Quote Originally Posted by Graemevw View Post
I know nothing of how air pistols specifically were nickel plated, but nickel doesn't NEED a copper layer unless it's designed to live outdoors. The copper gives it more corrosion resistance, can fill imperfections, and is easier to polish than steel, but it also gives a soft layer that can damage easier.
Not all copper plating types can go direct onto steel either. Some need a nickel strike plate first. If it was done that way, and the base nickel peeled, you wouldn't see any copper traces.

As I say, I know nothing of how vintage air pistols were plated but lack of copper layer wouldnt imediately strike me as odd.
The only reason I put a copper layer on my motorcycles plating was due to it getting used outdoors in rain etc and put away wet. For something steel, that lived indoors, and didn't need the same finish perfection as a rolls Royce grill or to last 30 years, I probably wouldn't bother with a copper layer.

I only mention this as I have a bit of a hankering to do some kind of nickel plated pistol and I had already been considering if I would do a copper layer or not. I came to the conclusion that it would probably look better if I didn't.
Just need to decide what pistol to do.

I'm assuming you have a fair bit of experience of vintage nickel plated guns? At least way more than my complete zero experience. Do they normally have a copper layer?
I

It's always nice to learn about all aspects of air gun production from knowledgeable people who have hands on experience of the processes involved. I'm aware of some Webley air pistols being supplied with a plated finish to special order and a small batch of Phoenix Hy Score pistols aftermarket plated by a distributor, but doubt that the Tell would have had this option during its production period. It is a low Ser No and recall a thread about the Ser No range but can't recall the lowest and highest Ser Nos recorded.

Brian