Whats under the plating?

[keithz]

I have been asked what is under the plating that is visible on the pen kits. I have no idea whatsoever.

Can anyone enlighten me on the structure of a pen kit, from the base metal to the outer plating?

 

[gerryr]

I believe it's brass, but could be wrong.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The gold gets silver shiny. Could be nickle over brass.

 

[alamocdc]

Most platings begin with a nickel base.

 

[dbriski]

If its nickle, wouldn't Satin nickle be the best finish that would never wear out? Under the satin nickle is just more nickle []

 

[Rudy Vey]

Originally posted by dbriski
<br />If its nickle, wouldn't Satin nickle be the best finish that would never wear out? Under the satin nickle is just more nickle []

I don't think the Satin Nickel finish is actually Nickel, for me it seems to be a powder coating in nickel color - same as for the Satin Pearl or Satin Gold. From own experience I know that the Satin Nickel holds up very well.

 

[loglugger]

For so many people gripping about how bad the plating and how fast they wear off I still don’t see anyone that is coming up with any concrete answers.
Bob

 

[Rudy Vey]

Originally posted by loglugger
<br />For so many people gripping about how bad the plating and how fast they wear off I still don’t see anyone that is coming up with any concrete answers.
Bob

If you read the threads about the platings carefully, and there were many in the last two years, you will learn the following:
the best platings, i.e. longest lasting are
Titanium Gold
Chrome
Platinum and Rhodium

From personal experience I can say that after heavily use for two to three years there is no wear on the Titaniumgold pens I use daily.
As I said, I have also good experience with satin Nickel.

The not so good platings, i.e. the ones that wear off very fast are the gold platings, both "upgrade" from Berea and 10K from CSUSA, these are the ones I have personal experience with - others may have a different experience. Some say that PSI gold platings last longer, but I don't use their kits.

 

[loglugger]

Rudy that was good information. Read what I said close, they were talking about what is under the platting. I am sorry, I was talking about what was under the platting should have put a smiley I guess. I have read the answers but I still don’t know what is under the platting. I have not had any platting come off so far, Gerryr thinks it is brass, Billy is for a nickel base, Frank said the gold gets silver shiny.
I have read all the threads for the last 2 years and then some and a lot of people are griping about the platting coming off and was wondering what they found under the platting.
Bob

 

[alamocdc]

Gold (and chrome) plating typically requires the use of a "barrier metal" to ensure a more even distribution of the desired plating. This barrier metal is usually nickel.

I'm not a plater, but I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night.[]

Actually, I watch the Science and Discovery channels a lot.

 

[RussFairfield]

The platings are described in the catalogs and websites. The HUT and Berea catalogs used to have a good description.

What is beneath the plating depends on the kit and the part. It can be steel or tempered brass for the clips. The other parts can be brass, aluminum, pot-metal, or plastic.

The only way to really know is to take a file or sandpaper and remove the plating. Steel can be determined with a small magnet.

 

[bob393]

I thought it was brass but I guess it depends on the top plating.

 

[loglugger]

Russ, Thank you, some information is hard to come by.
Bob

 

[Rudy Vey]

Originally posted by loglugger
<br />Rudy that was good information. Read what I said close, they were talking about what is under the platting. I am sorry, I was talking about what was under the platting should have put a smiley I guess. I have read the answers but I still don’t know what is under the platting. I have not had any platting come off so far, Gerryr thinks it is brass, Billy is for a nickel base, Frank said the gold gets silver shiny.
I have read all the threads for the last 2 years and then some and a lot of people are griping about the platting coming off and was wondering what they found under the platting.
Bob

I think most pen parts are mainly brass, for certain platings, generally a thin nickel plating is applied first. I just checked a Baron rollerball pen with a magnet:
there are some steel parts: the spring of the clip and the spring in the posting end, the rest is brass. Like the threads are black powder coated brass, so is the ring in the cap. The female threaded part of the cap is some kind of plastic, like Delrin or else.
So, you see there are many different materials in a pen kit.

 

[keithz]

Thanks Russ and everyone else. I appreciate the information. NOw I can answer the question that was posed to me.