Nickel plating weld?

[rep1954]

If you have done work on a gun that that has included welding and you want to nickel plate it does color match of the steel become a concern? Color match meaning that the hardness of the welded area does not match the hardness of the steel around it and when you polish the final worked on area you can see the difference of the original steel and the weld that was added to it as well as the aera of the steel affected by the heat od the weld. I've corrected for color match before but have never plated over a welded area before.

[dfariswheel]

Color match can be a problem with bluing or parkerizing, but most plated finishes just cover everything up and you can't see a color change.

[rhmc24]

Electroplating adds a thin coating of nickel, for example, on the steel base. The color itself of the steel will not show when plated, however if your perceived color difference is a difference in polish of the surface, it MAY show after plating.

Re welding, I have tig welded several times in my re-work of Colt 1902 and 1905 autos. On the first one I could see a difference in the welded places because I knew where it was but nobody else saw it. Later, and now, I heat the welded area red before final polishing which makes it invisible. This may or not hold with other kinds of weld and/or other blues.

[peacemaker]

...however if your perceived color difference is a difference in polish of the surface, it may show after plating.

A decent plate of good nickel should be self-leveling.