Best/Most Durable Lamy Studio Finish

[VerTuilo]

I am looking to buy a Lamy Studio. My budget allows for a gold or stainless steel nib version. 

 

I was wondering which Lamy Studio finish is the best in terms of durability, ie scratch resistance, resistance to lacquer / coating pealing off.

 

I have heard people having issues with the stainless steel and Lx black scratching, and issues with the coating for the Palladium finish coming off.

 

If none of these are suitably durable, I have also been eyeing the Cross ATX PVD Black, for its stealth look.

[Mangrove Jack]

I have the Lamy Studio with the brushed stainless steel finish and have had it for about 4 years.

There is no scratching at all on its body and cap. I neither baby my pens nor abuse them. Just normal use.

Welcome to FPN

[VerTuilo]

2 minutes ago, Mangrove Jack said:

I have the Lamy Studio with the brushed stainless steel finish and have had it for about 4 years.

There is no scratching at all on its body and cap. I neither baby my pens nor abuse them. Just normal use.

Welcome to FPN

Thank you! I also have the brushed stainless steel, and it seems badly scratched. I love how the pens writes though, which is why I want a new one. I tend to put my pens in my pocket / pencil case so that could be why it is so badly scratched.

[KaB]

I've got the Lamy Studio Platinum Grey. For many years now, using it according to my rotation. The body and cap show no ware at all. Really nothing. Exept two things:

- the clip made a clear scratch on the cap, right through the coating. I'm pretty sure it happened when I had the cap fixed (it didn't click any more).

- the grip, very close to where it meets the body. This part suffers most from the sharp rim of the cap everytime you close the pen. Here, the underlying material starts to show through. 

I hope you can see both things on these pictures. The second picture is with flash and shows the effect on the grip section to an extreme. The first picture is more realistic as to how good (or how little) you actually see of these scratches:

 

 

 

 

 

[VerTuilo]

7 minutes ago, KaB said:

I've got the Lamy Studio Platinum Grey. For many years now, using it according to my rotation. The body and cap show no ware at all. Really nothing. Exept two things:

- the clip made a clear scratch on the cap, right through the coating. I'm pretty sure it happened when I had the cap fixed (it didn't click any more).

- the grip, very close to where it meets the body. This part suffers most from the sharp rim of the cap everytime you close the pen. Here, the underlying material starts to show through. 

I hope you can see both things on these pictures. The second picture is with flash and shows the effect on the grip section to an extreme. The first picture is more realistic as to how good (or how little) you actually see of these scratches:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your response! That is pretty good then, wear underneath the clip doesn't bother me too much because of how common it is. Though it seems this model is no longer sold anymore? Is the finish similar to any other models?

[sirgilbert357]

9 hours ago, VerTuilo said:

Thank you! I also have the brushed stainless steel, and it seems badly scratched. I love how the pens writes though, which is why I want a new one. I tend to put my pens in my pocket / pencil case so that could be why it is so badly scratched.

 

This can be rectified for minimal cost, if you want to give it a try...

 

Take a ScotchBrite sponge -- the yellow sponges with the green scrubber coating on one side, meant for washing dishes -- and firmly rub the pen in the same direction as the brushing of the stainless steel. It will remove most of the lighter scratches and refinish the "brushed" look. If you do it carefully and keep the motion straight, it works quite well.

 

Any scratches deeper than the brushed finish of the steel won't be removed, but the light swirls will be gone if you do it right.

[Mangrove Jack]

7 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

 

This can be rectified for minimal cost, if you want to give it a try...

 

Take a ScotchBrite sponge -- the yellow sponges with the green scrubber coating on one side, meant for washing dishes -- and firmly rub the pen in the same direction as the brushing of the stainless steel. It will remove most of the lighter scratches and refinish the "brushed" look. If you do it carefully and keep the motion straight, it works quite well.

 

Any scratches deeper than the brushed finish of the steel won't be removed, but the light swirls will be gone if you do it right.

 

Which side of the sponge should you use for this?

[jchch1950]

The black studios of some years ago had a bad coating that vanishes even with a very careful use. I wrote to Lamy about it and if there were something to do,no answer. So I use the pen nib and section with my stainless steel studio that have lost the rubber cover of the section and only the plastic under it remained.

