Nickel

[captndan]

Is there an easy way to clean tarnished nickel?

[John_S_in_Penna]

I like "Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish" for all the 

nickel-plated trim on my 1916 car.  My 5-ounce jar of

paste says that it is "perfect for all metals.  Shines and protects."

It's not recommended for chrome, anodized, or coated metals, however.

 

There are probably lots of other products out there,

so you'll have plenty to choose from once others answer.

Edited August 18, 2017 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Bob Hill]

I've used a product called "Simichrome Polish" on my Model A and it works real well - it is available at most motorcycle dealerships

 

Bob

Edited August 18, 2017 by Bob Hill (see edit history)

[Willie Wurke]

1 hour ago, captndan said:

Is there an easy way to clean tarnished nickel?

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION  "NO".  All nickel cleaner/polishes require the addition of generous amounts of elbow grease!

 

TRY THIS ONE

   Powdered rouge mixed with alcohol applied with a chamois.

   After the tarnish is removed, polish with a dry chamois.

[46 woodie]

As John states, Mothers makes a good product. That being said, nickel is like copper or magnesium. The only way to keep it looking good is plain old hard work. Hey Willie, where can I get Powered Rouge?

[motoringicons]

One thing to keep in mind about nickel plating is that it can be easily worn through-especially if it is older, original nickel plating. So, you should use something gentle. Wenol is a favorite of mine for delicate nickel plating. I have also used it successfully in polishing silvered headlight reflectors and cleaning brass that has already been polished but needs to be refreshed. It works good on German silver as well.

[Bill Boudway]

4 hours ago, 46 woodie said:

As John states, Mothers makes a good product. That being said, nickel is like copper or magnesium. The only way to keep it looking good is plain old hard work. Hey Willie, where can I get Powered Rouge?

I might guess at a beauty parlor.

Check with your wife/girlfriend.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.

[fordrodsteven]

I used to use semi-chrome to polish the aluminum covers on my motorcycle and then years later I used Mother's to polish the aluminum wheels on my MACH I Mustang. They both are very good products and as said earlier "elbow grease is required". I had good results and the aluminum shined like chrome when I finished. After the initial hard work to get them looking like that the upkeep /maintenance was much easier to keep them looking like chrome.

[auburnseeker]

I use Mother's on Everything chrome paint and Nickel that needs buffing.   I clean and sell alot of NOS parts.  I also have been using this on my personal cars for 20 years.  I just wet sanded out a good sized section on the new 40 Ford coupe and buffed it with Mother's.   (great if I'm not doing a whole car and don't want to spray buffing compound all over the car and garage.  The warning is on the can because like pretty much every polish out there,  you are actually stripping a fraction of the finish off to a fresh finish underneath,  no different than buffing compound does to paint .   You don't fill the scratches in on paint,  you are actually leveling the surrounding surfaces down to the level of the scratch.  That's why the rag comes up black or colored if you are using it on a painted finish.   It takes a little patience and practice as well as a very clean fresh rag.  

[Spinneyhill]

Nickel tarnishes (goes darker). It can be polished off. But Ni plating is porous and it could have spots of rust coming through those pores. If it has copper under it (which it should have), that should be reduced because electroplated Cu is not porous (if the plating bath etc. was clean). If you have spots of rust, I expect you will need to polish them off and put a sealer on it.

[auburnseeker]

A trick I just discovered and would be especially handy to anyone freshly restoring a car, especially if you aren't just sending everything out to the platers , is to dunk all your chrome and nickel parts especially door handles in a container of Evaporust.  Takes less than a day with new solution or well used may take a bit longer.   I bought a door handle display rack off this site which had several handles.  I was going to individually clean each one with soap and water then a steel wool,  then clean the knobs. The thought of it just made me put it off.  I finally took a couple extras I had and just threw them in the vat.  Low and behold I took them out, took a toothbrush and just lightly ran it over the whole thing,  knob and all.  A quick rinse and it glistened like i just unwrapped it from the platers.   I was in awe. Takes less than a minute to clean each handle.   I immediately took  the rest and gave them a bath as well as a batch I had just bought off ebay.  It even cleans the slime off the nickel ones leaving just a dull silver shine that needs a much less intensive polish and you are not scraping off half the nickel trying to scrape the scuzz off.  

You will thank me if you ever try this.  I immediately went up to my friend that restores cars and brought him a gallon.  The only think I will say is it will eventually start attacking the metal and plating if you leave it in for an extremely long time,  like weeks.  I only know as I had a raw potmetal door striker i left in for over a month and it eventually started pitting it.  The entire piece needs to be submerged and it will strip paint,  doesn't hurt plastic,  It does degrease as well and derust exceptionally well of course. 

Anyone restoring cars should have a plastic container of this laying around to clean up all those little parts that you don't want a blasted finish on.  It's non toxic and you can handle with your bare hands.