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Okay, whoo boy, I'm probably going to open a controversial can of worms here. So I want to talk a bit about the methods and morals of replating nibs on vintage pens. And specifically, I want to focus on two-tone nibs. I'll start with the more straightforward question: how to go about it. I think there are probably four main materials that would be plated on old pens, rhodium, platinum, palladium, and gold? That's at least what I've seen thrown about. I personally haven't come across silver being mentioned as much. The main two I'm interested in are platinum and palladium, because those are what I want to replate the most. There are two stories to this: ----- Sheaffer Tuckaway Sentinel in Carmine: I bought an old Tuckaway where the distal white metal plating on the two-tone was extremely darkened/tarnished. I barely *touched* it with some light polishing compound, and well, it took it down to the gold immediately. (I should note that I *did* attempt to clean it thoroughly first) I left it at that, but now there's what I find to be an ugly spot of yellow on the nib, and the rest is still very tarnished looking. From what I read online, I'm under the impression that the distal plating on the triumph nib is palladium. In this case, I want to restore the distal palladium plating on a Sheaffer two-tone Triumph nib. ----- Parker Parkette DeLuxe type 1A in Red Pearl: When I bought this Parkette, the nib was covered in some kind of crud. The thick junk took a lot of work to clean off. Afterwards, the also was shown to be heavily scratched and the surface finish rough. This was before the Sheaffer Tuckaway, and so I mistakenly went to polish it immediately. The nib on this Parkette is one of the two-tone gold with proximal platinum plating (so the tines look gold). The platinum is almost entirely gone, leaving the nib chiefly looking gold. ----- So I want to know how to replate the palladium on a Triumph nib, and the platinum on a Parkette nib. I had looked at a "pen plating" station like this one: https://pepetools.com/products/digital-pen-plating-station-3-pen , but neither palladium nor platinum are listed as materials that can be plated with it (it mentions *onto* platinum, but not platinum as the coating). I also have some other concerns: What would be the most advisable masking system to make sure the line between the tones is kept clean?What chemicals are needed? (In particular, for palladium and platinum, as mentioned)For distal plating, like the Triumph, what are the risks to the slit? Do I have to worry about sealing up or otherwise ruining the nib? (this is my biggest fear)And are there some other complications I am not considering? ----- Now for the real controversy: the "moral" aspect. First of all, I want to say this, I am aware some people say they prefer the patina or tarnished look on these vintage pens. I personally do not. I want the pen to have the same shine and look it would've had when it was made. I do not want to discuss that preference in this thread, because I think that's another topic. No, what I want to cover more is the kind of "ethic" of replating when the plating is gone, especially on high-profile vintage pens like this. Is it better to leave a pen with the plating mistakenly removed than replated? Is that, in a way, "modifying" the pen beyond what it originally was? Is it no longer "restoration"? Now, I guess for my personal satisfaction... it doesn't really matter. If I want to replate my pen for myself so I'm happy, that's my own prerogative. I do think I want to fix some of the bad cases of missing plating I have, just to make myself happier, no matter if it is "wrong". But I was just thinking about whether or not replating somehow crosses some line for restoration work. (I know gold-filled is more controversial since it's different than plating, but I'm specifically talking about worn-out plating here) ... and maybe I'm just over thinking this whole "moral" angle.