Advice needed for damaged pen

[sdivot]

I wanted to see if some of my experts could give a bit of advice.
I sold this pen to my neighbor (so I must be nice) months ago. He brought it back to me today asking if I could fix it.
As you can see from the pics, the finish is coming off the tip. He tells me he clips the pen inside his shirt where it buttons, and carries it around outdoors (he's a car salesman). The tip of the pen is always rubbing against his skin inside the shirt. I told him that his sweat (we're in Texas) is damaging the finish. Constant moisture, rubbing, not to mention the salt, is doing a real number on the pen!
I know the tip is shot, so I'm going to replace it. Is there any way to maybe clear coat the component in order to protect the pen from the "elements"? If so, can I get some advice on how to do it. If not, are there any other suggestions?
I'm going to suggest he not carry it against his skin, of course. But he's my neighbor, so I want to try to satisfy him.
Thanks for the advice,
Steve

 

[thewishman]

I have a customer that does the same thing, even to the Ti gold plating and platinum plating. I would offer a two-tone chrome kit or a solid stainless steel Liberty kit.

 

[JimB]

The platings look like copper and gold. Neither stand up well to normal wear. My suggestion would be to replace all the compeonents with better platings. You should be able to reuse the blank.

Others may suggest another solution.

 

[liljohn1368]

I guess I have the same suggestion. See if he will be happy with chrome and swap it to chrome. It seems to hold up better than most of the platings

 

[TonyL]

I have had that experience with the gun metal finish on an Atrax FP. However, I am the one using the pen and my hands are usually dry - don't get it.

 

[1080Wayne]

Changing to regular chrome or Ti will help the tip but not the black enamel above it . Stainless or two tone chrome as Chris suggested would be the best solutions .

 

[magpens]

Ditto for stainless steel (preferrably) or chrome.

Thanks for posting the pictures. . I have never before seen anything like that.

 

[CREID]

Yep, me too. Sell him on chrome.

 

[flyitfast]

The blank looks like it has held up OK. Good finish!!

 

[Skie_M]

If you can't convince him to go with chrome for replacement, you could take the replacement front end and put it on a Big Grabber Closed End Mandrel (complete with tip of the pen) and add a few layers of CA for protection .... then polish it up really good with Plast-X to make it clear and pretty much invisible...

It would seem that the CA finish on the actual pen barrel held up just fine, so that should work for your needs, as long as he isn't dropping it very often!

 

[sdivot]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I appreciate it.
I have another copper Wall Street II kit, so I tried what Skie M suggested. I rigged my pen mandrel and got the front end on the lathe. I applied a few coats of CA and tried to polish it up a bit. We'll try that for now.
My advice to the neighbor will be to carry the pen somewhere else on his person! In the meantime, maybe the CA barrier will help for a while .
I'll also let him know that I can swap out the copper kit for chrome or stainless if he wants to go that way
Thanks again
Steve

 

[corgicoupe]

Is chrome better than rhodium?

 

[Skie_M]

Is chrome better than rhodium?

Rhodium is closely related to Chrome ... and is a bit harder and perhaps a bit darker silver in color, I think. It's a rarer metal, so the price takes a bit of a jump, and that's the main allure ....

People ask "Is this Chrome?" And you say "Nope, it's better than Chrome ... it's Rhodium!" and they'll gladly pay the premium price... (marketing gimmick)

 

[Pens By Scott]

I have the same problem, except the customer is my father in law... I just keep replacing the parts...
If someone comes up with a better solution... i'm all ears

 

[Lucky2]

A while back I bought some kits that were real cheap, I got what I paid for. The finish didn't stand up for any length of time, I replaced a couple of the pens because the finish wore off. To fix this issue, I started spraying my components with lacquer. I now treat all of my metal components with lacquer, it's quick and easy. And as far as I'm concerned, it's cheap insurance to make sure the finish stands up on my pens.
Len

 

[jrc]

I think it went in the washer and dryer or to the dry cleaners. Almost all the 1000 pens I make a year are a chrome finish. Nothing holds up better.