I read not to oil it. Do you just wipe it with a silicone cloth. Or is it best to just wipe the nickle off with a clean cloth? Thanks

A very clean cloth as nickel "spider webs" easily. (tiny scratches) And do not leave most bore cleaners on it, as it attacks nickel, or so Ive heard.

ask your local Pimp.



Sorry but it had to be said.

Aw c'mon, Storm, to me, nothing is more pleasing to the eye(gunwise)as a nickeled K or N frame Smith...ask any ho.

Well, the main reason to oil the exterior is to prevent rust.  Nickel won't rust so you don't need to oil it.  Feel free to wax it if you just have to have some kind of finish on it.  I've used Johnson's paste wax with great results.

You should avoid exposing the nickel to copper solvents of any sort, as many nickel plated finishes are laid down over a copper base.  This means ammonia especially.  Even Hoppe's #9 has been known to damage nickel finishes.

Nickel finishes are somewhat softer than bluing, so they will scratch a bit easier.  You can usually polish out any discoloration with Flitz or some other very fine metal abrasive paste.  

I had the pleasure of walking one of my guns through the nickel process, the copper plated gun looked cool the way it was, like a new penny. I knew it would have tarnished so we finished it up. (Ruger MKI) Back then all there was were blue ones. Then had another one hard chromed, which also turned out nice.