Too much flitz used on nickel...

[Ty 357]

I would like to hear from someone who has actually damaged their nickel finish by hand polishing with flitz. Or seen a gun that was damaged...

I'm not talking about dremel polishing but actual hand polishing with flitz and a soft rag that went through the nickel and damaged the finish.

Thoughts and opinions on flitz and nickel are welcome.

 

[451 Detonics]

Water will wear down rock over time... Flitz is a mild abrasive and I am sure with many repeated uses it will wear the nickle finish. You have to remember the only way to polish with an abrasive is to remove metal. Yes it is a microscopic amount but it does add up over time. I have seen more aggressive polishes actual cause the plating to peel with overuse. Use it with common sense and as infrequently as possible and you should be ok.

 

[silversport]

I polished a matte Electroless Nickel finish on my SiG Sauer P230 and the flats became shiny and it removed the dullness from years of neglect from the previous owner...pistol looks very nice and I believe the shiny flats can get "scuffed" if need by from a Scotchbrite pad...it doesn't bother me though...



Bill

 

[CajunBass]

I used Flitz recently to GENTLY polish my nickel Model 19. It cleaned up nicely. The pictures don't really show it well, because of different grips/lighting and such, but maybe you can get an idea.

Before: The "blotchy" look you see is the reflection of the sky in the nickel.



After:



This might be a better example of what you can do if you work carefully.

Smith & Wesson Model 15-3. When I got it I actually thought the gun was Parkerized. Then I decided to see what a litle work with Flitz under the grip would do.

Before



And just a few minutes later.

 

[788Ham]

I use Flitz on my S&W 629-1 cylinder, facing the forcing cone, to remove the burned powder residue left after firing. I've also used a soft Dremel pad to "lightly" buff the area, to remove the Flitz residue also, just to clean it up before putting away. Lighten up a little, you're going at it too hard!

 

[bannockburn]

Ty 357

I think the most important thing to remember when using Flitz is to use it GENTLY. It is an abrasive, albeit a rather mild one. You don't need to forcibly rub, polish, or grind the Flitz onto the finish of the gun. You also don't need to do it all that often. Typically I maybe use it on my nickel plated guns every couple of years; if that. And only if they look like they really need it.

The trick is to just lightly rub it on to remove the tarnish, surface build-up, or even rust on the gun's finish. It works great on nickel and chrome plate, as well as on blued finishes. Aside from that, I would have to answer your question by saying no, I have never seen or had a gun that had its finish removed or damaged by the use of Flitz on it.

 

[dogrunner]

I've used the stuff off and on for years on my old nickled M/ (no dash) 19 that I carried from the mid '60s thru the mid 80's when we transitioned to autos & detect utterly no damage whatever.

That said, I clearly recall a co-worker that overdid a blued M/15 using Happich Semi-Chrome polish......he actually succeeded in polishing off blue in several spots.......he'd used the stuff with good success on a nickled gun & was impressed with the cleanup the stuff did on the blued one, he just went too far on the wrong kinda finish

 

[Remllez]

If used as directed flitz won't harm a sound nickel plated surface. If you wore through the finish you either didn't use enough product or a soft enough cloth or you rubbed to hard.
Flitz is not meant to remove scratches or imperfections it is merely a polishing agent and for that it works very well.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I recently acquired an really nice 35 year old nickel Colt. Just this morning I went all over town looking for Fitz or Simichrome. None could be found. I tested Mother's wheel polish under a grip. It did just fine. I polished out the whole gun and applied a couple of coats of Johnson's paste wax. She shines like new money.