some input on removing old nipples or not?

i will be replacing the wall mount faucet in the kitchen....i was originally gonna do tiles or granite for the back splash now i'm just gonna do a 3 inch back splash and plaster and paint over the structurelite

my question is the nipples will be sticking out of the wall roughly 3/4 inch to much.....these nipples have been in for 75 years and i'm afraid to try to pull'm out and put shorter ones.....2 questions... is there a way to conceal them with some kinda escutcheon plate or something?

if its definately best to replace them , do u have any tips working with this old brass pipe?...

i posted a flick

I assume that with pipe that old the nipples are screwed into galv. pipe, I would not try to remove them on the chance the pipe in the wall will break. They do make chrome sleeves to fit the nipples; you should be able to find them at a plumbing supply, luck.

thank u for reply..its brass pipe

Nipples come in 1/2" increments.
I just use a small pipe wrench to remove.
If the end starts to cave in, you may need an easy out.
Those are placed inside the pipe end.

Normally, anytime we are replacing shutoffs, we replace with brass.
In California, that's going to change.
Maybe I need to look into something like stainless.

i dunno.....i messed with this old pipe before and snapped some.....the last thing i wanna do is snap some and have to start ripping this wall down

75 years is a long time...those nipples are probably fused by now and are probably not going to come out without a fight; meaning you might have to go into the wall. However now is the time to do things right, so I guess it just depends on how much effort you want to put into this.