School me in the care of nickel

P

Patrick L

Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2004
Messages
1,303
Reaction score
2,508
Location
Upstate NY
I'm know this has been discussed a lot, but I never really payed attention since it didn't apply to me.

With my recent acquisition, I need to be educated in the care of a nickel gun. What was I supposed to avoid, ammonia based cleaners? I have Hoppes 9, Ed's Red both with and without the acetone, Ballistol, and plain kerosene. The gun will be shot almost exclusively with lead bullets I cast myself, and better than 90% will be .38 special wadcutter target loads. Real powderpuffs.

So what do you all recommended, and what must I avoid? I believe those lead removal cloths are a definite no no, right? Also no stainless toothbrushes I'm sure. I suppose some Renaissance Wax is in order too.
 
If oil gets under the nickel it will peel. Be careful cleaning it and wipe off oils, solvents and such before storage. I guess the wax would help but not a nickel fan.
 
Oil is fine.

The things to avoid are:

- Powder solvents that also have a copper solvent (Hoppes, Shooters Choice, Sweets 7.62, etc, as it will get under the nickel (which is slightly porous and lift it); and

- Penetrating oils like Kroil, Ballistol, WD-40, etc. as again they'll get under the nickel plating.

-----

CLP is rumored to have a copper solvent, but it doesn't. Part of the mil spec was that is not react with copper, among a number of other metals it needs to not react with:
Zinc
Aluminum
Brass
Steel
Copper
Magnesium
Cadmium

-----

My advice is to clean with CLP, wipe it down when you are finished and enjoy it.

Be careful with car waxes, many of them have abrasives that are designed to remove any oxidized paint. Same with Flitz. Now and then is probably ok, but you're removing metal when you use it.
 
I had stated that one shouldn't use brass brushes on a nickel finish . I hadn't. To me, it seemed a more 'delicate' finish. So I only had used nylon brushes and a brass bore brush - which was fine.
So this morning, I wanted to satisfy my curiosity and mess with the 'finish'. Or maybe see if I could ruin it somehow.
I had thought i scratched the finish previously with a brass brush. But I think I've proven myself wrong.
I grabbed some regular clp and a brass brush and went after the cylinder in some problem areas and 'ah hell no! '. No scratches. It may have been just dirt.
Well. In my defense, I wear bifocals now. So, how sharp can I be ? huh!
So then I attacked the trigger guard at some faded white spots. I had thought the finish had been ruined there.
So, I had some 5000 grit sandpaper from a previous project. And hit it. [emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33]

The white stains fell right off leaving the chrome/nickel finish under!

I thought, 'oh wow!'. Impressive!!

This nickel finish is built like a tank!!

You can attack it with brass brushes. Clp. Mpro7. And even 5000 grit sandpaper. This stuff is solid!!

If you asked me yesterday if I wanted another nickel gun, I would've said NO!

Today, i have a different appreciation of how hard and strong/durable these finishes really are. I would say- use any oil , and any brass brush on the finish. You'll be fine.

Lou
61b754f6b03b82c2f147edda137e2cbc.jpg
 
Last edited:
To answer that accurately, I guess we really need to know a bit more about the gun. Is it a S&W? That makes a difference, as my understanding is that S&W did not plate nickel on top of copper (which is often the case with some other manufactures). Compounds with ammonia will react badly with copper, so many folks steer clear of ammonia thinking there may be copper under the nickel, and if there is, and the ammonia gets to the copper, over time bad things will happen and the nickel will lift.
I occasionally use Flitz polish on my nickel and stainless guns. Obviously this can be over done, but an occasional polishing will not hurt. For general cleaning after shooting I use Hoppes 9 or any good cleaner. A coat of wax will keep things nice too.
You are right, there have been many discussions on this here. Do a search and you will find more than you want.
 
Oh jeesh I'm sorry! Yes it is a nickel Smith 27-2. So I'll want to clean off the carbon and any lead fouling.

So what do you all recommend?
 
This is my "birth year" 1947 factory nickel M&P; and the only nickel firearm I've ever owned. Ten years ago, when I was fortunate to find it, I took the advice of knowledgeable folks on this form to preserve the nickel; I don't shoot it but a few times a year, then gently wipe it down with Hoppe's No.9, and wax it with Mothers paste car wax. I only use nylon bristle bore brushes and cotton patches to clean it. It has remained in the condition as I purchased it. :)

 
Last edited:
UncleEd said:
OK, perhaps tongue in cheek but I advise
you don't shoot it just yet. Instead, wipe
it down with a nice soft cloth and then apply
a little wax coating to it.

