nickel gun refinishing

sed6 · 01-13-2005, 09:44 PM

All-
My circa 1997 Kahr K40 in Nickel is beginning to show it's age. There are a few small spots the finish is gone and the rest has taken on the typical yellow/gold hue. I'm considering having it bead blasted, is this a good choice?

What's under the Nickel finish? That is to say, is it plain untreated metal, stainless, something else, and if the finish is bead blasted will that leave the exposed metal open to rust or oxidation? Is some type of treatment needed after bead blasting to prevent such?

I'm ultimately looking for a nice silvery satin finish on the gun, are there other options you could suggest?

Thanks for any opinions.

Chris Peters · 01-18-2005, 08:54 AM

There is probably nothing under the nickel finish. If there is something it might be a copper plate base. Most of the time Colt was one of the only gun man. that applied a copper base before nickel. It could be difficult to 'blast' off the nickel. It should be chemically stripped to completely remove all nickel plating and not to remove any metal in the process.

You can have the nickel stripped off and put a host of finishes on the weapon. Hard chrome, blue, parkerizing, or one of the polymer finishes on it. I hope this helps.

01-13-2005, 09:44 PM	#1
sed6 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 2	Refinish Options for Nickel Gun? All- My circa 1997 Kahr K40 in Nickel is beginning to show it's age. There are a few small spots the finish is gone and the rest has taken on the typical yellow/gold hue. I'm considering having it bead blasted, is this a good choice? What's under the Nickel finish? That is to say, is it plain untreated metal, stainless, something else, and if the finish is bead blasted will that leave the exposed metal open to rust or oxidation? Is some type of treatment needed after bead blasting to prevent such? I'm ultimately looking for a nice silvery satin finish on the gun, are there other options you could suggest? Thanks for any opinions.

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01-18-2005, 08:54 AM	#2
Chris Peters Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Berryville, Arkansas (the 1911 capital) Posts: 131	There is probably nothing under the nickel finish. If there is something it might be a copper plate base. Most of the time Colt was one of the only gun man. that applied a copper base before nickel. It could be difficult to 'blast' off the nickel. It should be chemically stripped to completely remove all nickel plating and not to remove any metal in the process. You can have the nickel stripped off and put a host of finishes on the weapon. Hard chrome, blue, parkerizing, or one of the polymer finishes on it. I hope this helps.