I agree, leave it as is. Just get some Flitz polish and use it to clean up the nickel. Then use wax such as Renaissance wax to protect it from further rusting.
Can you see an N anywhere on the gun such as under the barrel, on the face of the cylinder or under the left grip? This will tell us if it came from the factory as a nickel gun.
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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst
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