Just picked up a nickel model 57 no dash (Ser # N6331xx) this past weekend on a trade from a friend. This gun is factory fired only and in box. The action is about as stiff as I have ever seen. I would like a few gunsmiths names around the Alabama area so I can get it cleaned. Also I would like to know a value and a date of manufacture. Here is a couple pics. Thanks for your help.


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With info you can read on this forum you can easily learn to clean the gun yourself. Since it is nickel plated, be sure to use appropriate cleaning solutions and wipe the gun completely dry as soon as possible after cleaning so that fluids do not remain on the nickel finish. I like to use ordinary mineral spirits on my guns.

Nice looking 57 you have there. I'd guess it a mid- to late-70s gun, worth maybe $1000 give or take, to an interested buyer. Not everyone is after a .41 Magnum.

Nice mod 57 The serial # puts 1979-1980 vintage And M29since14 is exactly right DO NOT USE any cleaning solution with ammonia in it [like Hoppies no. 9] as it attacks the copper plating thru the nickel . It will then look like it is frosted or blemished I know as I picked up one long time age thinking I could polish it out but you cannot May someday send it out to be refinished but will be expensive and not worth it. Nice that it came with the cardboard box and the flocking is still in the presentation case as usually has disintegrated by now. also do not store the 57 in the presentation case due to the enclosed adverse reaction between cleaning chemicals and the flocking Price about right maybe a little higher to right person check gun broker for current bids

For whatever its worth. . . .I've been cleaning nickel S&Ws with Hoppes #9 and any other gun cleaning products I happened to have handy for 40 years or so with no adverse impacts to the finish. I don't think there is copper under the nickel, at least not in any of the S&Ws I've seen with nickel flaking or otherwise showing the steel under the nickel. I clean nickel the same way I clean blue and after many years see no difference in either finish. I've had some nickel S&Ws a long, long time. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Yep. Me too.

Jeff, I believe you may be correct. I remember reading somewhere that S&W did not use a copper flash in their nickel plating process. Of course I have no way to know that for sure.

In my own case, I just err on the side of caution and have always used mineral spirits and wiped dry. It's no great hardship for me since I use the same procedure on my blued guns, too.

Do you use mineral spirits on both the inside and outside ? I know that most cleaners are for carbon dissolving not grease so I can see where mineral spirits would do the job. I have heard that petroleum cleaners can soak into nickel over time and leave a color change, Kind of like what you would see if you put gas/diesel in water. I really thought nickel was a better protector than that. I have only used maas on the outside of my guns. but have never had to go into the action to clean before. Thanks for your help/information.

Yes, inside and out. But as I said, I wipe the nickel dry as soon as I can. Nickel is a good, sturdy finish, but it is not in the same league with industrial chrome. Nickel is not nearly as hard and abrasion resistant, but it's still pretty good, and a lot prettier!