Cleaning Nickle

SDH

SDH

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It has recently come to my attention that cleaning nickle guns with standard solvents such as Hoppe's #9 is not good for the finish. Make sense that if it has copper solvents it could potentially harm the plating.

What do you think of this notion and what do you use for cleaning nickle revolvers? I've been using Clenzoil as it seems the most benign of the stuff on my shelf. A friend mentioned Prolix?

(M-13-3, faux ivory and 10-5 Detroit Police)
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:) I clean all my guns by putting them in mineral
spirits and scrubbing them with a brush and blowing
them off with a air hose. Then I spray them down
with silicone and blow them off with a air hose again.
You can use the mineral spirits over and over. This
is cheap and works for me. Don
 
Haven't had my nickel 37 very long but did notice that my silicone cleaner rag I use on all my other guns leaves a "dull" finish... so I follow up with a tee shirt and it gets "pretty." I will, however, continue to clean the bore with Hoppes... it needs to be clean and I don't think it will hurt the outside finish if wiped off quick enough. Thinking about trying Flitz... I have some. Isn't it a bit abrasive though? I can get a chrome like shine just using the silicone-treated rag and then wiping it off. What do you guys think?
 
gunlovingirl said:
I've used Breakfree CLP.
Click to expand...

Yea, I use that on the "inner-workings" after cleaning my guns. Never thought of trying it on the nickel exterior finish. I'll give it a "go" and see how it looks. Thanks for the suggestion.

What do you do when you need a tee shirt for cleaning? You gals don't have a lot of used-up tee shirts, do you?

Rod
 
Just remember that all polishes, like Flitz or Mothers, are abrasive. Don't go crazy with it or use it every time you clean or you'll polish away that pretty nickel finish.
 
Maybe I wasn't clear?? I meant cleaning after shooting, powder residue and the bore.
I normally use Hoppe's #9 on the blue guns but have heard it's not so good for the nickle.
Thanks for all your responce.
Steve
 
cleaning nickel

I recently got turned on to using Hoppe's Elite bore gel. It will clean nickel bore, cylinder and forcing cone's if you follow their directions and scrub lightly with tooth brush. Yes, I have my own toothbrush just for me... I have used Flitz and Mothers on the exterior and they look great. Note: treat carefully and use any abrasive sparingly. Kyle
 
For my nickel guns, I use CLP and Kroil (combined) for the bore/internals. If the gun is going to sit for a long time, I run a dry patch through the bore/cylinders, and then push a patch through with a light coating of "Rigs" grease. I do this because I've seen nickel guns (thankfully, not my own...) that have had solvents leave spots on the nickel finish after seeping out of the barrel and/or cylinder and resting on the finish over a period of time. I'm not sure what solvent was used (could have been an ammonia based solvent like Hoppes, or not...?), or if the spot could be corrected, but it always stuck in my mind to be careful of that with nickel.

For the external nickel, I initially polish them with some flitz (and I go easy with it...), and then maintain them with a wax coating. I have not used Mother's Mag wax on nickel, I just think it's too abrasive, and the Flitz does the job just fine. The wax really keeps them looking great, and any powder residue is easy to just wipe off the surface.

Some people are leery of nickle guns because of potential finish issues, but if you maintain them properly, you will not have any issues. I like both nicke and blued guns, but I find nickel to be much more durable than blueing (I believe that's why they nickled guns to begin with...).
 
I scrub my nickel 586 with Breakfree CLP and use an old piece of denim to wipe the major oil off the outside of the gun . After cleaning, I take a shower. Then I use the damp towel to wipe down the outside of the gun. After I throw the towel in the laundry I blow on the outside of the gun and fog it like a mirror with my breath and finish buffing it out with a t-shirt. The gun stays super shiny that way and I almost never need Flitz.
 
I have found that If you apply Breakfree to the bore with a mop at the end of your shooting and cleaning session,you will be able to clean the bore with Breakfree on a brush or patch the next time you shoot.This will eliminate the need for hoppe's#9.It works on a nickel 29-2, 6-1/2 with lead handloads @ 900 to 1000 fps.
 
I guess one could use Break-Free CLP,or Kleen-Bore 3-In-1 oil.I imagine they would be fine because they are oil-based.People probably used whatever was at hand. Maybe even Gasoline,or kerosene.The old-timers pretty much used whatever they could find to clean there firearms. Extra money for ammo and cleaning supplies must have been scarce for those living in rural areas.The shooters of the day simply did not understand the importance of regular firearm cleaning like we do today.(Just like they did not understand the need for hearing protection.) With all that corrosive primers being used,Hoppe's #9 was a very popular nitro-solvent.
I seem to remember reading many years ago that it was OK to use #9,just make sure that you WIPE OFF any excess solvent ASAP.
Otherwise,you will dull the nickel finish.
Whenever I see an old nickel-plated revolver with a dull or flaky finish,the first thing that comes to mind is that they may have been using Hoppe's 9 for years incorrectly.(I have nickel-plated 5-inch M&P from 1919 that is suffering from this condition..)
 
Hoppe's #9 has ammonia in the formula. Ammonia works well to attack and dissolve copper (and brass) deposits in the bore. Unfortunately, nickel guns have a layer of copper underneath the nickel. Nickel will not plate directly on steel, so a copper plating is applied first. If there is a nick or worn spot in the nickel plating, it exposes the copper to the Hoppe's solvent, and flaking will be the result. I avoid all use of Hoppe's on my nickeled guns, and just use CLP. Better safe than sorry.
 
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