The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Perhaps I should rethink.
And try Cerakote instead

The factory letters are still $100+ so it didn't feel worth it to find out any more about them as I've no intent to sell them. The Thunderer was made in 1900 and I don't know if it started off shiny or if someone did it later. Likewise whether the grips are ivory or horn is unknown. I would have actually preferred the hard black rubber grips on it both for aesthetic reasons for the contrast with the silver and also so that if I should ever retire to a more firearm friendly country I won't have to worry about import restrictions on ivory.

Beware Ni plating can result in hydrogen embrittlement - heat treatment can remove that but it may slightly change the temper of the metal too. For old guns that may have surface etching, scratching etc those can be sites where the metal takes up hydrogen & then become brittle, so act as stress raising sites & under the right conditions (maybe darned cold day + hot load) fatigue can occur, one day it might give.

The normal practice for high strength parts is a flash electro plating layer, then an electroless plate. The flash acts as a barrier & prevents ingress of hydrogen from various solutions. To remove the hydrogen bake 220C for x hrs where X is related to the strength of the metal. You can estimate the strength of the metal with a hardness check - For pressure bearing parts take a little care, find the hardness of the metal, maybe ask a manufacturer or forum the tensile strength if above ~1500 MPa & 40 Rockwell the bake 20hrs@220C - for non pressure bearing bake it 220C for 8hrs minimum.