Hoppe's and Nickel

[thedane]

Approximately one year ago I decided to perform a simple, though not too scientific, experiment. I placed a nickel plated, used, .45 ACP case in Hoppe's 9 to see what the effects would be. Following are some pictures after that one year test period:

The Hoppe's turned a teal blue/green color in relatively short order. I think this was because of the small amount of exposed brass. I examined the case every couple of months and didn't notice any wear. Today, I removed the case from the Hoppe's to examine it more carefully. The head of the case showed corrosion and the inside of the case showed that the nickel had peeled off to some extent. The nickel still seems to be bright and shiny. There are several small pits on the exterior of the case.

Keep in mind that this is a nickel plated brass case and that Smith & Wesson Revolvers, according to Roy Jinks and other experts, are nickel plated directly over steel.

I see no evidence of fogging that you see on some nickel revolvers. If this isn't caused by Hoppe's, what causes it?

I thought this may be of some interest.

I will let you draw your own conclusions.

 

[williamlayton]

Too be honest, I have never cared for nickel--either for protection or looks.
Blessings

 

[Texas Roots]

thedane, thanks for your interest in performing the experiment. I think the story about avoiding Hoppe's on nickel plated firearms goes back a long way when some manufacturer (I don't remember who) was using a copper base over the carbon steel before the final nickel plating was applied. Hoppe's would definitely attack the copper base coating, causing the nickel to eventually flake off.

But, as Roy Jinks has pointed out, the nickel plating is now and has been for many years, applied directly to the steel and any concern about using Hoppe's is no longer valid.

As to what causes the fogging, I'm still waiting for an answer to that one myself.

 

[SMSgt]

On the Hoppes site somewhere it mentions being careful with chromed bores as the Hoppes can penetrate under scratched chrome and cause it to lift. Because chromed items are first nickel-plated, I would think it might have the same effect on nickel.

 

[chief38]

My first carry gun (1979) was a 2" snub nose M10 in Nickel. I shot and cleaned it every week with Hoppes for many many years, (prior to hearing the warnings not to use Hoppes on Nickel guns) with no ill effects. I no longer own the gun, but I sold it to a friend of mine and it still looks great. My personal feeling is that I would not soak a Nickel gun in Hoppes, but I see no problems with using it to clean the gun with.

Chief38

 

[paulj84003]

If I remember correctly, (mind getting a little fuzzy on some things) Hoppies was reformulated late 70's or early 80's due to a carcinogen , I believe was nitro benzine. It has never cleaned as well since.

 

[PALADIN85020]

If I remember correctly, (mind getting a little fuzzy on some things) Hoppies was reformulated late 70's or early 80's due to a carcinogen , I believe was nitro benzine. It has never cleaned as well since.

When I read that they were changing the formula, I went right out and bought two jugs (probably my lifetime supply) of the older stuff. I'd been using it since I was 11 years old, and I was not going to be denied the nostalgia of using the real McCoy. I think the cancer-causing bit was overblown - the reformulation was primarily to please the lawyers. I still use the old stuff today. The date I marked on the boxes containing the jugs was 11/13/93.

John