun re-finisher service.

http://www.fordsguns.com/

http://www.armoloyftworth.com/Armoloy_WebDevelopment/Web_Pages/Firearms_Applications.htm

http://www.techplate.com/firearms_pl.htm

http://www.mahovskysmetalife.com/
Nice work, been around for many years, cheaper prices, but no communication and slow.

http://www.elitecustomguns.com/index1.htm
 
Here's a pair of bright nickel Dan Wesson's, the bottom one is an extra 15-2 I had that I had my gunsmith refinish. The upper one is a 14-2 I stumbled across in a gunshop for a great price. It started life as a blued gun that got refinished somewhere along the line.

P5220007-1-1.jpg
 
Can you get a dark black hard chrome?(Dark like a blued finish) I think that would look really nice for a slide with a matte or brushed hard chromed frame.
 
The hard chrome guns I've come across have a slightly yellowish tint to them under strong light and look nothing like chrome bumpers....lol....
 
There is a black chrome, but it's not nearly as durable as hard chrome.
It's no more durable than the old bright nickel.
Most gun re-finishers who still offer black chrome make clear that it's more for appearance than durability.

Hard chrome doesn't have any yellowish tint, that's only seen on the various nickel coatings like bright nickel and electroless nickel.
Hard chrome has a "bluish" color, and stainless steel is "white"

These differences can be seen by comparing hard chrome, nickel, and stainless side by side.
 
I have had several hard chrome competition pistols. Hard chrome is the finish of choice for IPSC/USPSA shooters because of the durability. Hard chrome will stand up to tens of thousands of draws from a Kydex holster...dust and all. Virgil Tripp is the man to see.
 
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