Refinishing Vanishing Vanishing Point Paint

[ralfstc]

Hi folks,

 

Just wondering if anybody had really had a go at this yet? There is talk of Duracoat and Cerakote in the forums, but I'm wondering if anybody has tried it and how it went?

 

Thanks!

 

Ralf

[sotto2]

I would be interested in this also, but not for a VP. I just want a desert camo FP a la this. I have seen it done on pistols.

 

http://i57.tinypic.com/xfnfhi.jpg

Edited May 6, 2014 by sotto2

[Nokin]

Talk to 'Force' in the Waterman sub-forum - he's repainted Carenes ver successfully, so he may have some good advice for you.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

With the Cerakote, the thing needs to be disassembled down to the metal parts, especially if they're using an H-series thermal cure type coating. Also the parts need to be sandblasted and heated for cleaning. I wonder if someone has been able to get the pen completely taken apart for something like this.

 

Dillon

[Tombstone]

I think it would be easier to ask Richard Binder for a complete pen without nib unit...

[ralfstc]

Thanks for thoughts so far. It would be easier to get a new body, but this is about science, man!

 

R.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I am not disparaging Force's great jobs at repaints.

 

But, the long term durability of the refinish is still in question.

 

Ron Zorn in Repairs just mentioned this repainting idea and said the he has tried many things and nothing has had satisfactory durability.

 

I would also agree that a factory finish is Usually about as good as you're going to get, at least on a major pen brand pen.

 

(It's not quite the same but a few years ago at the Tractor Demo's during Bike Week in Daytona, I chatted with a paint technician from the Harley Davidson factory in York, Pa. <The factory uses the Bike Week trip in the Spring to Fla., to work their booth, as an employee incentive.> Now I already knew Harley had great paint jobs but I was pretty surprised at how advanced their paint system is. It's all computer monitored and controlled where humidity and temps are constantly monitored and any necessary changes to the spray settings happen automatically.)

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[ralfstc]

These are fair points, but we know that the VP matte black is "not terribly robust" and I am now looking at an out of warranty badly scratched up pen. I just want to know who has tried this.

 

Bear in mind, of course, that the VP is metal, which has a significant effect when it comes to refinishing.

 

Cheers,

 

R.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Someone with a scratched up Stealth VP should get creative and truck bed coat that puppy!

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[ralfstc]

Yup, that's what I'm thinking!

 

R.

[Dillo]

I think Cerakote would be a viable option as long as someone can get the pen apart completely. I'm thinking Armour Black. It's quite a tough coating, and I have something that has been Cerakoted a few years ago, and it still looks new despite all the abuse. We have to figure out a way to take the pen apart without breaking anything.

 

Dillon

[Ron Z]

Here's the thing. As Dillon has said, you need to be able to strip a pen down to the bare metal to use some of the materials because you need to heat them. That means that any plastic parts have to come out, and that will be tough to do without breaking something because a lot if not most of the parts are pressed, glued, staked, crimped, riveted or whatever else you can think of, together. All done of course before the pen was assembled. The pens or parts weren't designed to be repaired, but simply replaced. That leaves out things like powder coating or any other process that requires heat like baking to bond and/or cure. Maybe someone could turn this in to a niche, but I would think that for it to be at all profitable, they'd have to charge a heck of a lot to cover time and the failed repair. At that point the owner might just do better to order a new barrel.

[sotto2]

I know one thing (sorry if this is simpleminded) about pen painting. Awhile back I used a silver Sharpie enamel paint pen to put an "eternal" symbol in Chinese calligraphy on the back of one of my fountain pen caps. The thing lasted just fine for days and seemed to be holding up well until one day I put some Lac-Hydrin hand lotion on and handled the pen about 45 minutes later. Within about 3 minutes of using the pen, that enamel paint started coming off.

Edited May 7, 2014 by sotto2

[Komitadjie]

I've actually been somewhat tempted to go the OTHER direction with one of my Lamys that is losing the finish, it might work even better on the VP... Mask all the detail trim, then microblast with ~320 grit AO to remove all finish and take it back to the bare metal, then lightly wax to protect the bright surface.

[rutherfordr]

That would be cool -- you'd have a shiny brass Pilot Vanishing Point pen.

[Komitadjie]

More or less what I was thinking, in my eye that'd be really cool, I'd buy that new, to be honest. I love bright-finished brass, it's a classic, awesome look. Heck, at some point I should see if I can buy a scratched up ol' VP body (I've got a spare nib unit already) and see how it looks!

Edited May 7, 2014 by Komitadjie

[KBeezie]

Hrm I wonder how well spray-lacquer would work on those once you've stripped it of remaining paint. (and of coursed removed all the parts that could be removed before applying).

[fljones3]

I just emailed Pilot about my VP Matte Black and they said for me to mail it to them for repairs. Plan to send it off tomorrow. The pen had the matte black scratches and metal exposure.

[KBeezie]

I just emailed Pilot about my VP Matte Black and they said for me to mail it to them for repairs. Plan to send it off tomorrow. The pen had the matte black scratches and metal exposure.

 

Where is their repair center located in the US?

[Ron Z]

Hrm I wonder how well spray-lacquer would work on those once you've stripped it of remaining paint. (and of coursed removed all the parts that could be removed before applying).

It would chip off even with a good primer.