Removing nickle plate chemically

[SOFMatchstaff]

Has anyone had experience removing nickle plating from gun parts chemically? Ive seen several different processes, and like to hear your results.

[jdfoxinc]

I did it accidentally soaking a 1911 slide in Hope's #9.

[Bent Ramrod]

Persulfate salts, or dilute sulfuric acid in strong hydrogen peroxide solution, will do a good job of removal.

I’ve never done a gun, but have run the reaction on the remains of plating on rusty parts. The solution turns a very attractive green color as the nickel dissolves. Been a long time; I seem to recall I used sodium or potassium persulfate out of a chem lab stockroom.

[JimB..]

I understand that copper is put down on steel before nickle, so anything that attacks copper will work eventually.

[LAGS]

I am wondering if Ammonia would dissolve the copper plating and cause the Nickel finish to come off.
It works well to remove copper fouling from barrels.
I might have to dig up an old nickel plated spare part that I have laying around and give it a try

[dogrunner]

I did so with excellent results. Used Brownell's formulation on a 1918 1911 that had seen better days. Stripping the nickle was simple and easy.......total time involved less that a couple of hours, and that includes set up, immersion and clean up. Gun looked really unattractive with the shoddy nickle and poor polish that was apparently done at the time it was plated....U.S. property markings poorly removed and a lot of rounded corners. After the stripping I managed to clean up the lousy polish, got some sharp edges back and managed to preserve what markings were undamaged. Did a refinish with one of Brownell's cold bluing solutions that weathered to a pleasing plum brown..........on a whim I took the piece to a fairly large local dealer and got offered over 700 for the gun............guess it was worthwhile for less than a hundred bucks in solutions.