[VerTuilo]

9 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

 

This can be rectified for minimal cost, if you want to give it a try...

 

Take a ScotchBrite sponge -- the yellow sponges with the green scrubber coating on one side, meant for washing dishes -- and firmly rub the pen in the same direction as the brushing of the stainless steel. It will remove most of the lighter scratches and refinish the "brushed" look. If you do it carefully and keep the motion straight, it works quite well.

 

Any scratches deeper than the brushed finish of the steel won't be removed, but the light swirls will be gone if you do it right.

Cool! I will try it out, not sure what the mechanism behind removing the scratches would be, but hey, if it works it works!

[VerTuilo]

19 minutes ago, jchch1950 said:

The black studios of some years ago had a bad coating that vanishes even with a very careful use. I wrote to Lamy about it and if there were something to do,no answer. So I use the pen nib and section with my stainless steel studio that have lost the rubber cover of the section and only the plastic under it remained.

Ouch, that doesn't sound great, would this be the standard black, lx black or piano black?

[KaB]

19 hours ago, VerTuilo said:

Thanks for your response! That is pretty good then, wear underneath the clip doesn't bother me too much because of how common it is. Though it seems this model is no longer sold anymore? Is the finish similar to any other models?

 

That I couldn't tell you, since this is the only Studio I have. But on the pictures, it looks very similar (in materials) to the glacier. Different shade of grey of course.

[Ste_S]

Does anyone own an Aion and a Studio? Are the Aion coatings similar, and would, perhaps, suffer similar issues?

[readytotalk]

21 hours ago, KaB said:

- the clip made a clear scratch on the cap, right through the coating.

LAMY Studio Palladium - there is the same scratch under the clip, not as noticeable, but annoying. 

This clip is definitely not a very good engineering design(.

But it is the only problem yet, overall coating looks very good after years of use. 

[sirgilbert357]

3 hours ago, VerTuilo said:

Cool! I will try it out, not sure what the mechanism behind removing the scratches would be, but hey, if it works it works!

 

The green scrubber side basically "re-scratches" the brushed finish back into the metal. I've used this on my own Studio and a few watch bracelets/clasps.

[sirgilbert357]

5 hours ago, Mangrove Jack said:

 

Which side of the sponge should you use for this?

 

The abrasive green scrubber side. Really, any sponge with the scrubber stuff on one side will work, it's just that Scotch Brite branded sponges have consistently given me the best results.

 

You start with light pressure and work your way up. 

[VerTuilo]

2 hours ago, Ste_S said:

Does anyone own an Aion and a Studio? Are the Aion coatings similar, and would, perhaps, suffer similar issues?

They seem to be in a somewhat similar price range, so I would assume so, though the Aion has a different clip.

[VerTuilo]

1 hour ago, readytotalk said:

LAMY Studio Palladium - there is the same scratch under the clip, not as noticeable, but annoying. 

This clip is definitely not a very good engineering design(.

But it is the only problem yet, overall coating looks very good after years of use. 

The scratching is actually pretty light. Definitely something I could live with compared to some of the scratches on black lacquer pens.

[sirgilbert357]

4 minutes ago, VerTuilo said:

They seem to be in a somewhat similar price range, so I would assume so, though the Aion has a different clip.

 

I own the stainless steel Aion and can say, for that one at least, that you cannot refinish that one like you can the all stainless Studio. It has a sort of mix of brushed and matte bead blasted type of finish...something the 'ol Scotchbrite sponge trick can't replicate.

[Mangrove Jack]

1 hour ago, readytotalk said:

LAMY Studio Palladium - there is the same scratch under the clip, not as noticeable, but annoying. 

This clip is definitely not a very good engineering design(.

But it is the only problem yet, overall coating looks very good after years of use. 

The clip on the Studio is one of its characteristic features. It's unusual uniqueness is a strong selling point.

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, readytotalk said:

This clip is definitely not a very good engineering design

 

I see no basis for that claim, if your concern is cosmetic, and perhaps how a scratch may affect the perceived/resale value of the pen. It's a clip; if it delivers the functionality of a clip competently, does not fail mechanically and/or prematurely, and does not interfere with or otherwise compromise the function of the writing instrument, then I don't see it as a flaw in the engineering, whether you're talking about the mechanical design or the actual implementation.