What is laquer?

[bilbok]

When a pen is lacquered, does it mean the whole pen is made out of lacque or that the top is covered by lacque ?

 

Same question for celluiloide and resine.

 

 

Thanks

[tfwall]

When a pen is lacquered, does it mean the whole pen is made out of lacque or that the top is covered by lacque ?

 

Same question for celluiloide and resine.

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Lacquer generally means that the pen has been treated with a clear, hard finish to protect the surface or artwork.

 

Celluloid and resin are types of plastics and generally used to denote that significant portions of the pen are made of the material stated.

[Songwind]

Not all lacquers are clear, actually. I believe that most of the time a lacquer finish in pen terms means a finish on top of a metal barrel, like on a Targa.

[rhk745]

Laque is finish in the pen which can allow a so many color. I just search some Parker Sonnet. You can refer my attached photo.

 

This is laque finish for whole pen. You can see a difference color.

 

 

JoJo

[bilbok]

If it is just the finishing, why are lacquer pens much heavier than resine pen in the sidecar line of Dunhill ?

[Splicer]

If it is just the finishing, why are lacquer pens much heavier than resine pen in the sidecar line of Dunhill ?

 

Usually I've seen lacquer-over-brass pens or resin pens where the resin is the barrel. I'm not sure that there is necessarily any difference between the lacquer materials and the resin materials. "Lacquer" refers to a coating. So if you cover over a brass barrel with resin, you have a lacquer pen. If you mold resin into an all-resin barrel (don't ask me how this stuff works, I'm just spitballing here) you have a resin pen.

 

Maybe?

 

Edit: OK I just reread the original question. My little dictionary says, "a liquid made of shellac dissolved in alcohol or other synthetic substances, that dries to form a hard protective coating for wood, metal, etc." It was the "synthetic substances" part that made me think that just coating with some kind of plastic would be a lacquer and that theoretically it could be the same stuff that goes into making the plastic barrel of a resin pen. I don't know how any of it is actually composed, I'm just suggesting that the thing that makes it a lacquer is that it was coated over an underlayer, not anything about the nature of the substance.

Edited May 31, 2008 by Splicer

[tfwall]

If it is just the finishing, why are lacquer pens much heavier than resine pen in the sidecar line of Dunhill ?

 

The lacquer line is actually brass bodies and caps with decoration and coats of lacquer added. The resin pens are plastic and thus weigh less than similar size pens made of brass.

[encephalartos]

Maybe?

 

Edit: OK I just reread the original question. My little dictionary says, "a liquid made of shellac dissolved in alcohol or other synthetic substances, that dries to form a hard protective coating for wood, metal, etc." It was the "synthetic substances" part that made me think that just coating with some kind of plastic would be a lacquer and that theoretically it could be the same stuff that goes into making the plastic barrel of a resin pen. I don't know how any of it is actually composed, I'm just suggesting that the thing that makes it a lacquer is that it was coated over an underlayer, not anything about the nature of the substance.

 

From print-making class, I remember that shellac and lacquer were DISTINCTLY different substances.

Shellac thinner was denatured alcohol (since the shellac was dissolved in alcohol, so works the same

way as ink that's mostly water). Lacquer does NOT dissolve in alcohol, but in lacquer thinner, which is much

nastier as solvents go, and had acetone or other petroleum distillates in it. (Neither of the above

solvents were encouraged as hand-cleaner, as they can be absorbed through the SKIN. Hand

cleaner was the goopy lanolin-based "GoJo" or other shop hand cleaner).

 

It makes sense to me that if the pen called "lacquer" is lacquer over brass, then it would feel heavier

that solid resin. Sort of like the brass Rotring 600, for a really extreme example of heavy metal

pendom.

[ANM]

Lacquer is a resin but as far as I know, it is not self supporting like other resins which can be molded. Lacquer is always placed over some kind of support, like wood or metal. It dries to a natural resin. I think Chinese Lacquerware is built up in many layers over woven bamboo. Maki-e pens are sometimes lacquered over a wood base.

 

lacquer is similar to shellac but as encephalartos noted, they do not use the same solvent. Lacquer is generally stronger and longer lasting than alcohol based shellac.

