Restoring a finish on a Stanley 45

I too have a Stanley 45 and I need to refinish it also. So go ahead and sent it out for nickel plaiting so I can see how it looks and if it’s worth the cost

-- Vince

I recently ran into the same issues as you, but while restoring some parts to an old mitre box.

#2 I played around with several nickel colored spray paints and a few looked pretty close, but I agree with you that its not a great solution. The best one I found was krylon brushed metallic satin nickel, but its only rated for indoor use and didn’t seem very durable. Though, you could do a clear coat on top as well.

#3 There are few companies that make “home nickel plating kits”. I’ve also seen instructions on how to make your own nickel plating solutions. From what I gather the nickel solution can be quite toxic and should not be disposed of down the sewer. Even the rinse water should be disposed of specially(dilution I believe). I decided to rule out doing it at home because I don’t want to be responsible for disposing of the chemicals.

#4 I looked into locally getting the parts re-plated, overall it was probably a less material than you have. I was quoted 45-60 dollars including stripping the old nickel.

In the end I decided to accept the imperfections and think of them as added character. If I ever have more money I’ll probably let the pros re-nickel plate it.