Nickel is Yellow, Chrome is White

[@professorpewpuew]

I know its probably unpopular, I never really liked stainless or nickel guns I guess I am a blued steel guy.

[@RyeOnHam]

It is all a personal preference. I grew up during a time when stainless meant new and high tech. I appreciate all finishes. Prefer lightly polished blue, myself.

[@nonyabiz9487]

I like all gun finishes to include stainless parkerized anodized nickel chrome and blued however without a doubt all those finishes are more durable than blued.

[@doranmaxwell1755]

My favorites are Blue/color case. followed by Nickle... I now have the ability to Nickle plate at home. My black powder revolvers use.... well .. black powder. really really dirty and no matter how careful you will miss something and rust ensues. With nickel I get a historic finish that is relatively rust proof. Not a fan of stainless for looks. nickel is very nice. My Python in blue is gorgeous... so are my black powder guns now.... and.... the secret for either finish tho is polishing before hand. I think nickel needs even a better polish than blue... Also... bright nickel really really shows fingerprints. even so... two of my 'modern' guns that I will plate are my Colt government 1911 and my 60's vintage model 19 target Smith... I expect to spend MANY hours on polish.

[@Gieszkanne]

I think nickel and later stainless rather came up because of anti corrosion than looks.

[@linguisticman]

​@@GieszkanneThat's true, but I sure like the nickel plated revolvers, along with high polished steel.

[@nonyabiz9487]

Nickel can be very dull looking too on firearms. I had a few EAA Witness, Baby Eagle 380, and S&W j frame pistols that had the dull non shiny nickel. You can tell its nickel because it has a dull gray and copper look to it.

[@RyeOnHam]

Yes, depends on the surface prep. These guns are sandblasted before finishing. I though the EAA Witness was chrome plated. Also, my 642 is sandblasted and clear coated on the aluminum. Not aware of a dull factory S&W Nickel coating.

[@donventura3844]

Older electrolytic nickel finishes used a copper pre coating to get the smoothest finish which woild tend to lend the golden warm yellow color. I have an electroless bright refinished colt and it has a more whitish almost polished aluminum look

[@Mr10usdad]

Nickel almost looks like sterling silver. It has a warm look.

[@RyeOnHam]

It's somewhat subjective until you put them all next to each other. I've always seen Nickel as having a yellow hue.

[@chrishookins9780]

I know this is an old video and I really appreciated the info. Thinking of re nickle plating an old s&w 32 wcf. Its finish is in rough shape. I gotta ask if your rifle was 30 06? 4 yr suspense is killing me lol. Thanks

[@RyeOnHam]

LOL, nope. Short action, BTW. I would advise against refinishing any gun that old. You ruin the collectors value. I do plan on someday doing a video on the Ruger rifle, so it'll remain a mystery.

[@Rhyno1212]

Ok 36 is a guess on the Ruger. I was hoping to hear you explain what a " white finish"is?

[@christopheromiecinski1794]

Correction. Aluminum does rust, but the rust is white and actually forms an oxide layer somewhat like stainless. You are maybe seeing the coating cracked and dirt accumulating.

[@RyeOnHam]

Aluminum does not rust, but it does corrode. I have a certain set of skills in that area as well.

[@ExF1Guy]

My guess would be that the rifle is a Ruger Hawkeye compact laminate in 7mm-08. It's either that or .308, but seeing as you're having us guess, I doubt it would be .308.

[@RyeOnHam]

+ExF1Guy That's a negative on the type and caliber. It's a Ruger, yes.

[@ExF1Guy]

+RyeOnHam Sigh. I wanted some internet brownies.

[@RyeOnHam]

+ExF1Guy They are starting to get dry. figured somebody would have gotten them by now.

[@ExF1Guy]

+RyeOnHam Did you forget to put them in a .zip lock?

[@curly__3]

It is 375 ruger. Very interesting vid, thanks.

