# Thinking of replating old spoke nipples? Try this first



## rustjunkie (Sep 8, 2014)

I usually disassemble wheels to clean the grease and dirt off of the spokes, hubs, rims, and nipples. They're brass and the nickel plating on them is thin and fragile, easily removed by abrasive polishing. I found an easy way to clean the nipples that leaves them looking almost new.

Start with this:










~2min in Tarn-X. If you want the plating removed completely, leave in for an hour or more:









I pour the Tarn-X back into the bottle, flush the glass with water, then out into the sun to dry.









The last bit of residue easily removed with a Fabulustre polishing cloth:


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Sep 8, 2014)

Nice!


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## stoney (Sep 8, 2014)

Good tip, thanks for that info. Nice and easy.


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## Monarky (Sep 8, 2014)

stoney said:


> Good tip, thanks for that info. Nice and easy.




Outstanding restoration tip....thanks for sharing it RustJunkie.


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## rollfaster (Sep 8, 2014)

*Those look great Scott.*

Gives new hope for nasty old nips.


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## Darrel Salmon (Sep 8, 2014)

Awesome tip!!   Thanks for sharing!!


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## SJ_BIKER (Sep 9, 2014)

*Woooooow*

Im glad i saved all my old nipples.....this will come in handy....thanks for sharing


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