suggstions if any, for touching up nickel guns...

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
short of completely re-nickeling a gun, is there anything out there ( similar to cold blue for a blued gun ) that could touch up unsightly "bad spots" on the gun ???

I can honestly live with little spots & such, but if a gun has fairly large spots of dark rust color on the gun, I find that pretty unsightly... even if there was a good way to put the area "in the white" & keep it oiled would look better...I have tried scrubbies & steel wool on to expiriement on some others in not as good a shape, but I end up with working the edges of the nickel too much, I wondering if there is a chemical that will strip the rust to white, without damaging the nickel next to it, & if there is anything that can be applied to the exposed steel, to help it remain as white as possible, maybe even almost match the surounding nickel ??? I have several guns in otherwise "good" condition including this H&R 32, & a 4th model S&W, & a Iver Johnson factory 32 snubbie, that could all "benefit" from lightening a fairly large dark spot or two

as an example, I just bought this old 32 top break, the finish is in a pretty normal "good" condition the only objection I have to the finish, is the big spot on the right side of the barrel, pictured here...

any suggestions ???

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was looking at small spot bead blasters, & see Brownell's offers electroless nickel solutions & instructions... does / could the electroless nickel solution be used in a taped off area ??? anyone know how electroless nickel reacts to old non electroless nickel, if you were to butt them together ???

just an FYI, I'm not trying to repair the finish to resell the guns, just looking to diminsh the eye sore on guns I've determined I want to keep, & do not want to refinish

perhaps spot blasting the rust spot to white, & just oiling well...

or maybe even tactfull rattle can spotting :eek::o

anyone ever do electroless nickel, & try spot touch ups ???
 
Won't work.
Electroless nickel is usually a satin finish as normally applied, so it won't even come close to matching. You can't really mask off the entire gun except for the spots you want to coat either.

Hard fact, once nickel is damaged, there's no fix other than a total re-finish.
Probably, your best option is silver paint.

Back when I was still building models, there were products that were used to simulate the bright aluminum of aircraft panels.
You sprayed it on and let it dry, then polished it with a soft cloth.
While it didn't shine like nickel, it was shinier than ordinary silver paint.
Humbrol Metalcoat is one, Testor's Buffing Metalizer is another.

There's also "Alclad" lacquer aluminum model paints.

Check with Squadron Mail Order. They're a big model shop that carry everything:

http://www.squadron.com/
 
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I once got a good deal on two old topbreak S&W's ($25 each) that had been originally nickel but were in bad shape. I had the remaining nickel removed electrically, polished the guns myself and had them blued. They look very good. To top things off, one had the old grips cracked, so I fitted modern (wood, silver medallion) J-frame grips trimmed down. (Incredibly, the grips fit the frame perfectly with the hole for the pin in the right place!)

It looks like a modern .38 Safety Model, if there were such a thing.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46555&d=1241579444

Jim
 
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The electroless nickel is not intended for a spot refinish like that. One inexpensive way to improve the looks would be to dura coat or other firearm paint. That's what I did to this old nickle finish.

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thanks for the suggestions guys... I honestly don't know much about the electroless nickel process, & had hoped that it could be used for spot touch ups, even if that is not how it was intended to be used...if the process requires imersion for a period of time that could complicate things, add heat needed ???
 
if the process requires imersion for a period of time that could complicate things, add heat needed ???
Click to expand...

You heat a chemical mix to just below the boiling point and dip the part for about one hour. The part has to be clean, really clean, spotlessly clean. Any imperfections in the surface well show after the plating is complete. The plating builds up at about .001 per hour. Any place you do not want the plating you mask with lacquer.
 
The rust is part of the history of the gun. Just leave it alone and keep the gun oiled so it doesn't rust any more.
 
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