Well, do you like chrome or nickel? That's all that matters, I suppose. Can't the original plating be saved?

To keep it original is the way to go. That being said, chrome is king!Jumping2

I'll echo Gilnar's response.

How bad is the hardware?

I LOVE chrome, but Nickle just has a certain "Warmness" to it that makes it beautiful.

I prefer the nickle finish too. Sort of a mellowed look it gives I really like.

I guess I have always disliked nickel,as almost every time I see it, it has tarnished and needs to be polished..

I will admit,when polished up nice,it does look good,but the butler is getting sick of polishing all my lugs etc..esp after she polishes up all my sterling silver in the mansion!

I really love the look of polished nickel, but I find that my nickel hardware needs to be polished more frequently than chrome...anyone else find this too?

Anyway, +1 for nickel.

James

Nickel is really beautiful when it's shined up, but as Blair mentioned, it does take more maintenance to keep that shine.

What exactly is wrong with the hardware? Can you post a photo? When it gets dull, it gets really dull but will shine back up with Cape Cod cloths. Replating is extremely expensive.

Here's a before and after of some very crusty nickle plated Slingerland BT lugs I cleaned up. Dawn straight and Bar Keepers Friend slurry with a old toothbrush to scrub. Weiman nickle polish to finish. I still want to try the Cape Cod Cloths they sound excellent. Anyway I didn't know what to expect with cleaning these lugs but they came out pretty good I thought. Was a bit agressive but so was the corrosion on them. They looked pretty far gone. Lots of good ways to clean them up depending how bad they are.

That Cape Cod cloth is good stuff. Go with the original finish and keep it nickel.