Sweet's and nickel plating.

[S.R.Custom]

So I was going to take the copper out of the bore of my Nickel Model 29 with some Sweet's 7.62, then I began to wonder...

Will ammonia based copper solvents attack the nickel plating?

[floodgate]

SuperMag:

Yes, especially if the nickel is plated over a copper undercoat. Many years ago I destroyed the finish on a handsome, nickeled 8-3/8" S&W .357 Magnum (pre-Model 27) by scrubbing it down with Hoppe's No. 9; the more I scrubbed, the worse it got, until I finally checked and found out what was happening. A really strong ammonia solution will even attack steel, if left on long enough.

floodgate

[Ricochet]

So far as attacking steel, it's the water in ammonia that eventually will rust it. Ammonia's not particularly corrosive to steel. But it most definitely will remove both copper and nickel. I read 30 years ago in the American Rifleman that Hoppe's #9 had taken the nickel right off of a nickeled S&W revolver left wrapped in a rag wet with Hoppe's #9. Being cheap, and not having strong ammonia readily available since the drug cops went around telling vendors that buyers of it are meth cooks until proven otherwise, I use plain household ammonia to remove copper and copper-nickel fouling from bores. It works quite well. Stronger ammonia like 10% would be preferable, of course.

[S.R.Custom]

Thanks guys... Knowing that, I took the cylinder off so as not to splash on it, and I was especially careful to keep the Sweets wiped off the exterior. Worked great, and the bore is squeaky clean. :-D

[kawalekm]

Hi Supermag
Instead of the Sweet's, have you ever tried "Ed's Red" bore cleaner. I've used it for years. Here's a website dscribing it.

http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=9

I use the mix that includes both acetone and lanolin. Been using it for about 10 years now for all my guns.

Michael
U of I graduate