should I polish it or not?

[georgej]

Hello
I bought a S&W 1905 about 3 weeks ago and have already sent off for a letter but if any of you can give me a guess about its date I would be appreciated.(SN 25504x) I has a stainless finish that looks factory? My question is should I polish it or leave as it is?

 

[georgej]

Hello
I bought a S&W 1905 about 3 weeks ago and have already sent off for a letter but if any of you can give me a guess about its date I would be appreciated.(SN 25504x) I has a stainless finish that looks factory? My question is should I polish it or leave as it is?

 

[azmick]

are you sure it's stainless and not hard chrome or matte finish nickel? looks to be a five screw gun and that stopped in 1955 and the first S&W stainless gun was in 1965 with the model 60. under the barrel there will be an "N" or a "B" on the flat where the ejector rod goes, the "B" will mean it left the factory as a blue gun and the "N" means nickel. i would leave it as is and shoot it

 

[georgej]

I do not see a B or N on that part of the barrel, just the serial number, by the way whats the difference between hard chrome, matte nickel and stainless?
thanks George

 

[CMcDermott]

by the way whats the difference between hard chrome, matte nickel and stainless?

Stainless is a steel alloy that contains at least 13.5% chromium that helps to protect the steel from rusting.
Hard chrome is where the steel surface is electro-plated directly with chromium. This is different than decorative chrome used on cars which has a thick coating of copper, then a coating of nickel, then a very thin coating of chromium.
Matte nickel (electroless nickel) is nickel plating deposited by a chemical reaction on the steel surface; it doesn't use electricity to do the plating.
Polished nickel finish has a thick layer of copper plating under the nickel that acts as a "primer" to help the nickel stick and as an easily polished "filler" for any scratches etc in the steel.
All are excellent in protecting the gun from rusting, though enough salt exposure (sea air, an ocean soaking and even sweat) and any gun will develop rust.
Another place to look for a stamped "B" or "N" is under the grips, if your revolver came from teh factory with a polished nickel finish it should have an "N" stamped somewhere. Hard chrome and matte nickel were never used by S&W as factory finishes, only polished nickel, various blueing methods and stainless steel.

 

[Onomea]

I'm no expert, but that's a prewar gun; you can tell by the hammer, extractor knob, and the grips. Since the hammer and trigger are finished, I think it must be a non-factory refinish, as the factory would not have done that. Doesn't look like nickel to me. Not sure what it is. It can't be stainless though, as noted.

I sort of doubt that polishing it will help it any cosmetically. Might make it worse. On the other hand, given its current condition, whatever you do to it should not effect value, I don't think.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Send it to a pro for polishing.

 

[Guest]

I think there are a couple of folks in your part of the World who do re-finish work and I would take it to one of them and see what they can tell you. Frankly, from the little I see it looks very much like Electroless Nickel because of the "Shine" that is showing on at the "Drag Line". Generally, Hard Chrome will NOT polish up like this. But, a poor Electroless Nickel job will and that is what this looks like.

About the only other thing it might be is a gun "in the White" or in other words - all the bluing has been removed and it has been protected from rust in some way. Simple oil will do this and the "Drag Line" polishing will also occur with a gun in the White.

Mike

 

[PZ93C]

As noted, if it were electroless nickle it would be a poor job and with the lack of dishing and strong markings, ny vote is it has no finish. It is carbon steel in the white.

 

[byronroland]

Appears to be EN, electroless nickel. Probably very thin. EN is not a good barrier finish and not sacrificial at all.

EN can be applied in a very controlled way, .0001 - .0002 is easily achieved. One way to tell if EN vs. Nickel Chrome or electrolytic Nickel, look into a crevice, if plated it is EN. EN covers everthing equally (no electricity) unless masked by paint or tape. Electrolytic Nickel travels in straight lines, cannot turn corners, a hole or crevice will be bare. EN is duller especially the hard versions. All nickel has a yellow tinge, turns blue when chromed.

I have a 1911 I had EN plated, hard Rc60 then baked to harden further and reduce chance of hydrogen embrittlement. You can not scratch it! Has a much deeper and strong finish that this one based on picture. Had to use carbide reamers to clean out the holes. Not any issue on rails and such, only added about .0003.

A good hard chrome/plating shop would be able to tell you what it is.

A little history, years ago most if not all nickel plating was preceded by copper. The copper was polished and the nickel applied. Copper was used to promote the nickel sticking (nickel does not like steel) and to allow easy polish/buff to remove defects in the base steel. The nickel plating then came out of tank very dull and almost white. You had to then polish it to get the bright reflective finish. After this, if you wanted to make it "chrome plated" you put it back through another system and applied chrome, .00001-2 thick. You can always tell chrome from NI, NI has a yellow tinge, the same part when chromed has a brighter "bluer" look.

To reduce cost, the copper was eliminated on cheaper items. Still had to polish to get a bright finish. Now days the bath has brighteners to keep the finish nice and clean. It does, however, show up every defect in the base material.

Even a stainless steel part will look better and be "bluer" if chrome plated. Also passivates the surface. SS hub caps are still chrome plated to reduce rust and make them hold up in winter salt conditions.

 

[dinghysailer]

Looks to me like a WWI vintage, probably 1916 or so. the grips are right. Look for a lightly penciled serial number on the inside of the right grip. May not be legible, but may match the numbers on the gun.

The roll marks on the right side of the barrel also look right for that vintage. My guess is that the last patent date is SEP.14.09 or else some time in 1914.

Look where the serial number is stamped on the bottom of the barrel. If there is a B stamped a little towards the muzzle, the original finish was blue.

I agree that the hammer and trigger being plated suggest a non-factory refinish.

Photographs taken in natural light show colors better than artificial light, but that is another subject.

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

It might help to determine if it is "in the white" by removing the grips and checking the inside of the grip frame to see if there is any of the original factory finish remaining. If you feel comfortable enough to remove the sideplate, that is another area which may have blue remaining. From the photo, it looks unlike any of the plating processes previously mentioned, at least to me. Bottom line, the letter will tell you the original shipped finish, but what you have there, at least for the moment, is just a guess. Good luck.