Can you give more information on removal of the nickle. I am in the same boat. Does the reverse hurt the gun underneath? In a previous thread in this wonderful forum, it was suggested that trying to restore the pistol is very expensive and may hurt the base metal underneath the nickle.
Check it out:
http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/dc8rayspimpgun.JPG
My Dad was a WW2 pilot (P47 in the 8th Air Force). When he passed on several years ago, I inhereated (sp) his small collection. A nickle Luger(plus one, not) and numerous firearms all nickled, such as a S&W 13, S&W 10, a couple of 1st gen SAA's, S&W 60 ss, 3 series 70's Colt 1911's, a nickle 3rd gen SAA, and a few more that I don't want to go into.
I guess a lot of the GI's, really seemed to like the nickle. I guess after dealing with the rust in Europe, the nickle seemed like a good idea.
http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/dc8rayspimpgun.JPG