Metal Prep for Nickel Plating

cbxjeff

July 21, 2003 05:58

I have an old revolver that I would like to have electrolyis nickel plated. I would never touch something of real value - this one is simply a non-descript old gun. How do I remove (or at least minimize) scratches and light pitting? The piece isn't worth enough to have the entire job done by a professional. On the other hand I'm not looking for a finished product that looks brand new.

Thanks,

cbxjeffIt's too late for me, save yourself.

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  Delta514

  July 21, 2003 09:32

  There is a Gentleman in Florida that does an excellent job, you have to do nothing but ship it. He was at $125, but now $150. If you need his address -royalpalm3jf@aol.com- John has used this persons service a couple of times and is completely satisfied with the work. Jhon will give you the address. [:D]
  
  Ronnie G. Perkins

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  rhmc24

  July 22, 2003 05:54

  If you are going to nickel plate it yourself, you will have to get the surface down to bare metal. Being bare, what you see is what you will get when you plate it except for the color of nickel. All the pits and scratches will show. Which is to say to get it into a respectable condition you will have to remove all that using emery cloth and going to finer and finer wet and dry paper till you get something approaching a polished surface. That is, unless you have power buffing equipment.
  
  OTOH, if you are sending the job out, you probably need do nothing because almost any electroplating outfit will expect to do whatever prep and polish necessary to turn out a decent job.
  
  There is a home electroplate kit available at about $40 that can do a good job. I have plated several pistols with it.

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  cbxjeff

  July 22, 2003 15:19

  Thanks for the info guys. One other question - if the pistol is currently plated but the plate in poor condition, is the old nickel removed before it is refinished or do you plate over the previous finish?
  
  Thanks,
  
  cbxjeffIt's too late for me, save yourself.

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  rhmc24

  July 23, 2003 13:03

  Professional platers will usually remove the old plating, buffing it off. If you do it yourself you can try to plate over the original and it might come out OK. I have done a few 'tune ups' replating worn areas. Usually not a perfect match but can look pretty good. Brownell's sells a kit of chemicals for removing nickel plate for about $40 that works fine. If you are doing the job yourself and the gun is worth spending that money on you might try the 'tune up' and if it doesn't work out, strip it, re-polish and replate it.

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  cbxjeff

  July 24, 2003 05:49

  Thanks for the info guys. Maybe this won't be as expensive as I thought. If I remove the original plate myself and use some 000 steel wool, will I damage the engraving? This is the first piece I have owned with engraving and don't have a feel for how deep it is.
  
  cbxjeffIt's too late for me, save yourself.

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