Best protection for nickel finish?

[ptdunk]

Just received a very nice late Bugelspanner with 90% nickel finish intact.
Pics to follow...

Is a usual wipe over with gun oil ok to protect the Nickel?

Cheers,
Matt

[ccdjg]

Yes Matt, and even that's not really necessary unless the nickel layer has been broached in some way. Unlike blued steel, intact nickel plating is inert to any sort of atmospheric corrosion, and is even highly resistant to almost all strong acids and alkalis. The only way it can be damaged is by mechanical abrasion from the outside, or by corrosion from underneath. If the nickel plating process has not been done correctly, then the bond between the nickel layer and the steel will slowly break down and flaking will occur over time. This will accelerate and spread as moisture is increasingly able to access the steel surface underneath. It is at that point that a coating of oil or wax will help slow things down.

Ideally steel should be first copper plated, and then nickel plated on top of this, as this gives a much better bond. However, most vintage airguns were nickel plated straight onto the steel. Even so, in those instances where the surface had been prepared carefully and the plating process not rushed, excellent results could still be obtained, and you often come across more upmarket vintage guns with a near perfect nickel coating even after a hundred or so years.

John

[ptdunk]

Fantastic, thanks John.

That’s good news, it’s in really good condition considering it’s probably 90 years old.
Just a few very small areas of very old looking corrosion that reassure me that it isn’t a modern refinish.

Will get a few pics of it over the weekend.

Cheers,
Matt

[Josie & John]

Yes Matt, and even that's not really necessary unless the nickel layer has been broached in some way. Unlike blued steel, intact nickel plating is inert to any sort of atmospheric corrosion, and is even highly resistant to almost all strong acids and alkalis. The only way it can be damaged is by mechanical abrasion from the outside, or by corrosion from underneath. If the nickel plating process has not been done correctly, then the bond between the nickel layer and the steel will slowly break down and flaking will occur over time. This will accelerate and spread as moisture is increasingly able to access the steel surface underneath. It is at that point that a coating of oil or wax will help slow things down.

Ideally steel should be first copper plated, and then nickel plated on top of this, as this gives a much better bond. However, most vintage airguns were nickel plated straight onto the steel. Even so, in those instances where the surface had been prepared carefully and the plating process not rushed, excellent results could still be obtained, and you often come across more upmarket vintage guns with a near perfect nickel coating even after a hundred or so years.

John

Hi John (sorry for jumping in Matt!)

That is very informative and useful. Thank you.

Kind regards,

John

[Geezer]

Yes Matt, and even that's not really necessary unless the nickel layer has been broached in some way. Unlike blued steel, intact nickel plating is inert to any sort of atmospheric corrosion, and is even highly resistant to almost all strong acids and alkalis. The only way it can be damaged is by mechanical abrasion from the outside, or by corrosion from underneath. If the nickel plating process has not been done correctly, then the bond between the nickel layer and the steel will slowly break down and flaking will occur over time. This will accelerate and spread as moisture is increasingly able to access the steel surface underneath. It is at that point that a coating of oil or wax will help slow things down.

Ideally steel should be first copper plated, and then nickel plated on top of this, as this gives a much better bond. However, most vintage airguns were nickel plated straight onto the steel. Even so, in those instances where the surface had been prepared carefully and the plating process not rushed, excellent results could still be obtained, and you often come across more upmarket vintage guns with a near perfect nickel coating even after a hundred or so years.

John

And that is the excellence of nickel plating. It basically needs no maintenance.

If you don’t need a dark finish (military, hunting) it’s excellent.

Stainless is inferior, as it often gives galling problems. It’s 55 years since S&W introduced the first stainless gun, the model 60, and it’s conspicuous that basically no military or LE institution has significantly adopted stainless guns since then. In “tactical” weapons, the main use of stainless is as gas pistons in otherwise carbon steel guns.

[WebleyWombler]

In the days before chrome plating, nickel was the most popular finish for motorcycle and bicycle parts such as handlebars. Usual maintenance was just a wipe with a rag smeared with vaseline.