Nickle plated gun care

[leeharrysouth]

I recently obtained my first nickle plated firearm and need help on safe solvent/cleaner to use. I picked up a bottle of Breakfree CLP today, but, still have a few concerns. All info on this product say it is safe for nickle. Ofcourse fellow gun owner experiance is always apreciated. The gun in question is a 1969 winchester NIB nickle plated model 94 Theodore Roosevelt Commemerative. So is breakfree ok? When using it should I work it same as any solvent. That is breakfree on a patch or brush and clean? After initial cleaning should I wipe down and reapply lightly? Do I lubricate parts such as lever and trigger action as one would with any oil. That is, put a drop or so at necessary places. Should I wipe barrel exterior,reciever and wood down after initial cleaning and before storing? Is it ok to use silocon wipe down cloth on surfaces previously worked with CLP.
Thanks

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

I used to use Remoil to clean and lube a nickled gun that I had. As far as I know, it never harmed the finish.

 

[rcmodel]

The only thing to avoid is Copper Solvent, or bore cleaners containing trace amounts of ammonia.
That includes anything that says it is a copper solvent, and common bore cleaners like Hoppe's #9.

Nickle will not stick to steel, so parts are copper plated first, then plated over with nickle. If a scratch or void in the nickle allows copper solvent or ammonia to get under the plating, it can result in a Series of Unfortunate Events.

Whether your 1969 Winchester is real nickle or chrome is open to debate.
However it is always best to assume it is real nickle and treat it as such.

CLP, Rem-Oil, etc, should be fine.

rc

 

[Ky Larry]

RC, is Kroil Oil harmful to nickle finishes? Thanks.

 

[rcmodel]

I don't know.

They advertise it as able to:
"Creep into tiny openings in metal as small as one millionth of an inch."
And "Lifts away lead and copper jacket fouling".

Sounds like it could "creep" under copper / nickle plating given half a chance!

rc

 

[leeharrysouth]

Thanks for all the good input. Guess I will give Breakfree CRP a go. What about those places where a brush or rag cant get. Areas like hammer and trigger action. Is it ok to just apply a few drops in such places and let it work its way in as one would with remoil or the such?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes.

rc

 

[leeharrysouth]

Got her all cleand and lubricated today. She is ready to head for the range. Hope to put a few shots down range on tuesday. I have owned and used many, many firearms over the years, but, this is my first winchester. I must say it is a work of art. The nickle plating and octogon bull barrel are something to behold. Feel very fortunate to have run across it. I have been looking for one for some time. Never expected to find one NIB and of late sixties manufacture. That is one that I could offord. At any rate Ill see how she does tuesday.

Thanks

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I doubt if the internal action parts are nickeled. It is relatively soft, which you don't want when steel parts rub or slide against each other. Still, it is better to err on the side of caution . In the black powder days (which your gun is not), nickel plating was used fairly often for its greater (but not much) corrosion resistance.

 

[leeharrysouth]

Yep, the internal action parts are steal and the bolt is of corse steal. Only the reciver shell, hammer and trigger are nickle. The receiver shell is plated inside out out. This along with the butplate and forend cap. As you said, nickle is soft. I do wonder about the hammer face to firing pin fricton and hope the nickle will hold up. Then again, many revolvers are in nickle and have no problems. I have read that canadian and other sorces of gun production built similar but, copy 94's. These were chrome plated or something else beside nickle. The canadians built a very nice 94 in black chrome. All said, I was not looking for a nickle 94. I wanted a blued standard model. But, could not pass on a good deal. Whatever the look, it is a honest to goodness U.S. made winchester. Thats ok for me.

 

[leeharrysouth]

Well, is the model 94 nickle or whit gold pated? Seems I am not sure. The carbine is a Theodore Roosevelt Commemorative. I looked in gun trader and winchester manuals and they state that the carbine is white gold plated. Various other referances say nickle. I dont know how to tell the differance between the two. I only care frome the standpoint of maintenance. I , as noted above, used breakfree clp to initialy clean the carbine. But, after finding out that it may be white gold I contacted Breakfree manufacturing and they were not sure if it would adversly effect nickol or white gold. So they said dont use it. The person who awnserd the phone at breakfree put me on hold to ask a so called technician about said use. He seemed to lean to the I dont really know view so dont use it view. Breakfree website and data say good on any metal surface. I think its probabley ok. Any sugestions will be helpfull.

 

[rcmodel]

If you are really really worried about it, use Johnson's Paste Floor Wax on it instead of oil.
It won't hurt anything!

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4110525&postcount=7

rc