Colt SAA Nickel Care

olopokram

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Hey everyone,

I recently acquired a 2nd generation Colt SAA to my collection. It is my first nickel finish gun and want to make sure it's very well cared for. I've always used G96 on all my blued and stainless guns and they all look like new. Does the same care apply to nickel finish as it does to blued? Thanks in advance for your input!
 
Just don't use any harsh cleaners that attack copper. I'm not that familiar with G96 but I would use something like CLP, Frog lube, Eezox, etc. Definitely stay away from Hoppe's #9. Rennaissance or Conservtors wax will keep it looking nice.
 
The G96 is a regular CLP type gun oil. It'll be fine for any of your usual cleaning and lubricating.

If the nickel is scuffed dull overall with micro scratches you can use something like Flitz polish to restore the shine. But be aware that Flitz or other superfine polishes of this sort are abrasive. The abrasives are super fine ones but they still restore the shine by removing some of the metal around the little micro scratches and blending things to a smoother surface. So when needed to restore the shine it is fine. Just don't use it for regular cleaning.

Wax on the nickel isn't a bad option for long term. But if you'll be shooting the gun on a reasonably regular basis the wax will simply be dissolved by the cleaner you use. In light of that and the need to fully remove any oil before waxing you'll likely find that it's far easier to simply clean, dry then oil the gun similarly to a blued gun. But with the nickel go ahead and rub the excess oil away with a non abrasive and lint free rag. Nickel plating is somewhat pourous so it'll hold enough oil even after a fairly aggresive wipe down.

Note that paper towels are quite abrasive. Once you get the nickel shined up it's worth buying a pack of the microfiber rags sold in automotive sections and ONLY use those for cleaning and wiping down the nickel.

When you wash these rags be sure to use a liquid detergent. Powdered detergents tend to leave a fine grit in the cloth which never completly rinses away.

There's nothing new about this last part with the rags. It's the same consideration given to using the chamois cloths used by car and motorcycle fans that care about the finest possible finish on THEIR toys.
 
The G96 is a regular CLP type gun oil. It'll be fine for any of your usual cleaning and lubricating.

If the nickel is scuffed dull overall with micro scratches you can use something like Flitz polish to restore the shine. But be aware that Flitz or other superfine polishes of this sort are abrasive. The abrasives are super fine ones but they still restore the shine by removing some of the metal around the little micro scratches and blending things to a smoother surface. So when needed to restore the shine it is fine. Just don't use it for regular cleaning.

Wax on the nickel isn't a bad option for long term. But if you'll be shooting the gun on a reasonably regular basis the wax will simply be dissolved by the cleaner you use. In light of that and the need to fully remove any oil before waxing you'll likely find that it's far easier to simply clean, dry then oil the gun similarly to a blued gun. But with the nickel go ahead and rub the excess oil away with a non abrasive and lint free rag. Nickel plating is somewhat pourous so it'll hold enough oil even after a fairly aggresive wipe down.

Note that paper towels are quite abrasive. Once you get the nickel shined up it's worth buying a pack of the microfiber rags sold in automotive sections and ONLY use those for cleaning and wiping down the nickel.

When you wash these rags be sure to use a liquid detergent. Powdered detergents tend to leave a fine grit in the cloth which never completly rinses away.

There's nothing new about this last part with the rags. It's the same consideration given to using the chamois cloths used by car and motorcycle fans that care about the finest possible finish on THEIR toys.

That's great info, thanks! The gun is brand new in box and I plan on keeping it that way! :)
 
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