Originally Posted by Classtime

The wheels on new acquisitions get a couple drops of Liquid Wrench at both ends of the nipples at the same time I squirt PB Blaster on all of the bike's other fasteners. I attend to the wheels days, weeks, sometimes months after I have disassembled the bike. When I get to the wheels, usually, the brass nipples will turn and I completely de-tension the wheel and bring it back up to tension a la Roger Musson's excellent book. I believe that I feel the difference before and after this rebuild. Sometimes I need to fuss if the wheelbuilder used the wrong spoke lengths.

If a nipple or two won't turn, I grab it with some small Vise-Grips. If there are more than two problem nipples, it is often most of them and they need replacing and maybe even the stainless spokes.