Then sell it. :)
Click to expand...

That’s my usual approach. They’re beautiful, but I prefer stainless or even blued for my shooters.
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies!

Specifically, has anyone ever used G96 on nickel? I recently discovered this, and I love the way it removes the firing carbon from my blued and stainless guns.

As an aside, this is one nickel gun that will be shot A LOT. I have no safe queens. No offense to any that do, that's just not my way.
 
Hoppes #9 or something similar is all you need for cleaning. Don't soak the gun. I've used it on nickel S&Ws since 1973 without any harm. I shoot and clean my guns regularly.

Allegedly, Hoppe's will further damage nickel that has a break in the finish or has a peeling finish. Other solvents will likely do the same, but I've had no experience with damaged nickel finishes. Whether this is true or not, I don't know.

After cleaning, wipe with a lightly oiled soft cloth. If you like busy work, wax, but it's not necessary to maintain the good looks of a nickel S&W.
 
Last edited:
Back when I was young and dumb(er) I tried to remove nickel from a scroungy looking Hand Ejector .32-20 by soaking it for weeks in a bread pan full of Hoppe's No. 9, based on the old tale of the evils of Hoppe's No. 9 and nickel finishes. The nickel was flaky, scored, and just generally nasty.

Not one atom of nickel was observed to release from the revolver. All the nickel in all its ugliness remained.

Since then, I've always reached for the Hoppe's No. 9 for cleaning nickel guns. Some have been here for years and aren't suffering yet from cleaning in such a manner.
 
My penchant is for SS, so I only have 2 nickle S&Ws. One is a 39-2 and the other a 19. They have been in my arsenal for 40 and 20 years. Shoot them often, clean them once a month with regular gun cleaner and they both are good to go. Both still look like new. I didn't know there was a problem until I read this forum.

OTOH, I have dated girls that liked Chanel #9. Didn't like it. My wife used to help me clean the guns and SHE smells like Hoppes #9. Been with her for 45 years now.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...
 
Great older revolver. I used CLP when I had a nickel Model 19, so my experience of cleaning is somewhat limited. I also had a I-frame .32 long; perfect nickel...I just rubbed it down with a soft cloth.

What I'd do is lose the nylon brushes for bore cleaning. Bronze won't damage the gun and will remove fouling that a nylon brush won't.
 
My over 40 year old 29-2. Has been toted probably a thousand miles in leather and Cordura holsters. Through swamps/briars/rain/cold/heat/target shooting with cast lead bullets. Plus many miles on the tractor/4wheeler/golf cart. Many of you are misinformed on Nickel. It wears well and looks better than blue on used guns.......In the early days revolvers were nickeled to cut down fouling/cleaning from black powder.
I've always used bronze brushes on ALL my Smiths to clean the barrel and cylinders....Doesn't hurt them at all.
 

Attachments

  • 100_1140.jpg
    100_1140.jpg
    117.6 KB · Views: 51
  • 100_1139.jpg
    100_1139.jpg
    126.3 KB · Views: 50
Just to back up what Mike, SC Hunter said, this is my 5" 27-2 which I bought new in 1974. It's had somewhere between 30K to 40K rounds through it and rode in an unlined holster for most of it's life on my belt hunting or in the car and it still looks pretty darn decent. Like Mike, mine has been cleaned with bronze bore brushes with an occasional brush down on the frame, cylinder and forcing cone area with bronze bristle brushes. My powder solvent of choice has been Hoppes #9 too, BTW. In my opinion, S&W nickel holds up better than a blue finish and definitely looks better with wear in my admittedly biased opinion.

Don't let some of the opinions above that say to treat it like an eggshell or to sell it any mind, as they must not like nickel and and want to rain on the parade of any of us nickel gun lovers. I don't know why they want to be jerks like that, but there it is.:rolleyes:

Here's my 45 year old 5" 27-2, which I still take out and shoot occasionally.


 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

boykinlp
School Me On These Magna Grips
Replies
11
Views
972
-BTM-
B
blackdeuce
New to me 1968 2 1/2" nickel 19-2
Replies
12
Views
678
blackdeuce
blackdeuce
silversport
Nickel Model 36 Info Wanted...
Replies
6
Views
531
two-bit cowboy
two-bit cowboy
A
Nickel model 38
Replies
7
Views
321
s&wchad
s&wchad
rjm6120
Nickel 13-2 crossed off the grail list
Replies
3
Views
400
Ameshawki
A

Latest posts

Back
Top