TRIGGER RESTORATION/PLATING
 

A little about this plating story. At Christmas 1968 I graduated as a fourteen year old from a single barrel to a double barrel, coming from a double gun family (one per person). My uncle talked my dad into a 20 gauge from me, even though he was a 16 gauge man. The inexpensive Spanish double (not to my dad) was my gift. I never shot it well. It was supposed to be IC/Mod. But I learned only a few years back that it was cylinder and light modified. Being slow on the draw as a youngster, I never killed many quail with it. I now know why.

But knowing now that these are the very ideal chokes for rabbits, I took it the other day. One shot with the cylinder barrel at fifteen yards, one rabbit. I felt sorry for the old gun, looking at its missing bluing and rust on the barrels and trigger guard, so yesterday I put new rust bluing on the barrels that look better than the factory ever did, niter blued the trigger guard and screws, and was hung up on one issue, the worn to steel gold triggers!

I had purchased a gold, nickel, brass, copper, silver plating set from Texas Platers Supply (can’t find them now) in 2011. I had redone a pair of Parker triggers in nickel, and put the kit away. I have never seen anything on this site about plating triggers at home. I had called a rude silver plating company locally about redoing some DH triggers for me, but the word gun brought out a reply that they did not do gun parts.

Anyway, I got the gold plating kit out and in a matter of minutes I now have gold plated triggers again. I used a low voltage transformer for my power source. See the photo, left finished, right prepped. How long it lasts I don’t know, but they are definitely gold again. The poor forgotten Spanish double is now back in action for future seasons, better than ever.

So I believe that it would be easy to do the nickel or silver plated triggers on any DH gun using the same process, or if for some reason you wanted gold triggers on your gun it is fairly easy and inexpensive.

good to know..bet you could do this on car parts also...charlie

A good at home DIY solution.

There is an outfit in MA that has no issue with doing plating work on gun parts. And their pricing is very reasonable.

Brian, Is that Bass Plating in Holyoke?

...or Newburyport?





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No. Reliable plating in Chartley.

Caswell Plating in Lyons, NY supplies plating kits for home use. Various metals are available.

One of my other hobbies, active since 1964, was Amateur radio. Much of a ham's equipment was home built, and the 'tank' components in an amplifier are silver plated.
All industrial NDT labs that perform radiography (X-ray) develop their own film.
The spent developer contains a lot of silver, from the silver nitrate coating of the film. They always recycle it to reclaim the silver, but if you ask nicely, they likely will give you a few gallons.
A glass, or ceramic tank, a battery charger, and you get very nicely silver plated parts. The longer it's in the solution, the heavier the plated thickness.

Over the years I've looked at several Parkers with tarnished silver crest plates but when I look at the triggers there is no sign of tarnishing not even on the backside. The worn triggers I have examined display the plating peeling off like nickel does while silver tends to wear away like gold plate or a painted surface on an automobile. I think that Parker plated the triggers of appropriate grades with nickel, not to save money but because it is much more durable than silver. HO train transformers make a very good power source because they have a very fine adjustment throughout the power range for plating.

Crest plate?
 

Fascinating stuff to us desk jockeys.

Sometimes I think this site should be called "Lessons in life; 101".

Notice how I put a question mark behind the title. I don't have the muster to ask the question but I think you're talking about the shield in the bottom of the stock?:eek: