Cleaning the Cylinder Face on Nickel Revolvers

["DoubleAction"]

Who did their homework?

[9mm]

OK, I don't have a nickel revolver, but for those of us squeamish about prints or blemishes on our metal enlighten us please.

["DoubleAction"]

Until recently, this wasn't much of a problem for me to be concerned with; Then one day on the forum, TA came in asking about this on his nickel Python. We searched through Brownell's for something which would have no abrasive propertes, while effectively removing the fouling on the cylinder face of the nickel plating. TA was told by the tech staff at brownell's to live with the blackened charge holes. I stood pat on that, and held back on offering any solutions until I ran upon a hands-on solution for myself. Last month I acquired a Factory Nickel Plated S&W 29-2, which was previously owned, featuring the blackened cylinder face, which the previous owner left as was. I am glad that the previous owner left the gun as it was, because some might use abrasive methods of removing the fouling which would result in damage to the nickel finish. I asked the counter guys, at the range where I bought it, what they did to clean the nickel, one spoke up, recommending the Kleen Bore "Lead Away" Gun Cleaning Cloth. I purchased one of the cloths, took the gun home, and after taking siome photos, began taking it down to clean. I cut off a small patch of the Lead Away cloth and worked a small area on the cylinder face for a few seconds; I then took a oil cloth to wipe the area off.I continued to wipe with the Lead Away for a few seconds, and continued to follow through with the oil cloth. I did this several times, while noticing the chared black around the rings beginning to dissolve with each light application of the Lead Away. I worked very slow, applying almost no pressure with the cloths, allowing the charing to dissolve. In no time at all the cylinder face looked as it would on a new unfired gun. When I went back to the range I bought three more Lead Away Cloths, and two other customers purchased the remaining stock, after hearing me tell one of the counter guys about my nickel. I have since used the cloths to speed up the cleaning process of several stainless revolvers.

[KrustyBurger]

Yep, and do NOT use Hoppes or any fluid with ammonia in it on nickel guns. It attacks the bond of the nickel plating with the thin copper layer underneath. I use Outer's bore solvent spray & cloth to remove that greasy Lead Away residue.

[tddude]

uuuhhhh Krusty??

Whats up with not using Hoppes on nickel? I've been using it on my nickel weapons since before my dad would let me shoot by myself. (Quite a while)

All the nickel is still in place. Is it due to new plating tecniques or am I missing something?

[KrustyBurger]

On mirror nickel guns the bare metal is first coated with a thin layer of copper for the nickel to bond to when it's plated. Ammonia based solvents attack that bond which will eventually allow the nickel to wear thin. It doesn't flake off like big paint chips. I'm not sure if this applies to electroless dull nickel plated guns - a different process. On my shiny old Colt Cobra, the previous owner used Hoppes plus a bore brush. When I look closely at edge areas like the front cylinder hole insides, I can see a slight but noticeable copper-color tinge where the thin nickel has worn from cleaning and use. It might take awhile to see wear - & may depend on how often & vigorously it's been cleaned. Take a bright Xenon mini light and examine edges - you may detect copper tinge in spots. It's a bit hard to detect unless you know what you're looking for. To preserve my Cobra's plating, I switched to non-ammonia and haven't noticed an increase in cumulative wear. Hoppe's own label says:" do not soak nickel plated firearms in No. 9. Wipe nickel surfaces dry after cleaning." Yeah, d'ya think? I still use Hoppes for other guns.

["DoubleAction"]

Well broght up information Krusty; The ammonia solvents are very strong, and are not recommeneded for chrome lined bores either. With nickel plated semi-autos, the barrel is easily removed for cleaning but the revolvers are another story for us who are new to them. I use the ammonia cleaners on the semi-auto barrels but I'm quite touchy about the revolvers. Thanks for the valuable advice.

[KrustyBurger]

My pleasure DA, there's nothing quite like the look of a nice shiny revolver. Many such as Pythons are almost too nice to dirty up by shooting them, lol. For some reason, mirrored semiautos seem to look pimp cheap, but not wheelguns.

[tddude]

Well snap my caps.

I'll check those areas you suggested on my Colt and never use hoppes on it again.

The saving grace for this gun is that it doesn't get fired much.

For some reason my dad nicked his M1 Carbine back in the early 60's and I do shoot that dude quite a bit. I know that the bore is still shiny but I definately will lay off the Hoppes.

Your are right about semi's looking like pimp guns if they are nickled and it does cheapen the look of a lot of revolvers but for some reason, the Python still looks good with a shiny face.

["DoubleAction"]

On some handguns, the Nickel is not only appealing, but serves to ward off rust and provides lubricity properties between moving parts. Some semi-autos I have are in the Satin Electroless Nickel, but these three are different.