Longevity of platings??

[Mikey]

Well, we all know how well the standard gold stuff fairs, but what I would like to know is what time you guys get out of other platings that are used often.

For example, on the standard gold pens I have made, the plating wears off in as little as a month. I then started making some Satin Nickel, Satin Silver, and Satin Gold pens, but have only gotten about 6 months out of them before they start to wear. I have now recently gotten into the Chrome, Gold Ti, and Black Ti, and so far, no wear on any of those pens.

I really ask this because so many of the pens I see in pics and on sites for sale are just classified as 24k gold, or Satin xx. I figure if there's some method to make the kits hold up much longer, I need to learn it.

 

[wayneis]

most of us that make pens to sell use titanium gold or platinum (rhodium), black titanium and chrome I'm told will last as long. Some of the different satin pearl etc will hold up also but I've found that some companies sell kits that don't hold up anyway near as well. (like woodcraft for example) I had to toss at least a dozen satin kits from them because the finish flaked off just sitting in my pen box.

Wayne

 

[tipusnr]

Are any of you out their still powdercoating your own pens? I remember reading a lot about it for a while - seems like last spring. How are they holding up? Might be an option instead of throwing kits away.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Originally posted by Mikey
<br />Well, we all know how well the standard gold stuff fairs, but what I would like to know is what time you guys get out of other platings that are used often.

For example, on the standard gold pens I have made, the plating wears off in as little as a month. I then started making some Satin Nickel, Satin Silver, and Satin Gold pens, but have only gotten about 6 months out of them before they start to wear. I have now recently gotten into the Chrome, Gold Ti, and Black Ti, and so far, no wear on any of those pens.

I really ask this because so many of the pens I see in pics and on sites for sale are just classified as 24k gold, or Satin xx. I figure if there's some method to make the kits hold up much longer, I need to learn it.

This question comes up here on a regular basis, and if you do a search you will find a lot of information.
I have given up many years ago using gold plated pens. All gold platings will wear off, they might be called differently: 10k, 24k, upgrade etc. These coatings won't last long. Gold is a very soft metal. The platings on high end pens are very thick compared to what we buy in a pen kit. Also, the chemistry of a persons hand and how much the pen gets handled are factors in regards to lifetime of the plating. In my case, I play a lot with my pens, an upgrade gold platings shows wear within weeks, I think about 4-6.
I changed completely to Titanium Nitride (= Titanium Gold), Platinum, Black Titanium and Chromium plated kits. At this time I am experimenting with a satin Nickel finish Baron rollerball as my daily pen. So far it held up very good, shows absolutely no signs of any wear (I use it daily since early September). This coating seems to be the best of the satin finishes. I have heard that the satin pearl does not hold up well, but I have no personal experience.
Using better quality platings/coatings on your kits will pay off eventually in satisfied customers that return to buy more pens. And the costs of the above mentioned kits are not that much higher than the gold platings.