Need Custom Nickle Plating Help

WeaponX · January 11, 2010, 11:07 PM

A friend of mine works with a company that does nickle plating and machining. He nickle plated his Mossberg 500 in his spare time and it turned out amazing. I have a Ruger Blackhawk that is missing a decent amount of the original blued finish and am tossing around the idea of having him nickle plate it for me.

My question to anyone is will the .0004in increase in thickness on the metal have a negative impact on the function of the gun? Will the coating along the grooves of the rifling caused paroblems with function? Accuracy? Something I'm not thinking of? I know it's possible to send the gun away to a professional for a nickle finish, but would they coat the rifling too? And I don't have much money invested in the pistol and don't want to spend more to refinish it than I paid for it. Any and all help and advise is appreciated.

Jim Watson · January 11, 2010, 11:24 PM

FIREARMS platers don't plate the bores. Not since the old Marker Machne Company closed down, anyhow.
That is best left to the factory on military weapons.

I don't think the buildup would affect the operation of a Ruger. But then I never saw a nickel plated Ruger.

WeaponX · January 11, 2010, 11:38 PM

Thanks. I believe the process my friend used at work is similar to a dip tank. Short of completely sealing off the barrel on both ends, I don't think I can avoid plating the entire frame and barrel to include the inside as well as the cylinder, inside and out.

Dfariswheel · January 12, 2010, 07:58 PM

Note that firearms plating is entirely different than most other types of plating operations.
Special things have to be take into consideration, including parts fit and plugging the bore.
Firearms platers know all this and take it into account during processing.
A pistol will have a much tighter fit of parts and improper plating may leave you with a gun that you can't reassemble.

Also, plating a Ruger with the firing pin assembly in place may seriously damage the spring and require factory replacement.

There are several firearms platers like Armoloy who will plate the inside of barrels and chambers, but they only do it with hard chrome, not bright nickel.

Also note, that if your friend does your Ruger, he'll almost certainly be violating Federal law by engaging in gunsmithing work without a Federal license. He may not know this and he could not only get in trouble with the Feds, he'd very likely loose his job if there's any trouble.

January 11, 2010, 11:07 PM	#1
WeaponX Member Join Date: April 15, 2005 Posts: 31	Need Custom Nickle Plating Help A friend of mine works with a company that does nickle plating and machining. He nickle plated his Mossberg 500 in his spare time and it turned out amazing. I have a Ruger Blackhawk that is missing a decent amount of the original blued finish and am tossing around the idea of having him nickle plate it for me. My question to anyone is will the .0004in increase in thickness on the metal have a negative impact on the function of the gun? Will the coating along the grooves of the rifling caused paroblems with function? Accuracy? Something I'm not thinking of? I know it's possible to send the gun away to a professional for a nickle finish, but would they coat the rifling too? And I don't have much money invested in the pistol and don't want to spend more to refinish it than I paid for it. Any and all help and advise is appreciated.

January 11, 2010, 11:24 PM	#2
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,543	FIREARMS platers don't plate the bores. Not since the old Marker Machne Company closed down, anyhow. That is best left to the factory on military weapons. I don't think the buildup would affect the operation of a Ruger. But then I never saw a nickel plated Ruger.

January 11, 2010, 11:38 PM	#3
WeaponX Member Join Date: April 15, 2005 Posts: 31	Thanks. I believe the process my friend used at work is similar to a dip tank. Short of completely sealing off the barrel on both ends, I don't think I can avoid plating the entire frame and barrel to include the inside as well as the cylinder, inside and out.

January 12, 2010, 07:58 PM	#4
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	Note that firearms plating is entirely different than most other types of plating operations. Special things have to be take into consideration, including parts fit and plugging the bore. Firearms platers know all this and take it into account during processing. A pistol will have a much tighter fit of parts and improper plating may leave you with a gun that you can't reassemble. Also, plating a Ruger with the firing pin assembly in place may seriously damage the spring and require factory replacement. There are several firearms platers like Armoloy who will plate the inside of barrels and chambers, but they only do it with hard chrome, not bright nickel. Also note, that if your friend does your Ruger, he'll almost certainly be violating Federal law by engaging in gunsmithing work without a Federal license. He may not know this and he could not only get in trouble with the Feds, he'd very likely loose his job if there's any trouble.