Clearning a nickel finish

jbirds1210 · Post by **jbirds1210** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:53 pm

I have a model 13-3 Smith that I have ignored over the last couple of years...I have taken her out a time or two, cleaned her up and shoved her into the darkest corner of my safe.

In the process I allowed lubricants to get underneath the junky rubber grip (now at the landfill) and cause some nasty looking stains and discoloration. Normal lubricants will not clean it off.....CLP and a couple of other low or no ammonia formulas will not touch it! I have already purchased a few things that did nothing and would prefer not to purchase anything else that has no chance of working. Stuff dried and turned into a glue-like substance on the metal.

Any suggestions on a proven home remedy or miracle juice to clean an old wheelie? Thanks in advance.
Jason

HighVelocity · Post by **HighVelocity** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:26 pm

Holy moly!

1st rule of nickel guns. Always take the grips off when you clean it. 2nd rule of nickel guns, Hoppe's is NOT your friend.
Now, what can we do about this? First, get some isopropyl alchohol and a clean terry cloth towel. Put a your finger through the towel over the opening of the bottle and get the towel wet with alchohol. NOT dripping, just a little bit is enough. If it dries up, move to a clean spot on the towel and get more alchohol.
Gently rub the problem areas until the stains, hopefully, come off.
When you are satisfied that it is finished, spray the gun down with Rem Oil if you've got it or wipe it down with the lightest gun oil you have.
If there are dull oxidized spots in the finish you can use Flitz polish to brighten it up. The key here is to be gentle. It takes longer but if any solvents have gotten under the nickel and you put too much beef into the rubbin, the nickel might start to flake off.

I hope it comes out ok.

jbirds1210 · Post by **jbirds1210** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:12 am

Outta sight outta mind......Thanks for the tip!

There was a time when I would sit and clean those puppies until my fingers nearly bled......now I have a wife and home! lol

As you know....I do take good care of my weapons, but this one is going to be a lesson learned. I have always hated cleaning the nickel cylinder...it is brutal!
Jason

KBCraig · Post by **KBCraig** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:25 am

No-no-no!

"First Rule of Nickel Guns" is, "Stainless rules!"

Seriously, thanks for the tips. I doubt a nickel gun will ever cross my threshold, but just in case...

Kevin

JLaw · Post by **JLaw** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 11:07 am

Wow, I didn't realize a nickle finish was so "picky".

JLaw - who's on vacation for the next two days to go shooting!!

HighVelocity · Post by **HighVelocity** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:53 pm

Nickel's not really so picky, you just have to handle it differently when it comes to cleaning. It's actually pretty tuff stuff.
There's something about Hoppe's #9 that allows it to get underneath th plating if there is a chip, flake or deep scratch. The Hoppe's will chemically "lift" the nickel off of the carbon steel. This of course, is bad medicine.

Then there's this strange chemical reaction between some gun oil's and rubber grips that stains the finish. On a blued gun, it comes off pretty easy. On a plated gun, not so easy or possibly not at all. I am not a big fan of rubber grips and this is the main reason.

jbirds1210 · Post by **jbirds1210** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:17 pm

I will no longer have a rubber grip on a handgun......this wont be a problem in the future. Lesson learned

sparx · Post by **sparx** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 5:08 pm

I was going to mention this yesterday, but since I'm truly ignorant of nickel plating (have SS, but not nickel), I kept my hand still for a change to see what others suggested. However, since no one's come forward with any workable suggestions yet, here goes...

HV mentioned that Hoppe's #9 interacts with rubber grips over a period of time and stains nickel-plated finishes. Would this be a type of tarnish perhaps? I ask as rubber bands, especially if tainted with a bit of sulphur from their manufacture or as can be found naturally or in some well water, has a tendency to really lay on the tarnish to silver and silver-plated items within a relatively short period of time (even shorter if heated somewhat... I used to create silver jewelry in the past and use liver of sulphur for deliberate tarnishing, but have used a sulphur-rubber band combo in a pinch).

Anyway, if it's a type of tarnish versus a stain that penetrates deeper than the surface layer of molecules, I was wondering if one of those non-abrasive liquid tarnish removers or dips might do the trick. I don't care for them for removing tarnish from silver or copper (the silver/copperware just seems to tarnish a lot quicker after using the stuff unless it's also run through a hot water rinse cycle in the dishwasher), but it may help in a situation such as this perhaps.

Please keep in mind that I have zero experience with removing stains or tarnish from nickel-plated items, so if anyone dares to experiment it's at their own risk (and I would only attempt to try it on a small area that might be exposed very little or none at all at that), but if you decide to try it, I'm interested in knowing the outcome!

davefrmmrfy · Post by **davefrmmrfy** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 9:41 pm

Sparx, from what I've read, and I could be wrong, but nickle plating contains copper, hence, good ol Hoppe's #9, which removes copper residue, will also remove the copper from the plating and allow the nickel to loose its bond.

That being said, I'm still not sure the best way to clean my nickel plated Bersa 40

.

flintknapper · Post by **flintknapper** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:22 am

Jason,

This guy (Jack Fuselier), probably knows a trick or two about how to remove those stains. Drop him an e-mail and see if he can help.

If you ever need anything plated....he's the one to go to.

http://www.gunsmith.fuselier.com/