Cleaning a ?loaded? gun

[Stegner]

With the cold weather I've spent some time this weekend cleaning some of my finds with electrolysis. Last year I found what I thought was a toy gun, but after noting the heft of the handle realized its a late 1800's Stevens .22 pistol - handle is nickel and not corroded at all - the steel barrel is corroded and I was hoping to do some electrolysis.
1. Will the nickel in the item create any problems?
2. More importantly....look at the pics below - I think there's still a .22 shell in the chamber! What's the risk of doing electrolysis in this situation?
Thanks!

 

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[batmat1028]

Since no one has responded to your post, I will take a stab. From your pics, I would agree, it looks like there is a shell in the chamber. can you see if it has a primer strike on the edge? As to your other questions, you may want to look for a different method to clean it. I think the nickel plating may not hold up to the electrolysis. I think I have seen other posts where nickel plated items have pitted or had plating detach during this type of cleaning. As to the 22 shell, IN MY OPINION electrolysis should not cause you a problem. These shells are generally not static sensitive, and as long as you don't strike it firmly or apply lots of pressure (such as a pair of pliers) on the rim, you should be OK. From your pictures, keep in mind that if you did have a discharge, it will come out backwards (towards the breach) due to the barrel being as fowled as it appears. with that said, if it went off, you would probably have the back portion of the shell casing detach. To be ultra safe, if you do electrolysis, you might want to do it in the garage or safe area you might even have the breach facing a board, which would absorb the energy of the casing in a worst case scenario. Let us know how it works out!