Inherited S&W 39-2 Nickel - How to clean?

[ronshanks]

I inherited an older S&W 39-2 from my father. It had been in a leather holster and the chrome is discolored in places. See attached pics.

I wiped it down with a soft cloth, but am apprehensive to use any solvents/cleaners as I don't want to damage the finish any worse than it is. The finish where its been in the holster is almost a brushed look instead of the shiny chrome like is on the backstrap.

Any ideas on how I can clean/restore this?

Any help would be appreciated

 

[ralph7]

Try some Flitz or Simichrome on a soft rag.

 

[gmborkovic]

Hello ron, well it aint factory nickel. Appears tobe an aftermarket finish
of some kind. I have a few that are bright nickel.
Keep it and shoot dads gun.

 

[stansdds]

Welcome to the S&W Forums.



My first thought, either that is a very neglected and fogged nickel finish or it is an aftermarket finish, something like hard chrome or NP3. With the slide stop and safety being plated, I am definitely leaning towards this being an aftermarket finish. I would be interested in seeing what the finish looks like beneath the stocks. There is a good chance the finish under the wooden stocks will look close to what the finish looked like when new.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome also!

Since the finish in protected areas still appears bright (on the frame underneath the rear slide in photo 1) my guess is an original cloudy finish. Or a really bad half-refinish.

So I would vote to start with a 'gentle" abrasive and light pressure, with two warnings. The plating is somewhat thin and aggressive scrubbing may remove it completely; and the black stuff coming off when you do this is not corrosion, it is actually the nickel material in the plating. You can achieve shiny but it may be with no nickel left.

 

[cmansguns]

Welcome from Virginia

Welcome from Virginia!

I'm no expert regarding Model 39-2's but I have a 1977 blued M39-2 and I can tell you wonderful shooter, and a real "classic" as far as S&W semi auto's go.

Since yours has A275XXX serial number that was the assigned numbers for year 1975 to 1976 per SCSW 4th. Also, the 39-2 have an alloy frame, with carbon steel slide, so I'm not sure what a original factory nickel finish should look like (i.e. is there a visible difference when nickel is applied over steel vs alloy?).

Another item is that according to the Catalog, the factory nickel finish 39-2's had the safety and slide stop blued.

Maybe some of the real experts in Model 39 will come along and set us straight, but for now.....welcome and enjoy that 39-2 as it is before doing anything that might deteriorate the finish any further.

 

[ronshanks]

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice. I think for now I'll hold off on any real restorative efforts, give it a basic cleaning and then go run some rounds through it. I found some original magazines on ebay as I only have the one.

 

[gmborkovic]

The catalog is wrong on the nickel controls. Consult my list of 100
factory nickel 39-2s. Just do a Search for nickel 39-2 controls.