Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Removal of nickel plating from Civil War pistols

I inherited two colt 36 cal Civil War Pistols that have been nickel plated.

Is there any way to remove the plating?

Dave Jardine
Hobbyist - Barrie, Ontario, Canada
2007

Try slightly acidified nickel sulphate solution(5-10%,add few drops of sulfuric acid),you must connect your object to positive pole of car battery or transformer,to negative pole connect stainless steel plate.Hope it helps and good luck!

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
2007

You have several hundred dollars worth of pistols if they truly date from the Civil War and are in good condition. Do not risk the value by being cheap. Hire a professional gun restoration person. Note they will have to be blued or browned very soon after stripping or they will rust.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2007

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2007

For a collector, original finish, even if only a small area remains, is of prime importance. Removing the remaining nickel will dramatically reduce the value and re-plating will make them virtually worthless.
I would not touch them with any chemicals

Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England

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If they're Civil War, then they were not nickel plated when new. Someone has plated them within the past hundred years or so, so the value has been diminished by that plating.

A gunsmith who specializes in restoration can probably remove the nickel and re-"brown" them, which was probably the original finish. However they won't be worth as much as they would be if they'd just been left alone.

If they're just common, ordinary CW pistols, they're probably not worth spending much money on. However if they happen to have, say, "US Grant" or "WT Sherman" or "RE Lee" engraved on them, let me know; I'll give you a hundred bucks for them.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
2007

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February 1, 2008

I'm surprised nobody has posted this, but the original finish on all Colt pistols shipped to Union or State forces were blued. I don't believe any were browned, some were plated for presentation use.

Nickel plating is usually done on a copper base, any copper remover will remove the base and thus the nickel.

Wayne the Shrink

Wayne Smith
- Virginia Beach, Virginia