CAN A NICKE GUN BE HARD CHROMED ?

[williamlayton]

I was lloking at a pawn shop M25 the other day. It was in pretty poor shape--it was not the gun I posted about on another thread here.
I like hard chrome--a lot. Can a nickel gun be hardchromed if the original nickel is removed?
Blessings

 

[jack the toad]

Don't know why it couldn't be, but I'm not an expert.

 

[gaijin]

It most certainly can be HC'd, after Nickle is stripped.

 

[NFrameFred]

Refinishing a nickel gun used to result in the loss of most of the markings as the nickel had to be basically ground off. Advances in plating, metallurgy, and scientific/industrial processes have now allowed nickel finishes to be stripped electro-chemically resulting in a much nicer job. As long as the metal is in good shape to begin with it shouldn't be an issue as long as you can justify the costs to yourself. The naysayers will argue against it but we all have our reasons. I hope to soon have a hard chromed specimen that is bound to give some of our faithful here heartburn . . .

 

[shawn mccarver]

I was lloking at a pawn shop M25 the other day. It was in pretty poor shape--it was not the gun I posted about on another thread here.
I like hard chrome--a lot. Can a nickel gun be hardchromed if the original nickel is removed?
Blessings

Yes. Nickel can be changed to blue or most any other finish can be applied.

 

[williamlayton]

The answer made almost to much simple sense to be correct---in other words, I argued with myownself and lost the arguement--
There are a couple of specimens of Smiths that are nickel plated that just scream of HC--IMO. If you are into shooters and projects, as I am and you can get a decent one which has acne of the nickel and needs to be reworked--those are the ones I look for.
Blessings

 

[dfariswheel]

Top gun refinisher services like APW/Cogan,. Ford's and others can electro-strip the nickel, prep the metal and give it a hard chrome finish.

Each company offers options on how the finished gun will look with choices running from a satin gray, to a stainless steel look, to a full mirror polish.
Most will offer masking of front sights and other options.
Armoloy even offers plating of bores and chambers.

Here's the top finishers who offer hard chrome. Prices and options vary so do some reading.
These people are not gun butchers:

ACCURATE PLATING AND WEAPONRY | APWCOGAN

Ford's Custom Gun Refinishing - Ford's Desert Eagle Sights

Firearms Applications

Metaloy, Industries - Professional Gun Finishing - hard chrome, blue and polymer finish

Welcome to TechPlate, Inc. Firearms retail plating price list

Elite Custom Plating --  Re-Finishing, Custom Work, Competition Guns

Hard Chrome Plating & Electroless Nickel Plating, Armalloy & Gun Bluing by Mahovsky's Metalife
Cheaper than anyone else, been doing it for many years, usually a great reputation for quality but turnaround can be slow, and communication is often poor.

 

[Moonman]

Yes it can.

I just had A.P.& W. (APWCogan) do a custom build and Hard Chrome a stainless revolver, it looks really great.

 

[riverrat38]

I am not sure if it applies to the effort at hand, but quality Chrome plating is called triple plating, when it is done on steel.
The first step is to Copper plate the steel, to assure a good bond. Then, the Copper is given a Nickel plating, as an intermediate steep. The Nickel needs to be very nicely finished, as any flaws will show up in the final Chrome layer, which is a very hard finish.

Rick

 

[williamlayton]

Ford did this STI for me and I like it a lot.
The revolver is another decision--but--metaloy (thanks for the link, BTW) does come with great reputation.
When I had this gun done, there did not seem to be many choices and Ford was the best, or, so it seemed at the time).
HC for a field gun is absolutely the best---looks better that stainless, IMO.
PS---I hate STI's forward cocking serriations.
Blessings

 

[gaijin]

FWIW; I've used both APW and Metaloy with great results.
As a former NRA "Action Pistol" and IPSC competitor my pistols (1911's) saw HARD use and held up well.
Big fan of HC.

 

[Packard]

Triple chrome plating is the gold standard for decorative chrome. The copper acts as a "primer" giving good adhesion. Only a flash of copper is applied (just enough to give it the copper color). The nickel is applied heavy. It is then hand polished (for bumpers, etc.) and then a flash of chrome is applied. The nickel is very soft and slightly yellowish in color. The chrome is very hard and blueish in color.

There is now "self levelling nickel" that in most cases is sufficiently smooth that no polishing is required. The chrome is still applied afterwards.

The chemistry for nickel plating has improved and many skip the copper flash.

But hard chrome does not usually have an underlayer of nickel. So the surface condition of the substrate will "print" right through the very thin chrome surface. For that reason most guns will have a glass bead blast surface before the hard chrome. This is quite attractive.

You can also spot polish parts of the gun so that the polished parts will look shiny and the bead blast will look matte.

But in any case, the nickel will be chemically stripped, the surface of the weapon would need to be prepared for an attractive final finish.

 

[dfariswheel]

Hard Chrome has no under coating of copper.
The big advantage of hard chrome is that it bonds directly to the base steel and actually penetrates the pores.

This is why hard chrome can't crack, chip, or peel and why unlike decorative "bumper" chrome, it won't bubble up exposing rust under it.

 

[williamlayton]

DFW
Interesting post---I was wondering about that.
Blessings

 

[dfariswheel]

I told customers to look at plating like it was paint or stain on wood.

Paint, or nickel or decorative chrome plating is like paint on wood. It's on the surface. It can crack and peel, and moisture can infiltrate under it and lift it off. This is why decorative chrome and nickel can flake off or bubble up exposing rust under it.

Stain, or hard chrome partially penetrates the surface.
Since it's IN the wood or metal, there is no "underneath". For that reason hard chrome can't crack, chip, or peel. While the metal can rust due to porosity of hard chrome, it's far more durable then bright nickel or the chrome used as decorative coatings for cars and motorcycles.

As for gun finishes, hard chrome is still the best all around gun finish, which is why it's the favorite of most custom gunsmiths when looking for a durable finish.