Weird problem.

thomask

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Hi, I have a s&w 2nd model .38 da barrel and cylinder. It's actually a first model I think, reissued 1871 patent date. Sn# are clearly 2nd model. Leftover parts I guess. Anyway some of the nickel was missing, very thick plating btw. I put it in my electroplating solution, just vinegar and salt and a piece of nickel and 6 volts. Done this many times to remove nickel. Anyway it removed the nickel, the patent date and the sn#. What the hell happened?
 
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Hi There,

Can you post a pic?

I once reverse plated a Colt Combat Commander slide using
the Nickel Acetate (that is what you get when you run vinegar
and non-iodine salt bath with nickel electrodes). It started fine
but it soon started to attack the base metal and left some areas
of nickel alone. It ruined that slide.

I don't know exactly what went wrong but next time I try, I will
use a sulfuric acid solution with electric current and lead electrode.

Cheers!
Webb
 
Hi There,

Can you post a pic?

I once reverse plated a Colt Combat Commander slide using
the Nickel Acetate (that is what you get when you run vinegar
and non-iodine salt bath with nickel electrodes). It started fine
but it soon started to attack the base metal and left some areas
of nickel alone. It ruined that slide.

I don't know exactly what went wrong but next time I try, I will
use a sulfuric acid solution with electric current and lead electrode.

Cheers!
Webb
 

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Im a dumbass. After looking at my nickel strip used in the deplating process, I have a heavy deposit of copper, under that a nice light blue depost telling me this thing was silver plated probably. It looked good when I polished it. It was black. After i polished it it looked good, just a little duller than the nickel on the frame. Why oh why didnt I leave it alone. Now I got a somewhat rough casting. Ugh
 

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Im a dumbass. After looking at my nickel strip used in the deplating process, I have a heavy deposit of copper, under that a nice light blue depost telling me this thing was silver plated probably. It looked good when I polished it. It was black. After i polished it it looked good, just a little duller than the nickel on the frame. Why oh why didnt I leave it alone. Now I got a somewhat rough casting. Ugh
Oh btw, I tested my matching cylinder for silver in an inconspicuous place. Yep, silver.
 
my oh my, I wish I could say that I've never made this kind of mistake - don't ask ....
 
I did some research last nite and was told you could special order them silver plated. Live and learn.
 
Thanks for posting, not everybody would be so forth coming.

"It's good to learn from your mistakes.
It's better to learn from other people's mistakes."
~ Warren Buffett
 
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