Niels, you should by all means _not_ use a steel wire wheel on the
threads of the brass threaded rods!  The steel is much harder than
the brass and the threads are quite thin and will be quickly eroded
if held for any length of time on a wire wheel.  Soft steel wire wheels
with _very_ fine wires can be found, but not usually at your local
Home Depot or other chain-store hardware places.  A machinist's
specialty store might have them, and also might have wire wheels
with copper wires, which are much softer, and will damage the threads
less.  Beware of copper-plated steel wires though!

Good idea about the Coca Cola, though, Patrick.  That stuff (as good
as it tastes) can take the calcium out of a chicken bone (remember the
old grade-school science project?), and would certainly soften the old
hardened leather nut and leftover glue that someone always seems to put
on there instead of replacing the nut.

Regards,
Bob Loesch