Nickel polishing - Flitz, Maas, plain ole 0000, other?

[VictrolaGuy - Walt]

Yes, kind of like my vintage nickel bathroom faucets! I spent hours trying to shine them up, but they're a lost cause...

If the nickel on your phonograph parts or your faucets is just basically dull <hint hint> the nickel is still there. And if the nickel is STILL there . . . Eric mentioned that there is no way to make it bright again. Perhaps not using a hand technique, but I do it all the time with a cotton buffing wheel and relatively fine polishing compounds like jeweler's rouge. The blackish specks won't completely go away if they are present (they are formed because of ferrous metal content in the nickel plate and they actually leave pits as the metal oxidizes) but with care, dull nickel plating is actually quite easy to polish to a bright shine. (I have some nickel plated fixtures in my bathrooms that are from the 1920s. It was a bit of work to get 80 years worth of mineral deposits off of them from hard well water, but once I did, they polish up like new - well, almost - sorta).

As for using steel wool to try to make dull nickel bright again? I caution against it because the steel wool has no lubricant and even though it is very fine (#0000) steel is very hard and the risk of scratching, even if at very low levels, is significant. Wear is wear is wear, so minimize it. Nevr-Dull works well because it is a clump of natural cotton in a solvent that also acts as a lubricant. Like Eric said, it takes some elbow grease, but it is pretty safe to use. The cotton in Nevr-Dull is actually pretty coarse but because it is so soft it is not capable of polishing out the dull oxidize that makes nickel look bland. I often use rottenstone and liquid paraffin on a soft cotton rag. Even that won't get rid of very dull nickel. But a buffing wheel and some jeweler's rouge is like magic. Hey, you sound like a person who could make use of a spinning whizzing motor driven tool! Buy one!

Any time that you can use materials and compounds that are softer than the surfaces you are trying to clean or polish, you help to preserve the beauty of an original finish that will endure for many generations to come. I always like to think ahead 90 years to the next owner and try to put myself in his or her place. Only a very few machines of the past have received such love.

W

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

OK, who's willing to admit that they use 0000 steel wool very carefully on nickeled parts?







(I do)

I use it on Nickel AND Gold plated parts. Works FANTASTIC every time, and I've never worn away the coating.

[Uncle Vanya]

Yes, kind of like my vintage nickel bathroom faucets! I spent hours trying to shine them up, but they're a lost cause...

If the nickel on your phonograph parts or your faucets is just basically dull <hint hint> the nickel is still there. And if the nickel is STILL there . . . Eric mentioned that there is no way to make it bright again. Perhaps not using a hand technique, but I do it all the time with a cotton buffing wheel and relatively fine polishing compounds like jeweler's rouge. The blackish specks won't completely go away if they are present (they are formed because of ferrous metal content in the nickel plate and they actually leave pits as the metal oxidizes) but with care, dull nickel plating is actually quite easy to polish to a bright shine. (I have some nickel plated fixtures in my bathrooms that are from the 1920s. It was a bit of work to get 80 years worth of mineral deposits off of them from hard well water, but once I did, they polish up like new - well, almost - sorta).

As for using steel wool to try to make dull nickel bright again? I caution against it because the steel wool has no lubricant and even though it is very fine (#0000) steel is very hard and the risk of scratching, even if at very low levels, is significant. Wear is wear is wear, so minimize it. Nevr-Dull works well because it is a clump of natural cotton in a solvent that also acts as a lubricant. Like Eric said, it takes some elbow grease, but it is pretty safe to use. The cotton in Nevr-Dull is actually pretty coarse but because it is so soft it is not capable of polishing out the dull oxidize that makes nickel look bland. I often use rottenstone and liquid paraffin on a soft cotton rag. Even that won't get rid of very dull nickel. But a buffing wheel and some jeweler's rouge is like magic. Hey, you sound like a person who could make use of a spinning whizzing motor driven tool! Buy one!

