Hi All - I've got some no-name pens that have a check-patterned gold overlay. They're nothing really special, but I decided I'd try to clean them up a little and make them shine. I got out the Simichrome and proceeded to clean these pens up pretty nicely. But, I noticed that the polished portion was a significantly lighter gold color than the non-polished portion.

Now, I know what you're thinking... "he's polished through the thin overlay and brassed his pen". No, that's not the case. Essentially the gold went from a dark yellow-gold to a very light-yellow gold, but it's still gold and is not brassed. Here's the question: Do you devalue a pen by cleaning off this "patina"? It certainly looks better and is no doubt much closer to how it looked when purchased new. But, would any collector value this dark yellow-gold color?

Some collecters do like the vintage look with the patina intact. However for most folks the newer a vintage pen looks the better we like it. I know for sure that I have gotten pens much cheaper than they should have been on ebay because the seller did not take 3 minutes to clean up the pen. When I get a pen I hit it with a polishing cloth and a touch of semichrome or car polish. I could turn around and sell the pen with good pictures for at least 2-3 times what I payed for it with just a 3-5 minute cleaning session!

Just a couple of thoughts to share here. The lighter yellow color - that is still gold may also signify that a small layer of gold was rubbed off - Simichrome can be abrasive.
I have also wondered similarly about the sterling silver pens - a layer goes off them too.
I wonder if using a wax to seal off the finish is a solution to help keep the looks and the precious metals - after a good cleaning has been done (abrasive or non abrasive).
Thanks for your time.
badrsj