[pklin]

Hello all, I'm new here but getting excited to try my hand at electroless nickel plating on my handguns.

My newest project would be to refinish a Sig Sauer handgun in EN so I have a question regarding the aluminum alloy frames on these handguns... According to threads I've read and also the Caswell website, zincate is necessary on aluminum prior to EN, but I've also read that Zinc can contaminate an EN bath and turn out bad results. So what do I need to do to prep the aluminum frame for EN plating?

Also, I will need to remove the bluing on the slide prior to plating and I have thought about bead blasting but may take an easier/cheaper way out by using Naval Jelly... Would this harm the base metal? Has anyone used this to remove bluing on firearms?

Thanks everyone.