How to clean nickel plated guns without ruining the finish?

[Fieryotaku]

I have a Chiappa Rhino 60ds in nickel finish coming in Wednesday and was wondering if there was anything special I need to do to keep the finish shiny and clean. I have heard Hoppes 9 which is my main cleaner will ruin nickel finishes is this true?

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[ma96782]

Having seen old nickeled firearms, I wouldn't have even considered buying a nickeled firearm. But, that's me. Think of SS as an alternative.

As for cleaning one?

Yes, I've heard the same thing about Hoppe's 9. True or not, doesn't matter to me. There are plenty of alternatives to try.

Then.....
I figure, not getting it scratched, is important (if not, the most important) to the longevity of the nickeled surface.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Fieryotaku]

Having seen old nickeled firearms, I wouldn't have even considered buying a nickeled firearm. But, that's me. Think of SS as an alternative.

As for cleaning one?

Yes, I've heard the same thing about Hoppe's 9. True or not, doesn't matter to me. There are plenty of alternatives to try.

Then.....
I figure, not getting it scratched, is important (if not, the most important) to the longevity of the nickeled surface.

Aloha, Mark

Unfotrunately they only offer it in blued, gold, and nickel plated. I plan on getting it Cerakoted as I work at a cerakote place eventually. I was just worried about the finish until then.

 

[titsonritz]

It depends, traditional nickel plating was done over a copper foundation -- because copper bonded to steel better than nickel, similar to the primer and paint process. The newer Electroless Nickel uses a different chemical process that doesn't require the copper base.

Hoppe's uses a lot of ammonia; ammonia dissolves copper. Nickel will eventually develop micro-cracks -- so small you can't see them, but large enough for ammonia to get through. Anyone who has seen really old revolvers that are nickel-plated has seen the flaking that can occur when the ammonia gets through the cracks in the nickel layer and hits the copper. Then the foundation disappears in that spot, and nickel starts to flake away.

There's a plenty of cleaners out there that don't have Ammonia in them. Just use CLP, GI bore cleaner, Ed's Red, Balistol or something similar.

 

[KKG]

Put the Gun in your Safe and leave it there until you can get it refinished.

if you leave a Nickel plated Firearm in a container of Hoppes #9 the Nickel will become soft and desolve completely. But, it will take some time. It depends on the quality of the Nickel and how well it was plated.

I hope this helps.

 

[BSG 75]

Having seen old nickeled firearms, I wouldn't have even considered buying a nickeled firearm.

Agreed. Old nickel-plated firearms are hideously ugly. Yuck!
The S&W Model 19-5 is 37 years old, all of the others are at least 40 years old. I don't own the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless at the bottom, I just like the way it looks.

 

[L84Cabo]

My first piece of advice is to reach out to Chiappa and ask them what they recommend for cleaning and/or if you can use Hoppe's. And while you've got them on the line, ask them what process they use in their nickel plating...see below...

And please note, I am far from an expert on this but here is my VERY BASIC understanding of things. I will happily defer to anyone with a solid metallurgy or plating background, etc.

In electro-plate nickel, copper is used on the metal first to ensure better adhesion of the nickel. In electro-LESS nickel, copper is not used.

If you're 100% certain that your finish is electro-less, then the Hoppes is probably fine to use.

But if you've got electro-plated nickel, or you simply don't know or aren't sure, then you MAY not want to use Hoppes...or any solvent that is designed to remove copper fouling.

To clarify, the nickel itself can stand up to Hoppe's just fine for normal cleaning. I would not, however, soak nickel plated parts in Hoppes or do anything involving prolonged exposure to the Hoppes. This means a thorough wipe down once you're done cleaning. And I believe there is a warning on the Hoppe's bottle of exactly this (don't soak and thorough wipe down).

Where you can possibly run into problems is if you have anywhere on the gun where the nickel has been compromised. This can include hairline or microscopic cracks, etc., Because then you run the risk of the Hoppes penetrating the nickel and causing problems to the underlying copper...which could then result in marring or flaking the finish.

And with a Nickel gun, I would probably only use solvent for cleaning the bore. I'd probably use Renaissance Wax for the externals.

 

[Member 52301]

Agreed. Old nickel-plated firearms are hideously ugly. Yuck!
The S&W Model 19-5 is 37 years old, all of the others are at least 40 years old. I don't own the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless at the bottom, I just like the way it looks.

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Beautiful handguns! Thank you for sharing.

My MT husband had a sweet nickel plated Smith and Wesson revolver but I do not remember the model. I only remember seeing one of them briefly and I do not know if he owned more of them in the past. This was before we got married, before he started to consolidate ALL of his firearm calibers and downsize before he retired.

Cate

 

[tac]

Here are three of my .44 Magnum revolvers - I once had almost twenty [I liked .44 Magnum revolvers], and, top right, a fine Wilson comp version of the heavy lug 686 with the four position foresight unit. The bottom right Mod 29 is nickel finish - and I had it to shoot for around twenty years before it had to be de-activated or handed in. It was, like all the pre-Bangor-Punta models, possessed of a beautiful trigger [still is, for that matter] but had lived in Israel before it came to me. The faint finger and thumb prints left in the nickel finish can't be removed, not that I want to remove them, that is.

 

[RVTECH]

Having seen old nickeled firearms, I wouldn't have even considered buying a nickeled firearm.

I owned only one - bought brand new and after a short time of carrying, shooting and cleaning it started looking old pretty quickly.

 

[clanhanson]

Ballistol.

 

[BlindedByScience]

Ballistol or CLP seems like reasonable choices, but reaching out to the manufacturer is very good advice.

 

[gsparesa]

I'm no expert but I would think that you should avoid solvent immersion and prolonged ultrasonic cleaning of your firearm. Or any ultrasonic cleaning of your firearm. I would not use cleaning products with trichloroethylene, ammoniated solvents, or strong alkaline solvents. I would strongly consider using Gibbs lubricant and cleaner. It works really well and it's safe on wood too.

 

[Lennie]

I'm no expert but I would think that you should avoid solvent immersion and prolonged ultrasonic cleaning of your firearm. Or any ultrasonic cleaning of your firearm. I would not use cleaning products with trichloroethylene, ammoniated solvents, or strong alkaline solvents. I would strongly consider using Gibbs lubricant and cleaner. It works really well and it's safe on wood too.

Great advice. Sonic cleaners with certain cleaning mixes can be devastating on nickel plating. Just do not ask me as to how I learned that bit of information.

 

[GrayGoose]

...and another thread rises from the dead...