On Apr 21, 2014, at 20:14 , Kevin Bock  wrote:

> I recently traded one of my gold fillings for an old Stanley 45 that has about
85% of the nickel plating intact. By the looks of it it's spent the last few
decades on the shelf  collecting  dust and rust.  My question is, do any of you
gentelman know of a way to clean up the rust spots without removing or damaging
too much of the remaining nickel finish?  Not expecting a miracle -- I went it
over it with some steel wool and WD-40 but that's about it.

I've soaked various nickel plated planes and parts in vinegar, but the plating
can get kind of dull, if it's heavily rusted and/or you leave it in too long. I
vaguely recall reading that ammonia can be used effectively to brighten it, but
I don't like working with that. Toothbrush or bronze brush in WD-40 is pretty
effective in the stippled areas of the 45 and similar castings.

Adam