[bilbok]

If it is just the finishing, why are lacquer pens much heavier than resine pen in the sidecar line of Dunhill ?

 

The lacquer line is actually brass bodies and caps with decoration and coats of lacquer added. The resin pens are plastic and thus weigh less than similar size pens made of brass.

 

Why are the lacquer only on brass and not resine ?

 

Is it possible to have resine over brass or all resine pen are 100% resine ?

 

So resine and brass are meterials and laquer is the coat (and a special resine as well) ?

Edited May 31, 2008 by bilbok

[tfwall]

Why are the lacquer only on brass and not resine ?

 

Is it possible to have resine over brass or all resine pen are 100% resine ?

 

So resine and brass are meterials and laquer is the coat (and a special resine as well) ?

 

Right. The lacquer is similar to a paint or a glue. You apply a thin layer to protect the artwork on some pens (like the red Parker shown above, the lacquer will keep all those flowers made from gold powder from wearing off) or give pens a pleasingly smooth touch (as lacquer over engraved metal designs). You could make a pen out of lacquer if you liked, just keep adding coats for thickness. It would take a while. Even Japanese urushi pens, which use a dozen or more layers of lacquer, have a plastic pen body as a base.

 

Resin, celluloid, hard rubber, ebonite, precious resin, and injection molded plastic are all just variations of plastic. Some of the terms are historical, others are marketing and some are just nonsense. At the end of the day though, they are all plastic. You can certainly have metal components on a resin pen, but you don't usually get resin over metal. The adhesion isn't really there.

 

Sometimes manufacturers add metal sleeves to increase the weight of a plastic pen, so that it feels more substantial. The Conway Stewart Nelsons and Trafalgars are examples of this technique.

 

When you are looking at a pen body and cap you can expect that they will be made of a precious metal (silver, gold, etc...), a base metal (brass, copper, steel, etc...) or plastic. There are some rare exceptions like wood or casein (a milk protein) but in general you'll be on the right track if you start there.

[rhk]

If it is just the finishing, why are lacquer pens much heavier than resine pen in the sidecar line of Dunhill ?

 

The lacquer line is actually brass bodies and caps with decoration and coats of lacquer added. The resin pens are plastic and thus weigh less than similar size pens made of brass.

 

Why are the lacquer only on brass and not resine ?

 

Is it possible to have resine over brass or all resine pen are 100% resine ?

 

So resine and brass are meterials and laquer is the coat (and a special resine as well) ?

 

 

Lacquer is applied to resin: the cheaper Sailor maki-e pens are based on resin models, with lacquer applied to it and the (silk) art work. Probably the same applies to the cheaper Pilot pens. I seem to remember that Nakaya pens are made from ebonite, and then lacquer is applied. Ruud

[daveg]

Typically, base metal is painted or plated and plastic isn't. Not just pens - most products are like this. Why paint a plastic when the plastic can be made in any color you like? (Most plastics are clear and are easily mixed with colors.) Of course, there are always some exceptions to every rule. There are painted and plated plastics and metals that have been colored in some way.

[Siv]

Shellac comes from an insect.

 

Lacquer comes from tree sap (urushiol) or synthetic polymers.

 

Celluloid is made from nitrocellulose (from cotton) and camphor.

 

Resin is tree sap also.

 

 

[tfwall]

Resin is tree sap also.

 

The resin you are likely to encounter in the fountain pen world is not tree sap but a petroleum derived plastic. The word resin in the natural world means the sticky clear secretions of trees, the sort of stuff that becomes amber. In the modern world, resin means a type of plastic made from a liquid via polymerization or esterification.

 

Similarly, outside of some high-end specialty pens, any lacquer or celluloid you come across is a product of a chemical engineering plant, not a natural product.

 

[bilbok]

Resin is tree sap also.

 

The resin you are likely to encounter in the fountain pen world is not tree sap but a petroleum derived plastic. The word resin in the natural world means the sticky clear secretions of trees, the sort of stuff that becomes amber. In the modern world, resin means a type of plastic made from a liquid via polymerization or esterification.

 

Similarly, outside of some high-end specialty pens, any lacquer or celluloid you come across is a product of a chemical engineering plant, not a natural product.

 

I red on Omas' site that celluloid was a natural material.