A buddy recently came into possession of an antique S&W DA with about 45-50% of the nickel finish remaining and that's pretty tatty. Mechanically it's excellent and very nice bore and cylinder. He asked me how to remove the remaining nickel, his intention to then have it blued. I told him that original patina is integral to the value of the pistol, but he's more into shooting than collecting and he's not concerned about that. His pistol, his choice. He's pretty handy with tools and his initial thought is aggressive use of a wire wheel. NO!!! says I. Any suggestions?

No to the wire wheel. A firearm refinisher will know how to do it properly. I've been told that a plating shop can remove plating by reversing the process.

Here's a Thread from just down the page about removing Nickel Plating
Nickel removal

Don't go after it with a wire wheel. That may peel some of it away but it won't take it all off and then you left with the remaining plating to deal with anyway.

Do Not try submerging it in any kind of Acid.
That Will Not remove nickel plating. It will start to pit the steel exposed around it and if there are any pin holes in the plating the acid will get thru the plating in those area and get at the steel that way. It truely creats a real mess.

Acid can be used to strip Chrome, but it must be used in a very controlled way as once the Chrome is off,,the steel is once again a target of the acid for eating away at the steel surface.

The link to the thread will give some ideas on Cold Strip solns available and Plating Shop methods of stripping.

Honestly, it is likely cheaper to sell/trade the finish distressed nickel plated vintage S&W revolver and buy a good condition blued revolver. Refinishing is an expensive undertaking.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Why not have the nickel removed by the shop doing the blueing?

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Sure you did

I had a Hi-Power I got off Gunbroker I wanted to use for a custom project that was nickeled, I sent it to Mahovsky's in PA and they only charge 30.00 to strip it. My dealer only charged me around 25.00 to ship it so I avoided the high cost of UPS/Fedex shipping etc.

Just my opinion , but the best bet is to leave it alone and appreciate it for what it is. I have some very early M&P s and Colt New Services that shoot great but have a large degree of honest finish wear. The blend of original finish and a century or more of patina shows character and the gun will still have some collectability.

If the gun in question is historical, highly collectible or actually has lost its finish due to a certain set of circumstances you wish to link it to - then I would absolutely agree with leaving it the way it is.

That said, if it is just a standard gun that you own, I see no advantage to leaving a flaking and ugly finish on it - none! The truth be told, if it is NOT a collectible gun, you would have an easier time selling it and probably get more for it, if it was properly and accurately refinished. Most people don't buy ugly guns - again, unless it is historically significant. YMMV

Midway USA has a video for DIY nickel removal.

Robert

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

I would let the shop doing the restoration remove the nickle, they would have the rite process for the type of nickle on the revolver.

All nickle MUST be removed before the blueing process or it WILL ruin the bath of the salts being used.