How to Clean nickel

[poppy42]

Ok I have a problem I’ve never ran into before. I recently acquired a nickel 1911. Every place my skin touches the gun it starts to tarnish! What’s the best way to polish nickel? And anybody have a suggestion on how to stop it from tarnishing. It happens on the slide serrations were I rack the slide, along the grip safety, along the left side of the gun were it touches my body. In the past I’ve used 0000 steel wool and a little hippies, oil, etc and a lot of elbow grease! At first I thought the finish was coming off and was prepared to send the gun back to the manufacturer! Nope it comes off, but it ain’t easy! Any help/ suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[M-Tecs]

This is the best I've found https://www.simichrome-happich.de/index.php?lang=en

[country gent]

Simichrome is very good. I put just a small dab on a cotton ball, work it in a little and lightly rub.The other old stand by is never dull wadding polish. Is a bulky wool cotton pad with the compound impregnated, pull a piece out and polish put it back and it rejuvenates my can is from the 70s and still fairly full.

[poppy42]

Thank you gentlemen I would’ve responded sooner but for some reason I subscribe to my thread and it supposed to send me email notices but it didn’t. So I apologize for not responding sooner. I will certainly give simichrome a try I just have to find a place where I can buy some.

[M-Tecs]

Thank you gentlemen I would’ve responded sooner but for some reason I subscribe to my thread and it supposed to send me email notices but it didn’t. So I apologize for not responding sooner. I will certainly give simichrome a try I just have to find a place where I can buy some.

Most grocery stores and hardware stores sell it as does Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Simichrome-39.../dp/B0002YUQ4E

Since the server upgrade NONE of the email notices work for me.

[poppy42]

Most grocery stores and hardware stores sell it as does Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Simichrome-39.../dp/B0002YUQ4E

Since the server upgrade NONE of the email notices work for me.

Yep just ordered it to both Amazon it’ll be here tomorrow. It’s definitely a little disturbing having a brand new gun and every place your skin touches it it starts to tarnish it. Maybe I shouldn’t of drank in a toxic waste when I was a kid who knows lol. Anybody got a suggestion for a preventative other than don’t let the gun touch my skin! Which is kind of tough as I mentioned grip safety and other places. I mean do I put car wax on it? I’ve never had this problem before but honestly the last time I had a nickel gun was a GP 100 and that was back in the 80s. And it had the 6 1/4 inch bull barrel I think it was if I remember correctly. So not exactly like I concealed carried it

[LAGS]

Many many years ago.
A police officer had a Nickle Plated 9 mm pistol that he finished in paste wax.
Lucky choice. At a small riot one of the people poured a can of yellow paint on his gun and holster.
After the paint was dry , it peeled off the pistol very easy.
But the leather holster was history from the paint when dry.

[M-Tecs]

For wax renaissance micro-crystalline wax works better than anything that I have tried. Walmart and Amazon sell it.

https://restorationproduct.com/shop/renaissance-wax/

[jdfoxinc]

Do not use Hope's #9 on that gun. It eats nickel plating.

[deltaenterprizes]

Flitz will work also!

[poppy42]

Wow!!!!! I can’t thank you gentlemen enough! Just got my little tube of Simichrome Polish about 20 minutes ago from Amazon. I’ll be honest with you I had my doubts. Being the ultimate pessimist that I am I figured no way this little tube of polish over priced as I felt it was $14 for a little teeny tube seems just a tad bit on the pricey side to me! I kind of figured it was new yuppie polishing cream lol! Well please accept my humblest apologies this stuff is the next best thing in terms of necessity to sliced bread and flush toilets! I put about 1/8 inch blob on a little piece of cloth and rubbed for 7 to 10 seconds. The course turn black and the slide on my 1911 was as clean as it was the day I bought it. This stuff is fantastic!!! Heck I’m thinking of polishing my bald head with it! It’s a little tarnished to! Serious Lidl I can’t thank you guys enough this stuff works great you have me thoroughly convinced and once again I can’t thank you guys enough

[country gent]

That `1/8" blob was about 3 times what you needed. If you have a small container put the cloth in it and you can use that spot several times. Simichrome has been around for years. I use a cotton ball wadded up with it. Like most true polishes the more you use it the brighter it polishes as it wears down and into the cloth.
On a strip of leather it will stropp a very fine edge on a blade also.

[rintinglen]

That `1/8" blob was about 3 times what you needed. If you have a small container put the cloth in it and you can use that spot several times. Simichrome has been around for years. I use a cotton ball wadded up with it. Like most true polishes the more you use it the brighter it polishes as it wears down and into the cloth.
On a strip of leather it will stropp a very fine edge on a blade also.

+1 When leather carving I used it as a finisher for my swivel knife blades. Sharper than a New York Lawyer when I got done.

[relics6165]

Another vote for Flitz.

[JDHasty]

For wax renaissance micro-crystalline wax works better than anything that I have tried. Walmart and Amazon sell it.

https://restorationproduct.com/shop/renaissance-wax/

Midway had it on sale a couple days ago.

[jonp]

Glad the simichrome worked for you. I've used Nevr Dull for years with good results and a bottle of Flitz is on my bench in the reloading room.

[country gent]

Ive got a can of never dull that was my grandfathers It is still good.

Hoppes dosnt affect the nickle but is a copper remover and it does affect the copper plate layer under the nickle.

[StrawHat]

Ive got a can of never dull that was my grandfathers It is still good.

Hoppes dosnt affect the nickle but is a copper remover and it does affect the copper plate layer under the nickle.

Correct! But not all companies used a copper wash under the nickel. For instance, S&W did not.

Kevin