Cleaning nickel
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I use Ballistol on my nickel plated .45 with no problems. You have to be careful with nickel , as it is plated over copper and some solvents get down under the copper and can lift it .I've been told you can use a product called PB Blaster , but have never tried it.
I have read that Hoppe's #9 is harmful to nickel finishes so you might not want to use it. Here is another thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-smithing/172934-nickel-cleaning.html
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wantmoresmiths
Member
Rather than taking a chance on ruining the nickel finish on my guns, I opted to use "Ed's Red" home brewed cleaning solvent, and have never had a problem.
scooter123
Member
FYI, Nickle is an Electroplated Finish. In fact a premium chrome finish is the result of 3 layers of electroplating, copper, then nickle, and finally chromium.
I would suggest a very conservative approach because Nickle does scratch easily. First treat it with a quality pure wax that contains NO abrasives and use that as your primary cleaner.
As for solvents, I've found the M Pro 7 works great on my stainless steel revolvers but would hesitate to recomend it on a nickle plated revolver because it claims to be effective on removing copper fouling. Since the "primer" for nickle plating is a layer of copper, using anything that is active for dissolving copper could lead to the nickle lifting. Your best bet is a mild dish soap or good old Murphy's Oil Soap.
Great Question!
Welcome to the forum Stockb0y,
Seeking the best answer I have been reading all the threads on cleaning nickeled S&Ws. My first choice in S&Ws has been stainless for convenient cleaning followed blued for good looks and last nickeled so I have limited experience with nickeled S&Ws. The best answer that I have come up with is: only use abrasive polishes like Flitz every 10 to 20 years or so because nickel is fairly soft, don't clean off the black doughnuts around the the charge holes on the front face of the cylinder, use any bore cleaner sparingly and don't leave it on for long, and don't use penetrating oils for preservative.
Much of the information posted on cleaning nickeled S&Ws has been conflicting and based on old rumors. A popular belief is that you should not use bore cleaners designed to remove jacketed bullet fouling, especially those that contain amonia because amonia would attack a copper undercoating. The trouble is, S&W never undercoated with copper and moderator RBurg has posted that amonia does not react with nickel. Where nickel plateing has flaked off S&Ws you see steel, not copper. It appears that RBurg is correct, but I welcome comments from chemists on whether nickel reacts with amonia. My gunsmith cleans his nickeled S&Ws with Hoppe's #9 which contains amonia, then wipes it off and stores them bare. Nickel doesn't corrode much at all but that does leave the hammer, trigger and blued parts at risk of rusting. He says to not use penetrating oils because they might get under the nickel plateing through sratches and at the edges of spots where the nickel has flaked off and most older guns are missing a flake or two. That is after all what penetrating oils are designed to do. However, to avoid using any bore cleaner designed to remove jacketed bullet fouling, I have used the penetrating oil WD-40 spareingly to clean lead bullet fouling out of nickeled S&Ws for decades without any problem. I wipe it off then oil with Hoppe's gun oil for preservative and lubrication. I am going to change from WD-40 to Rem Oil which is also very thin because Rem Oil is not designed to be a penetrating oil so far as I know and I just purchased my first nickeled S&W that is missing a few tiny flakes of nickel. I have mostly reloaded with home cast lead bullets and can't recall ever firing a jacketed bullet in a nickeled S&W so I have had no need to use rifle bore cleaners and haven't used them to play it safe.
I welcome advise from experts and can only hope this helps Stockb0y a little.
Best Regards,
Gil
Welcome to the forum Stockb0y,
Seeking the best answer I have been reading all the threads on cleaning nickeled S&Ws. My first choice in S&Ws has been stainless for convenient cleaning followed blued for good looks and last nickeled so I have limited experience with nickeled S&Ws. The best answer that I have come up with is: only use abrasive polishes like Flitz every 10 to 20 years or so because nickel is fairly soft, don't clean off the black doughnuts around the the charge holes on the front face of the cylinder, use any bore cleaner sparingly and don't leave it on for long, and don't use penetrating oils for preservative.
