well................ I've eaten plenty enough rust n dust, spatter, gas 
and shavings,
to qualify as an --honorary metallurgist--.............. at least.     ahem

        But yeah when the rust is blooming through the nickel, its 
coming from underneath.
  The nickel has let go in that spot.
  It might be a pinprick but the nickel is gone there.

  You can sometimes polish it up like a diamond anyway. The nickel glows 
so bright after buffing, that it outshines everything else. The pitts 
where the rust was, is now filled with polishing compound and level. So 
it doesnt show up so much.

  Not like pristine nickel, but its something.

  Nickel shines a long time after you seriously polish it. Not like 
brass and nothing like copper or silver, polished nickel holds a while.

   This works best where the surfaces are smooth though. The flowery 
embossing on early iron plow planes is not good. Pebbly surfaces just 
want to do nothing for a long time, and then begin to cut and round over.

     yours Scott




-- 
*******************************
    Scott Grandstaff
    Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca  96039
    scottg@s...
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html