Blue Rubberized Lamy Studio

[hank scorpio]

I've had the old style blue Lamy Studio for a few years now. It wasn't really a favorite, so it's been in storage for a while. I picked it up the other day and discovered that the finish has turned completely sticky. It's that kind of sticky that all the old velvet touch plastics get as they deteriorate.

 

Lamy says there's no way to fix it and that the defective finish doesn't fall under their "Lifetime Warranty"

Figured I'd check here to see if there was anything remotely salvageable about it before I scrapped it.

 

But, I'm probably hosed, right? Just tell me I'm hosed...

 

<sadtrombone>

 

 

[Namo]

If the pen was properly stored, it's very disappointing from Lamy.

[Thornton]

I have a six-year-old Studio with the black rubberized finish. I store it with all my other pens and noticed about two years ago that it felt sort of "gummy" even when I used it regularly. I have a feeling they changed the finish on the Studios because of this deterioration issue. I'm surprised they didn't take more responsibility for the situation.

[hank scorpio]

I have a six-year-old Studio with the black rubberized finish. I store it with all my other pens and noticed about two years ago that it felt sort of "gummy" even when I used it regularly. I have a feeling they changed the finish on the Studios because of this deterioration issue. I'm surprised they didn't take more responsibility for the situation.

 

Yep, when I searched to see if this was an issue for anyone else, I noticed the new finish for the black and blue models. I also (politely) pointed that out in my final reply. Given that I'd never used any kind of cleaner or solvent, and it's been stored out of the sun/direct light figured there might be an off chance that they'd do something about it.

 

Not so much.

[Namo]

Strange. When a similar issue arises with, say, Omas, there are tens of answers. And here, only three... I am a huge fan of Lamy's pens and customers' service, but in this case, I don't quite understand...

[FennecNellie]

Well, if it is not going to be covered by warranty, you can feel free to scrape it off. See what's under there before you do anything else. And, if you don't like it, you can always do PlastiDip, or...um...roll a body cover out of Sugru. Hack it!

[sentience]

I just bought an original Lamy Studio Blue rollerball on eBay. Having been unable to find the fountain pen for sale anywhere, I figured I'd just put the guts of another Studio into this rollerball's body to complete my set (albeit with the telltale dot on the finial).

 

Unfortunately, as you might have already guessed, it's suffering from the same degradation in the finish. It still looks pretty good at a distance, but the hand feel is quite sticky and it collects dust like crazy. I think I'm going to have to make it a “look but don’t touch” museum piece. If I'd bought this as my one nice pen only to have it deteriorate under normal use/storage, I'd be pretty unhappy.

[Astronymus]

Most of this rubberized surfaces you encounter these days will get sticky sooner or later. That stuff tends to break down after some years. I guess many manufacturers didn't know this and it was a big hype a few years ago, still is quite common. But I guess there is no future for these pens, remote controls, PC mice and further gadgets.

Maybe it's the cheap China junk they put on the stuff these days.

Interestingly I have an old, cheap Diplomat mechanical pencil that is rubberized. It's from the late 80s, I think. It says W. Germany on the tip. And is still not sticky.

Edited June 21, 2018 by Astron

[sentience]

Astron,

 

The thing about these Studio pens is their surfaces were never intended to be rubberised. A brand new Studio has always felt completely solid, not at all rubbery. The finish is supposed to be matte, but not rubberised at all. The problem is these hard surfaces, particularly on the Blue and early Black Studio models, seems to deteriorate and become rubbery, as if melting away.

[AL01]

Contact Lamy Germany.

 

The US distributor has been going through some stuff lately...

[steve50]

Astron,

 

The thing about these Studio pens is their surfaces were never intended to be rubberised. A brand new Studio has always felt completely solid, not at all rubbery. The finish is supposed to be matte, but not rubberised at all. The problem is these hard surfaces, particularly on the Blue and early Black Studio models, seems to deteriorate and become rubbery, as if melting away.

I picked up a black studio from Ebay Germany that was advertised as mattschwarz so I was expecting matt finish (like anodised aluminium surfaces) but what I received has a rubbery feel. Are you saying that this is a result of degradation?

[sentience]

I picked up a black studio from Ebay Germany that was advertised as mattschwarz so I was expecting matt finish (like anodised aluminium surfaces) but what I received has a rubbery feel. Are you saying that this is a result of degradation?

 

 

I would guess so. My brand new Lamy Studio Black is a rock solid, bone dry matte black finish. No rubbery feel at all.

[steve50]

 

 

I would guess so. My brand new Lamy Studio Black is a rock solid, bone dry matte black finish. No rubbery feel at all.

I was rather thinking that there were two versions, one 'dry' and the other rubbery; also the pen currently is not sticky at all and is pleasant to hold. Whatever the case it worries me now that my studio might become unusable in a few years.

[dapprman]

Wonder if it's the same material used by a lot of the high end Italian car manufacturers. The same problem exists with switches for Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini.

[bogiesan]

I researched the topic of deteriorating rubberized coatings on tools and consumer goods. It is an unavoidable aging process. There are only two solutions, apparently: removal using solvents and applying a clear topcoat.

Edited June 25, 2018 by bogiesan

[steve50]

I researched the topic of deteriorating rubberized coatings on tools and consumer goods. It is an unavoidable aging process. There are only two solutions, apparently: removal using solvents and applying a clear topcoat.

But what would happen if you removed the rubber coating on the Studio? Wouldn't it look ugly?

[1nkulus]

I would definitely send it to Lamy in Germany with a detailed emotional note. Nothing to lose as it is unusable. Lamy have a slow but great CS.

[Nerdyhistorian]

I would like to buy a Studio (blue or terracotta), but I am afraid to do that now because of these stories. The Studio costs a bit to much for that....

[Anne-Sophie]

I have only heard of the problem with the very first colors of the Studio: rubber like black and light blue.

 

If my memory serves me well, they were released between 06 and 09.

 

There was hiatus in the production of new color Studio until the Ruby Red came out as a limited edition.

 

The dark blue which is a standard color and limited colors like Terracota and Olive Green are not known to have any problem.

Edited January 30, 2019 by Anne-Sophie

[Anne-Sophie]

I've had the old style blue Lamy Studio for a few years now. It wasn't really a favorite, so it's been in storage for a while. I picked it up the other day and discovered that the finish has turned completely sticky. It's that kind of sticky that all the old velvet touch plastics get as they deteriorate.

 

Lamy says there's no way to fix it and that the defective finish doesn't fall under their "Lifetime Warranty"

Figured I'd check here to see if there was anything remotely salvageable about it before I scrapped it.

 

But, I'm probably hosed, right? Just tell me I'm hosed...

 

<sadtrombone>

 

 

Some years ago, an FPN member stripped the coating and gave his pen a copper finish. It turned out beautifully.