[@RyeOnHam]

Not a .375

[@joshuaembrey158]

My guess would be an M77 chambered in .357 Magnum. Great video!!

[@RyeOnHam]

+Joshua Embrey They make a 77/357, but this isn't one. What made you think .357?

[@joshuaembrey158]

+RyeOnHam Just a guess based on the bore size and that its not the most common rifle caliber. Great video by the way!!

[@z77deep75]

Those are beautiful Model 10s. How do you clean them?

[@RyeOnHam]

Same way I clean all of my guns. Break Free CLP on a rag.

[@peteroad3676]

8mm. Nice collection btw. I love those hammerless revolvers.

[@RyeOnHam]

Not 8mm, but good guess. I love hamerless revolvers as well. Very clean to draw from a pocket with nothing to catch on.

[@MrFarmcountry]

Real good comparison of finishes for all metal objects. Why is the factort nickel shinier? More refined plating techniques?

[@RyeOnHam]

Nickel plating is dependent on a lot of factors. There are different techniques to accomplish it and the base finish is important. The color doesn't change much, but the smoothness of the finish does. You can get mirror bright all the way down to a sandpaper finish based on what you start with and the technique you use. I've done some electroless plating for test purposes as the setup was straightforward. Did a few hammers and triggers for trigger jobs, but nothing big. Oh, and I had a few shotgun stock bolts and washers that I ran through before the chemicals went bad. I made a living buying beat-up 12-gauge pumps and turning them into Alaskan survival shotguns.

[@Jimmykid3]

@RyeOnHam have you done a video on your shotgun buisness? That sounds pretty interesting.

[@DMX-PAT]

Very helpful, thanks!!

[@GunCollector007]

good info!

[@jimd1968]

Question, I am having my 365XL bead blasted to remove the black nitride. The slide is stainless after bead blasting is the bare stainless going to be more prone for carosion because it was black nitride treated?! Should I go with a hard chrome treatment?

[@RyeOnHam]

There are no simple answers, however why do you want to remove the finish? The SIG 365XL has an excellent finish on it. Stainless is hard to coat, but you should be fine with just leaving it satin stainless. If you do anything, you might consider having a brushed finish on the sides of the slide, leaving the top bead blasted like Colt used to do with their 1911 slides. The long answer is that, while hard chrome is a great, long wearing finish, so is Nitride. Chrome has fallen out of favor as Stainless Steel alloys have improved. Were I to pick which finish I liked the best, it would be Titanium Carbonitride (TiCN) PVD first and foremost. It's a black coating that is almost as hard as the Titanium Nitride (TiN) which is gold in color. If you cannot get TiCN or TiN or cannot afford them, a good Ferritic Nitrocarburizing (Nitron, Melonite, etc.) is the next best thing. If it's just the silver color, go with the bare stainless.

[@musiccollection4471]

I’m late but don’t think anyone suggested it was a .22?

[@RyeOnHam]

Late, but nobody has guessed the caliber yet. Not a .22. Kinda funny, I get a guess every so often.

[@davidberry8498]

I'm guessing .338 RSM on the rifle cal.

[@RyeOnHam]

No, but good guess.

[@garylewis3641]

Good job with making this video, I just picked up a nickel model 19 and I've been wondering the best way to clean it after my first shooting, any suggestions?

[@RyeOnHam]

It depends on if you want it to look great, shoot great, or last a long time. For shooting great, I suggest cleaning the bore only then wiping down the outside of the gun. If the gun has had lead cast bullets through the bore, there may be buildup, especially in the forcing cone. Getting that buildup out is essential to good accuracy. There are many videos out there, but I would caution you NOT to take the gun apart unless something is broken. The number one wear factor on guns is unnecessary disassembly. For a solvent, I've used Break Free CLP for over 30 years. Nickel is hard and easy to wipe clean, so no worries there. If you have any rust or flaking, be careful in those areas, otherwise it's a pretty simple guy to keep clean. Make sure to leave some CLP in the bore, chambers, and on the exposed blued parts. Wipe the bore with a dry patch before you shoot.

