Part II - S&W Nickel Revolver

[pj150]

OK, I did purchase one. Model 19 2" Nickel. Pics to follow soon.

Next few questions-

1) Does nickel require special additional care or certain solvents I need to avoid? I'm thinking I will get mPro7 as recommended by a few folks here and drop using hoppes.

2) Original grips are really too small. I mean, I don't have large hands but the grips seem really thin and are about the same as the j frame. I did see a set that I really liked but I can't seem to find the picture. Anyone know where or who might have a nice selection for k frame round butt?

 

[Len-2A Training]

I carried a nickel Trooper as my duty gun for 18 years, shot it frequently at the range, cleaned it with the same stuff I used for every other gun (Hoppes), no problems.

I also carried a Det Spcl in nickel. Same deal.

Clean it, shoot it, be happy!

 

[EddieCoyle]

When I want to remove the nickel plating from something, I soak it in... Hoppe's No. 9.

LenS, you got lucky if you cleaned nickel plated guns for that long with Hoppe's and didn't hurt the finish. I'm guessing that you wiped them clean and did not let the Hoppe's remain on the finish for very long.

Never use a solvent that removes copper fouling on a nickel plated gun. Period. Here's why:

The process of nickel plating steel (simplified) goes like this:
First, the item's surface is prepared and thoroughly cleaned. Next, a layer of copper is plated onto the surface. Nickel does not adhere very well to steel, but it does stick to copper. Copper adheres very well to steel. So, depostiting a layer of copper between the nickel and steel keeps everything stuck. Think of the copper as primer.

The copper can be plated on pretty thick. Sometimes you can deposit a lot of copper onto a pitted item, then buff it off except for where it filled the pits, then reapply another even layer before nickel plating. I've done this on some badly pitted items (not guns) and had them come out looking like mirrors.

Since there's a layer of copper between the nickel and the steel, a solvent that removes copper fouling, if left on the gun long enough, will also dissolve the layer of copper between the nickel and the steel, and the nickel will come off in sheets. Even if the coating of nickel looks perfect, there are always microscopic cracks and voids that will allow the solvent to attack the copper beneath.

I use CLP on my nickel plated guns. I haven't tried mPro7, but if it claims to remove copper fouling, stay away.

My $0.02 worth, YRMV.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I always clean the guns, then wipe them off, and then a light coat of oil. This was in the days before I ever heard of CLP. Neither of my two nickle-plated revolvers have seen daylight since 1995.

BTW, I'm still using the original formula Hoppes. I bought a big bottle (probably 32 oz) way back in the late 1970s-early 1980s. For about 10 years thru the 1980s, I stopped shooting except for police qualifications.