Tips on removing oxidation from spoke nipples
 

I purchased an old set of Ambrosio Metamorphisis wheels with DT spokes and Campy Record hubs off ebay that are pretty nice except the spoke nipples are pretty grungy looking. Does anyone have any tips on how to remove the black oxidation from chrome plated brass spoke nipples and the ferrules on the rim? I dread the idea of replacing them one by one but my anal retentive personality may cause me to do it.

buy a can of brasso (cotton wadding stuff) should clean them up just fine.

Marty

I tried Simichrome and that didnt seem to work so I'm not so sure the Brasso would work either. Maybe I'm wrong. Anyone else got any ideas????

i would use superfine steel wool. or brass wool as most people here will suggest. Steel being to abbrasive.

Yeah - I just did an old Trek on Saturday. I squirted the nipples liberally with WD-40 and hit 'em with a "Chore Boy" dish scrubber. Worked well, and was quick. It didn't polish them , but it did clean off all the black/green crud.

"Never-Dull" impregnated cotten wadding in a can. It may be sold now under the name,"Eagle One" Sold at Auto Zone or I'm sure the net. Works wonders on removing surgace rust on spokes.

Richard

The other suggestions may well work, but if all else fails, there's 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper.

Some hardware stores and 'dollar stores' have a small brush about the size of a toothbrush that has a wooden handle and brass wire 'brushes'. These are prefect for cleaning up spoke nipples.

Dang! Why didnt I think of that? I have a couple of those brushes already in my tool box for cleaning sparkplugs. THANKS FOR ALL THE TIPS EVERYONE!

Yo! Hold on there! depending on the finish of the rim, the brass wire may scratch the rim, and that'd be bad. I use a wheel holder in a vice, and a long strip of cotton sheet to make a polisher. Then, depending on what is on the top of the pile I use mothers or blue magic on the rag, take a wrap around the nipple, and go back and forth a few times like dental floss. I clean the spoke in the same way...Takes about 10 minutes/wheel.

Don't worry, I tested the brass brush on a hidden surface of the rim first and it was fine. That hard anodizing is tough stuff. Unfortunately, the brass brush wasnt as effective as I thought it would be on the nipples. It did do a nice job cleaning up the ferrules in the rims. I'll try luker's method next but maybe with a cotton shoelace if it will hold up through an entire wheel.

Rusty wheels
 

HHello, I'm not an expert but my steel wool ,my rotary tool,pieces of sand paper, all will work as long as we don't get in the mood if expecting extremely shining results,I sprayed wd40 to everything and this morning I wiped it off.

just take the wheel apart, clean all the components properly, and re-assemble.

Yeah, WD40 and a brass brush. You can work at an angle so that the brush never really touches the rim itself, or at least only in glancing manner.

+1

100 silver brass DT nipples cost $9.
https://www.niagaracycle.com/categor...les-box-of-100

You can just replace them one by one.
You should true the wheels anyway.

A dremel with a wire brush. I had a set of wheels with corroded nipples and rim eyelets and the dremel got them looking brand new very fast. Didn't scratch up the rim at all.

https://img3.banggood.com/thumb/view...3%20%20(2).JPG