Nickel plate holster damage?

R

rmocarsky

New member
Gunners:

Can the nickel plating on a handgun be damaged by daily holstering/reholstering any more than blueing?

Rmocarsky
 
Related question: if you have a blued gun cleaned with Hoppe's and use it in the same holster as a nickel gun, can the Hoppe's that gets into the holster take off the nickel finish?
 
The answer to both questions is "no."
Nickel plating is much more durable than bluing, but it will still wear-just not as quickly.
Any solvent used to clean a gun should be thoroughly removed before putting the gun in a holster. Regardless, there should be no problem.
 
Just like the quality and durability of a "blued" finish varies from mfg to mfg...and has varied over time / the same is true of "Nickel" finishes in my opinion....

But I find ( on my older S&W revolvers as an example ) that I have way less holster wear on my Nickel guns than I do on any of my blued guns --- S&W model 19's, 27's and 29's where I have both blued and nickel versions of the same gun / and I use them in and out of the same holster ( Kramer horsehide leather) - and thru the years, I've probably shot the nickel versions a lot more than the blued versions / so way more in and out of the holster on the Nickel guns.
 
There is only one proven way to prevent finish wear on a firearm. Leave it in the box and never take it out. That is why very rare and unique firearms are kept in display cases. Not being snarky, there is just no way to prevent a firearms finish from wearing if it is used.
 
The modern formulation of Hoppe's will not strip nickel unless you absolutely soak the gun in the stuff and then wait a LONG time.

IMHO you should not worry about trace amount of Hoppe's that may have been absorbed in a holster.
 
Oh ya? That's good to know.


My nickle gun has a few polished shiney areas from many holsterings and drawings from a plastic fobus holster. No damage yet tho.
 
Old-style nickel plating, which was adhered to a layer of copper plate, was a lot more suceptible to this, especially if the solvent in question could remove copper fouling.

Modern electroless nickel plating dispenses with the need for a copper layer, so it is a LOT more durable from that standpoint.
 
I know a guy who stripped the nickel off his benelli auto shotgun action with hoppe's. I also saw a ruined enickel python that had some hoppe's slopped on it at one time.
 
Nickel is difficult to strip with a real, dedicated nickel stripper. I can't see Hoppe's doing it. Most manufacturers did not use a copper undercoat on their nickeled pistols. It is not necessary. A copper underplate is usually done in "bumper chrome" plating shops.
 
As I said, Bill, old style, as in 100 or so years ago.

It was apparently done that way because it was faster and easier to plate the steel with copper, and then the copper with nickel.

As the technology progressed, copper underplating was slowly dropped.

That said, solvents, including Hoppes, have been known to attack nickel plating for decades.

It is not, however, a quick process, nor will it strip an entire gun quickly and surely.
 
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