I've bought a few SO pliers over the years and they seem to get what seems like rust stains on them very easily, Ive tried scrubbing them with some fine steel wool and WD40 and the stains do not come off even one bit, kind of annoying considering the price you pay for their tools any one else have this happen to them?
On my low end stuff (I don't own fancy brand pliers) it's usually carbon steel which will rust with moisture, don't have much moisture here though. What I do is oil after use and I don't have any issues with them unless I leave them out in the rain. In the event I leave them out in the rain, you can brush away the rust with a wire brush without any issue.
I think the higher quality stuff is coated or has nickel in the mix (or coated). The nickel stuff does rust, I have nickel coated (or alloy, not sure which one) hand saws that were rusted when I got them. It comes off with a decent amount of work. Easier with a rotary tool of course...wouldn't use that on pliers though.
That having been said...snap on probably would replace them because they might void the warranty if you attempt to remove the rust and it leaves brush marks. You'd have to ask them.