[@garylewis3641]

@@RyeOnHam Thanks so much, sounds like a plan!

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

Any thoughts on the Walther PPQ (M2) 45 Auto? I'm not sure about getting into that caliber. 7.62 by 39 (OK, 7.62 would be the caliber)

[@RyeOnHam]

+SomeGuyInSandy The Walther PPQ is not one I have owned or handled extensively in either the original or M2 version. The trigger is said to be one of the best in the industry. Two things that prevent me from owning it are the high bore axis and the slanted profile of the slide. It makes it more difficult to grasp and pull back the slide. I am REALLY liking the VP9 with the grasping assist protrusions on the rear of the slide. They don't make it in .45... yet. The PPK is much more bulky in the slide than I like. Combine that with the fact that the Gen 4 Glock 21 fits my hand like a dream and points like it is an extension of my eyeball mean I'm going to be hard-pressed to suggest any other 45 caliber pistol in the near future. Discussing caliber, well, let's just say that people don't generally continue what they are doing after taking a 45 to the torso. The 9mm is good, but relies too much on velocity for my tastes. With the Federal HST, these things expand to gargantuan proportions and stop in the target dumping all their energy in the cavernous hole they make in the target. Follow-up shots are, however slower... so just don't miss. 7.62x39 is a useful cartridge. It represents a by-gone philosophy in cartridge design, though. For cheap plinking it is just fine, but I would rather a .24-26 caliber bullet, heavy for caliber, going 2700 FPS. A few such cartridges exist, but they aren't produced in sufficient quantity to be cheap. So the 6,5 Grendal or 6.8 SPC. Those are pretty expensive. 5.56 is the best modern intermediate caliber cartridge. With proper soft-points, it does a number on deer. Practice ammo is cheap. In the absence of the US Army adopting the 6.5 or 6.8, I would stick with 5.56.

[@SomeGuyInSandy]

+RyeOnHam Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I'll have to give the PPQ more time to impress me. The 7.62 was my guess on the caliber of the rifle you showed.

[@RyeOnHam]

***** Ah... lol. No, not 7.62x39. Thought you wanted my opinion on that caliber!

[@aw_bhatti_jatt_hoshiarpuria]

Which coating is long lasting for firearms ?

[@RyeOnHam]

A salt-bath nitride coating is the best, in my opinion. Glock uses this on their slides as do many others. That's a treatment more than a coating. For coatings, Titanium Nitride or Titanium Carbo-Nitride are the toughest. They use these coatings on machine tools like mills and drill bits. They are more expensive, but about the best if money is no object.

[@aw_bhatti_jatt_hoshiarpuria]

@@RyeOnHam Thank you so much. Respect from Pakistan 🤩

[@irondavy8356]

I think it is .243 But that just a WAG?

[@RyeOnHam]

+David Price Good guess, but I divested myself of all .243's years ago. Had too many calibers.

[@garyboyer8039]

350 legend?

[@RyeOnHam]

No, but close.

[@buffxr7]

EH....Ruger M77 MkII Frontier--------------.325 Winchester Short Magnum? I Think!

[@RyeOnHam]

I really thought this one was going to be easy. Nope, older caliber than that.

[@davidhodges758]

for grief sake, it's a 35 Whelan oh he'll forgot how to spell it......

[@RyeOnHam]

Pretty close, but they don't make that in a short-action... or do they?

[@NAHAAFB]

44 mag

[@RyeOnHam]

+NAHAAFB No, but good guess. Don't think they had a scout version of the 77/44. I would someday like a 77/44, but not anytime soon.

[@garyboyer8039]

Was my guess.

[@cammoscout1437]

Um 308

[@RyeOnHam]

Nope.

[@69goldtop14]

308

[@RyeOnHam]

Surprised nobody has guessed, but nope.