Electroless Nickel on Derringer not even

[rx9790]

I plated an old derrringer after removing the old blueing and properly prepping the metal. This was a practice piece for my first try. The double barrel, lock and hammer came out pretty nice and shiny and polished even better. However the frame/receiver came out with a dull matte finish but was even. I prepped both the same and they were dipped together. I redipped the frame for a second time for another 30 minutes and didnt really change. I wasnt able to polish it out either. Barrels I am sure are steel and the frame should be steel but i dont know what it is for sure. Any tips or procedures to follow to redo the frame? Can you apply nickel over nickel? I have the small 1 gallon kit.

http://home.swbell.net/mortmit/Derringer_plated__2_.JPG

[tbreaden]

It looks to me that the frame was not polished enough before plating.

[rx9790]

I polished them both the same as far as i can tell. Would a different metal cause this? What kind of metal might a derringer frame be made of?

[CarWiz]

It might be stainless steel.
The first rule of plating is to know your base metal.

I also hope you plugged the barrels before plating.

[rx9790]

How would I know the base metal? It feels real light unlike the barrels. no, I did not plug the barrels as this gun doesnt fire anyway, was a test piece. Does stainless not take a shine?

[CarWiz]

Originally Posted by rx9790

How would I know the base metal?

You learn as part of the job of plating. Certain metallic compounds don't take kindly to the chemicals used in plating. Some cannot be plated. As part of plating, you'll need to be able to tell or test for various metal bases. I'm pretty sure most know the difference between lead and aluminum but some metals get harder to distinguish. Weight, color, appearance, magnetism and reactions to acids are a few tests. You'll need to learn these to do plating.

Judging by your comment, the frame could have been die cast too. Like stainless steel, die cast needs special pretreatment before plating.