Much of the information posted on cleaning nickeled S&Ws has been conflicting and based on old rumors. A popular belief is that you should not use bore cleaners designed to remove jacketed bullet fouling, especially those that contain amonia because amonia would attack a copper undercoating. The trouble is, S&W never undercoated with copper and moderator RBurg has posted that amonia does not react with nickel. Where nickel plateing has flaked off S&Ws you see steel, not copper. It appears that RBurg is correct, but I welcome comments from chemists on whether nickel reacts with amonia. My gunsmith cleans his nickeled S&Ws with Hoppe's #9 which contains amonia, then wipes it off and stores them bare. Nickel doesn't corrode much at all but that does leave the hammer, trigger and blued parts at risk of rusting. He says to not use penetrating oils because they might get under the nickel plateing through sratches and at the edges of spots where the nickel has flaked off and most older guns are missing a flake or two. That is after all what penetrating oils are designed to do. However, to avoid using any bore cleaner designed to remove jacketed bullet fouling, I have used the penetrating oil WD-40 spareingly to clean lead bullet fouling out of nickeled S&Ws for decades without any problem. I wipe it off then oil with Hoppe's gun oil for preservative and lubrication. I am going to change from WD-40 to Rem Oil which is also very thin because Rem Oil is not designed to be a penetrating oil so far as I know and I just purchased my first nickeled S&W that is missing a few tiny flakes of nickel. I have mostly reloaded with home cast lead bullets and can't recall ever firing a jacketed bullet in a nickeled S&W so I have had no need to use rifle bore cleaners and haven't used them to play it safe.
I welcome advise from experts and can only hope this helps Stockb0y a little.
Best Regards,
Gil
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simichrome
I just purchased a Model 57 nickel this weekend. The gun was very near mint condition, but I decided to go over it with Simichrome. I was amazed at how much black came off this super clean gun. I use it on blued guns and it will take corrosion off the surface that you did not even know was there. It's very easy on the blue, as it seems to be very mild on the abrasion side. My knife collector friends swear by it as well.
I just purchased a Model 57 nickel this weekend. The gun was very near mint condition, but I decided to go over it with Simichrome. I was amazed at how much black came off this super clean gun. I use it on blued guns and it will take corrosion off the surface that you did not even know was there. It's very easy on the blue, as it seems to be very mild on the abrasion side. My knife collector friends swear by it as well.
semperfi71
US Veteran
I am careful about using a solvent/cleaner that "might" ruin a nickle-plate.
However I am extra careful about what I use to wipe off my handguns, nickel, blue, or stainless.
A rag/cloth used too often carries grit and that grit will scratch a finish in quick time. I use soft cotton (t-shirts are great) and embedded Rig Grease. After minimal use I throw away the cloth and make another.
However I am extra careful about what I use to wipe off my handguns, nickel, blue, or stainless.
A rag/cloth used too often carries grit and that grit will scratch a finish in quick time. I use soft cotton (t-shirts are great) and embedded Rig Grease. After minimal use I throw away the cloth and make another.
Hiya stockboy,
I have but one nickel gun a model 49 from 1967 that still looks very good! I don't use anything with ammonia in it on any of my guns especially on the bodyguard.
I did use flitz and a microfiber cloth to shine it up a bit after I bought it but be careful with it and don't rub hard. It will only polish the finish not remove imperfections or deep scratches.
To clean after shooting I do use CLP Breakfree for cleaning and lubrication. Like someone else said don't be anal about the black rings on the cylinder face... Sooner or later all that rubbing will take it's toll and wear thru the finish... It looks good on there!!
I have but one nickel gun a model 49 from 1967 that still looks very good! I don't use anything with ammonia in it on any of my guns especially on the bodyguard.
I did use flitz and a microfiber cloth to shine it up a bit after I bought it but be careful with it and don't rub hard. It will only polish the finish not remove imperfections or deep scratches.
To clean after shooting I do use CLP Breakfree for cleaning and lubrication. Like someone else said don't be anal about the black rings on the cylinder face... Sooner or later all that rubbing will take it's toll and wear thru the finish... It looks good on there!!
Kroil is a handy cleaner, too. No ammonia in it, either. I use it on all my guns.
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