Any time that you can use materials and compounds that are softer than the surfaces you are trying to clean or polish, you help to preserve the beauty of an original finish that will endure for many generations to come. I always like to think ahead 90 years to the next owner and try to put myself in his or her place. Only a very few machines of the past have received such love.

W

Agreed. Corroded nickel can be brought back to a fine shine with a high-speed buff and rouge (after you gain experience the judicious use of a little Tripoli can speed up the cutting process) if the coating remains sufficiently thick. Of course if the coating is worn or corroded through to the brass, then the piece is cleaned and polished and thrown in the nickel bath. For small parts, I generally use Rhoplate EN-M, an economical electroless solution. Large parts wait until I have enough plating to do to make up a full tank of Watts Bath.

The little "brush-plating" kits available from several suppliers can do excellent work if they are used with care.

Gold-plating on Victor parts is quite thin, and can be wiped away with but a little use of polish. Save fro tone-arm crooks, the plating is seldom worn, though as it is covered with lacquer. A worn tone-arm can often be brightened quite nicely by simply stripping and re-lacquering it. Often metal polish carefully used, removes mars from the surface of the lacquer covering the gold plate, giving the impression that the gold plating itself has been polished.
Of course re-plating, however well done is but a poor substitute for a fine original surface.

[VictrolaGuy - Walt]

Of course if the coating is worn or corroded through to the brass, then the piece is cleaned and polished and thrown in the nickel bath. For small parts, I generally use Rhoplate EN-M, an economical electroless solution. Large parts wait until I have enough plating to do to make up a full tank of Watts Bath.

The little "brush-plating" kits available from several suppliers can do excellent work if they are used with care.
. . . . .

Of course re-plating, however well done is but a poor substitute for a fine original surface.

I presently have three Watt's baths ready to go at the flip of a switch: Nickel, Copper and Gold. I played with those "brush plating" kits years and years ago and they just can't lay down the quality of a well seasoned Watt's bath. But I have to admit that those 3 baths take up a chunk of real estate to have up full time.

My plating is faithful to Victor's processes. I would agree that re-plated parts may be a poor psychological substitute for a fine original, but as far as the actual quality of the plating goes, it's right on the money.

W

[Tinkerbell]

Great! I've been waiting for someone to talk "bicycles"! I collect bikes from the 40's through the 60's and battle with rust. Jerry Blais

You would be in competition with my brother as he collects and restores vintage Schwinn bicycles... He presently has -- no joke -- 36 bicycles in his collection. He is currently restoring two vintage cycle trucks, quite a popular (and rare) item amongst collectors.

His garage was completely filled with bicycles (and bicycle bones) until we recently decided that he would acquire my 69 convertible Firebird as his new restoration project. Suffice it to say, he purchased a storage building for his backyard where he relocated his bicycles, and for the first time since the 60's, his garage will finally house a car.

Do you collect a particular type (or brand) of bicycle?

[Uncle Vanya]

Aren't the bright parts on your "modern" bicycles chromed?

The antique stuff is nickel, but the "streamline" bikes generally had chrome plated brightwork, as I recall.

I've done a few bicycle restorations in my time, and agree that pitted and rusted bright metal is the bane of the restorer, along with water damaged rims, which must be clamped and re-glued, and those #@&*$%*!! Vietnamese single tube tires that develop sidewall cracks after but a year.

[Uncle Vanya]

Pardon me!

Duplicate post.

[Steve]

Brasso, plain and sweet. And a very soft cloth. Brings it back a treat.

[Uncle Vanya]

I gather you do not have the luxury of the new solvent-free Brasso over there in the Old Country.

[Steve]

Solvent-free Brasso? I wouldn't know (yet). The stuff I have been using is the old traditional stuff with the ammonia. Is this going to be banned soon? Should I use it sparingly for fear of the lack of new supplies?

Are you saying the solvent-free version is a poor substitute for the earlier incarnation?