A Friend of mine is a gunsmith and I've been after him to do some nckel plating. Well after 7 months he agreed that if I helped him I could do mine own gun that I've been working on. So I did. First I prepped all the edges and then I glassbeaded the entire gun inside and out. Next I polished the side of the slide, breech face and frame ramp with 400 grit paper. Washed the gun in parts cleaner,washed it off with running water and put it in a detergent soulution for 15 minutes. Next I rinsed it with water for 3 minutes and put it in some sort of etch until the metal started to smoke. At that point I rinsed it with distilled water and put it in the nickel solution that was heated to190-195 degrees for 45 minutes. He had a big glass beaker with a hot plate that had a magnetic spinner built in. After 45 minutes I removed the parts and rinsed in running water for 5 minutes.
Next time I think I'll send it to Tripp.
