Applying Clear Coat To Pens?

[beanbag]

Has anybody heard of applying clear coat to pen bodies, much like the urushi coating in Japanese makie pens? The main reason would be to give a deeper gloss and shine. I'm thinking of doing this to some of my plastic bodied pens from the 50's and 40's.

[kirchh]

What specific kinds of pens are you referring to?

 

--Daniel

[beanbag]

maybe some Sheaffer touchdowns and Waterman CF

Edited July 26, 2015 by beanbag

[kirchh]

These can be polished to a pretty high gloss, if that's what you prefer. I don't recommend any sort of coating.

 

--Daniel

[lcoldfield]

What a good way to ruin a pen! Please don't do it. If you do you could find adhesion problems later on and the pen will look awful as the coating begins to age.

I have never understood why people want their pens to be more shiny than they were originally.

Laurence

[beanbag]

 

I have never understood why people want their pens to be more shiny than they were originally.

 

Look at automotive finishes over the last few decades for an example. Back in the old days, car weren't clear-coated, although you could still make them shiny. Then with newer technology, consumers saw what a deep, crystalline gloss really looked like, and demanded that instead. Some people even repaint their classic cars with a clear coat!

 

Anyway, just sayin'...

 

I'll try the polish first and maybe I will just be content with that because it is a lot less work.

Edited July 27, 2015 by beanbag

[Beechwood]

Look at automotive finishes over the last few decades for an example. Back in the old days, car weren't clear-coated, although you could still make them shiny. Then with newer technology, consumers saw what a deep, crystalline gloss really looked like, and demanded that instead. Some people even repaint their classic cars with a clear coat!

 

Anyway, just sayin'...

 

I'll try the polish first and maybe I will just be content with that because it is a lot less work.

 

You will not find any better advice than from Mr Oldfield. I suppose that if you want to clear coat a pen its up to you, buying a cheap chinese pen and giving it a coat of clearcoat will be just your time lost. How that clear coat will respond to daily handling on a pen I am not sure, but if you are successful then please come back and share!

Edited July 27, 2015 by Ron Z

[Ron Z]

One of my specialties is plastic repair, using a variety of industrial solvents.

 

The solvents in a clear coat may very well attack the plastic of the pen. As in craze, dissolve, or otherwise interact and permanently damage or destroy the surface. ...or the whole pen. The exact reaction to the solvent will depend on the type of plastic. Even a 51, while apparently immune to some solvents will melt quite nicely with others. As Laurence said, "What a good way to ruin a pen!"