cleaning nickel plating

[Tim Bieker]

Was thinking of getting a stanley 45 off of ebay. Some look great and some not so. It would be more affordable to get one that needed cleaning except I am unsure how to clean these up nicely. Was wondering if anyone here could reveal their secrets.

Thanks Tim

[Kory Cassel]

+1 I'd also love to learn something about this subject.

[Jim Koepke]

The secret is the plane doesn't need to be shiny to work well. There are mild acids that will put a quick shine on nickel, but they tend to cause pitting and even removal of the coating down to the cast iron.

If you are considering purchasing a Stanley #45, you may find these two posts of interest:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?116419

In this thread the post on the Stanley #45 is post #27 if your display is in linear mode.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?121761

In this thread the post on the Stanley #45 is post #11 in linear display mode.

The first link is about things to look for when purchasing a #45, the second is more about using it.

My understanding of some aspects of the #45 have increased since those have been posted.

jtk

[Andrew Seemann]

The secret is the plane doesn't need to be shiny to work well.

jtk

I've got to agree with Jim here. My new-to-me planes get cleaned up only enough to use, and no more. I kind of like the tuned up, yet care-worn, beat to h#ll look; it gives the planes more street cred.

[Tom M King]

One of my 55's had parted with its nickel plating long before it came to live with me. It still works just fine. It didn't have any rust on it to amount to anything. I always thought the nickel plating had been dissolved by sweat.

[Don Orr]

What the rest have said about the level of cleaning is true- You just need to do as much as YOU want. A little soap & water and an old toothbrush or even a little mineral spirits just to get the gunk off is usually enough to get it back to work.

Tom-great shot of making chips fly!

[steven c newman]

For the ones that show up like this one did...
rusty plane.jpg
Heck, I even had to build a replacement case!

Fine Brass wire wheels, NOT steel ones. Not the ones you use on the grinder....either. Lowes sells a package of different wire brushes for the drill press. Use the wheels to just clean the rust off, if you get too forceful, you will wind up with the copper showing up. I do not use any chemical soaks. If the rust is under the Nickle....you'll lose the plating.
after shot.jpg
Same plane, I also used the wire wheel brushes with a Dremel, to get into the nooks and crannies....Handles were just wiped down.
Now, that being said...you CAN use the grinder's wire wheel to clean off the threads on the bolts, clean the 24+ cutters. Use a strip of Emery Cloth to smooth and clean the rods. Also, remove the spurs/nickers, and clean out the recesses where they sit into....rust and crud tend to build up in there. To "chase" the threads where the bolts go...a .38 caliber bore cleaning brush works rather nicely...maybe add a drop of RBC and chuck the brush into a drill, run the drill slow. Then a drop of 3in1 oil into the threads, to keep away any more rust. Wax the skates, once they are cleaned up....and the fence.

I sharpen the cutters ( once they are free of rust) by honing the backs, only. IF the bevels do need some, go lightly, no need to change the bevel's angles.

[Tom M King]

Don, chips don't usually fly like that, in little pieces. It's good to choose boards that the grain is rising ahead of the cutter, for molding planes, and especially combination planes. I think that board must have had the grain rising very sharply.

Steven's planes look great, but I never have time for that sort of thing. I just get paid to produce work, and don't spend any more time than necessary making tools look pretty. That brown 55 may well have nickel under the surface, but it wouldn't produce any better results on the work.

[steven c newman]

My cleaning time happens BETWEEN projects.....and, I happen to care enough about the tools I use, to get them looking and working at their very best.....that "brown 55" ia actually the same 45 I am using right now....

Have had shaving make a mass of Raman Noodles where they exit the cutters....pays to stop every couple of passes to clear the plane....hard to see, otherwise. Pretty planes? I usually hate it when a plane I am trying to use leaves a brown trail on the wood...discolours the glue....

There IS a difference between "Patina" and just plain old Rust.....rust never sleeps, and will keep returning...given the slightest chance..like leaving a film of it.....I try to get to bare, rust free metal, and keep it that way. IF one doesn't have the time to take good care of their tools....why are they even using them.

[John K Jordan]

Was thinking of getting a stanley 45 off of ebay. Some look great and some not so. It would be more affordable to get one that needed cleaning except I am unsure how to clean these up nicely. Was wondering if anyone here could reveal their secrets.

Thanks Tim

I've used metal polish on a cloth to help clean nickel plating and other metals. Wire brush on rust. Simichrome is good.

[steven c newman]

Turtle Wax also makes a Chrome Polish you can use...

[Tom M King]

The "brown 55" I was talking about was the one in the picture with me running that groove. Here's another picture. It was the second 55 I bought because it came with all the cutters, which were in great condition. Everything about the plane works fine, and I've never done anything to it but use it. I do have a better looking one, that was the first one I bought, but the cutters with that one were not too good. Both planes work equally, regardless of the looks.

All my tools are kept in waterproof, airtight boxes, with desiccant cannisters. That picture of me making that stile was taken in 2012. I may have used it once since then, but could be taken out of the box right now, and used like it is.

Pretty is nice, but I just don't have time to worry about it. I do have a nickel plated cash register, that belonged to my Grandfather that I really should do some cleaning on, so appreciate the thread to make me think about it.


Here's the better looking one. It has a broken handle, but that doesn't keep me from using that one either. The 073, that I bought new, is showing some signs of sweat too.