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Nickel polish?

5K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  Bill DeShivs 
#1 · (Edited)
I was wondering if anyone has used or would recommend this premium turtle wax, chrome and metal polish for use on Nickel finished revolvers?

http://www.turtlewax.com/main.taf?p=2,1,4,29

I picked some up yesterday and even tried a bit in a small area on the frame/handle under the grips of the revolver, and very lightly applied some and lightly rubbed off and it seemed to to ok. I also called the cutomer support and told them what I was wanting to use it for and asked about how
abrasive it was and they told me try some very lightly and it would work well on Nickel....any thoughts would be appreciated.
EDIT: It says on the label, it is safe for all metal surfaces, including chrome, billet, aluminum, brass, copper and stainless steel.
 
#2 ·
Of course it says it's safe. No one would buy it if they didn't.
Polishing nickel is an iffy proposition. It can be safely done once or twice, maybe a few more times. Then you polish through the plating to bare steel.
The default polish for nickel plate is Simichrome.
 
#3 ·
Of course it says it's safe. No one would buy it if they didn't.
Polishing nickel is an iffy proposition. It can be safely done once or twice, maybe a few more times. Then you polish through the plating to bare steel.
The default polish for nickel plate is Simichrome.
I sure appreciate knowing that! Going to get some soon!
Thank you.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I used Flitz paste and Metal Glo paste polishes on several hundred Nickel plated guns. As Bill said - if you're too aggressive or the plating is already fairly thin - you'll be down to substrate pdq. What I've done on all those nickel plated pieces, after polishing (with what ever you decide works best for you) is coat them with spray silicone applied with a cotton swab or "Q-tip" to work the silicone into all the crevases. Let dry at least over night and polish with a very soft flannel cloth - you'll be polishing the silicone layer and it will shine up nicely. I've found, on some pieces with a lot of plating loss - several applications of the silicone adds some depth to the finish protectant. I've been using this technique for over 14 years and those done at the beginning look as good today as back then - and no surface corrosion - same for blued guns - it works. Some pieces preserved this way are close to 140 years old.

edit: I've heard a lot about the Simichrome - guess I'll have to give it a try. Is it a paste type or liquid?
 
#8 ·
Nickel is fairly soft and an abrasive can scratch it or cut through it pretty quickly. Further nickel was always expensive and some makers used only a very thin plating.

Both the above comments also apply to silver and gold plating, also.

One other note on nickel. Using normal electroplating, nickel will not bond to iron or steel. So gun makers first plated the guns with copper and then nickel plated them. Ammonia cleaners won't affect the nickel, but if there are any cracks or openings that will allow the ammonia to get to the copper, it will dissolve the copper, leaving the nickel with no support and it will peel off.

Jim
 
#9 ·
I use neverdull wadding it smells like kerosene and looks like cotton wadding. Does not scratch or thin.
 
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