Removing gold plating?

[RIKA]

I'm thinking about a little gunsmithing project. We have a S&W 44sp Triple Lock revolver thats factory nickel plated and in 90%+ condition. There is only one flaw - one of its past owners had the hammer and trigger GOLD plated. Ugh!

Does anybody know how an amateur can remove that gold plating? I was hoping that the layer was thin and have tried rubbing it off - no luck.

Any suggestions as to my options? Can't spend a lot of money so may just have to live with it.

Thanks

RIKA

[andy]

It will buff off fairly easily. Setting up a plating solution,in reverse, will "strip" the gold. I once buffed and sandblasted off the nickel plating of a Colt 1911 slide, and it took a lot of repetitions. The Nickel would look like the steel, until you tried to blue it.

[RIKA]

Thank you Andy. Would you tell me what you used to buff it off with? Coarse cloth, maybe.

RIKA

[andy]

140 gr Polish O Ray, from Brownell's, on the buffer.*******************

[RIKA]

Thank you Andy but you didn't have to call me a twit for me to know you love me. Those boys on the short bus told you to say that, didn't they?

I will send my personal servant out on the Lear Jet to Montezuma IA today to pick up a tube.

RIKA :)

[B.FRANKlin]

A Bernz-O-Matic torch should melt the gold off easily. Gold is soft & has a low melting point. Then maybe you can recycle the gold, too. Sanding or grinding will remove more than the gold and possibly ruin the parts. They don't have to be "red hot", just hot enough to melt the gold.

[anodes]

Drop the trigger into a petri dish of mercury. No buffing requiered.
anodes.

[neolithic hunter]

anodes what do you do when the mecury gets into the trigger metal makeing it brittle and toxic to touch?? :cool: just thought i'd ask.

[anodes]

nh, The goal is amalgamation of the gold plating not liquid metal embrittelment. There would not be sufficient toxic residue for concern. Luck.
anodes.