Nickel Plating Questions.

[Jason30-30]

Today While Cleaning The Safe I Found Behind A Box Of Shotgun Shells My OLD Browning Hi Power From 1961. The Bluing Is COMPLETELY WORE OFF. I Thought That It Deserved A Nice Finish.

I Thought And Said Nickel Plated Would Look NICE. BUT The Question Is Will It Soften The Steel? Would It Make It Brittle? Anybody Got Tips?

[GRUMPA]

Plating will not soften the steel one I-OH-DA, if you go that route all they do is clean the base metal so the plating will stick to it. Usually they will either sand blast it or give it a bath to clean it, then put it in the tank to plate it.

[Ickisrulz]

Hard chrome would wear better.

[TNFrank]

I'd send it off to Robbie Barkman at Robars in Phoenix, AZ. for the NP3 treatment. Looks like electroless nickel but has teflon in it so it'll slick things up a bit.

[MtGun44]

I had one Metalloyed by Cyl and Slide. Bill did a really excellent job on the prep. NP3
wears rapidly, as does nickel. Hard chrome like Metalloy lasts for decades of hard, heavy
use and is far harder than the steel itself. It just gets smoother and the gun runs slicker.

Bill

[Jason30-30]

Sounds Like hard chrome is the way to go

[crabo]

I had one Metalloyed by Cyl and Slide. Bill did a really excellent job on the prep. NP3
wears rapidly, as does nickel. Hard chrome like Metalloy lasts for decades of hard, heavy
use and is far harder than the steel itself. It just gets smoother and the gun runs slicker.

Bill

I have used them also and was completely happy with their work. It was a long time ago, but it seems like I went through Wilson's in Arkansas.

[Love Life]

I just checked the Cylinder and Slide site and didn't see anything about Metalloy. I'm in the same boat as Jason 30-30. I have an old model 28-2 at the smith right now, and when she comes back I would like to get it refinished. I was thinking a nice shiny chrome.

[bobthenailer]

i have had at least 10 guns hard chromed over a 25 + year period and all are as new , even after untold thousands of rounds being fired throught them .
Try . WWW.mahouskysmetalife.com

[winelover]

Just so happens I had the frame of my HP hard chromed, years ago. If I wasn't in Arkansas I'd post a picture. I like it and it wears very well. It sports the 2-tone look that is currently in vogue. Another option is Ceracote. Had my SS 1894 done up, cause it was too shiney for close range deer hunting. IMO

Winelover

[MtGun44]

Metalloy is a plating service in Arkansas. Typically they use a bead blast process prior
to plating which gives a satin finish, not shiny like bumper chrome, much more like stainless
but a bit whiter and brighter. I had sights put on and such and then C&S prepped it and
sent it to Metalloy.

I think you can send it directly to Metalloy, but I have not done it. I have a pair of old
Wilson LE Comp 1911 custom pistols with Metalloyed lowers and blued uppers and they
are just slick and perfect after way over 50,000 rounds, somewhere closer to 100K
probably. The revolver will be AMAZING if you get all the parts done, like they normally
do. If you get a nice action job done on a revolver and then have it Metalloyed, the
parts will polish up a touch at wear points but essentially never wear any more and the
friction of hard chrome on hard chrome is very low. Lifetime use with almost no wear.

I have handled a few revolvers that were Metalloyed and they were delightful. Highly
corrosion resistant, too - although I think they say that their plating is not 100% proof
against corrosion, but it is darned near.

Bill

[Love Life]

I think I would keep the hammer, trigger, and ejector star from being chromed. I like that look.

[MtGun44]

The only problem with leaving the hammer alone is wear. Get a GOOD trigger job done
first then get the sear and hammer hard chromed as part of the whole refinish. The trigger
job will last forever once it is chromed. The trigger is not part of the sear/hammer system,
so you can leave it if you want.

Bill

[frankenfab]

Ford's is very good also. I have had them do 2 guns. The more notable one is a Desert Eagle MK VII in .41 magnum. I had it black chromed, and it is so nice I haven't been able to bring myself to fire it again since it came back.

Here's the website, and they have a gallery page:

http://www.fordsguns.com/

BTW, if some one has a negative report on Ford's, I would be interested in hearing it.

[Jason30-30]

Thanks Guys But I Had One More Question Will Nickel Plating Hold Up During Handling/Use?

[Love Life]

Good call MTGun44. My 4 inch is currently at the gunsmith getting a trigger job. I also like the nice shiny nickel finishes, but they cost as much as I paid for the gun!

[EDK]

Thanks Guys But I Had One More Question Will Nickel Plating Hold Up During Handling/Use?

Allegedly nickle plating can be damaged by Hoppe's #9 or other solvents. I was very cautious with my factory nickle plated S&W model 29. Metalloy is a lot better choice. Armoloy (back in the 70s) was pretty good also. I had minor problems with electroless nickle on a COLT Government Model.

ANY plating can have a bad outcome. Preparation of the gun must be perfect; the chemicals must be contamination free; there's a list of hazards. Do a lot of research on the process for pros and cons; check out the vendor for quality of work.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[MtGun44]

Nickle plating is relatively soft and will wear off with time. It is a good coating but no where
near as durable as hard chrome, but a bit better corrosion protection in an extreme environment
than hard chrome. Hoppe's will damage nickel if left on overnight or longer, it is just fine
for normal cleaning, just do not leave it on the gun permenantly.

Bill

[Ronbo256]

Jason, I would suggest you contact Chuck Warner at www.warnerpistols.com and have him do a TR sear trigger job and arrange the hard chrome/NP3 through him. He has a new procedure for sear prepping that really makes a Hi-power trigger sweet, and he's advertising 4-6 week turnarounds right now.