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BayesianPrior
November 11th, 2017, 01:39 PM
The whys and wherefores should not be terribly interesting to the wider group, and would only further shine a light on my eccentricities.

My question is whether anyone has successfully polished off some (or all) of the rhodium plating from a yellow gold nib? In particular, I would like to turn a fully rhodium plated M805 nib into a two-tone nib as provided with the M800. If that is too complicated, I would be happy with a full yellow gold nib.

I have approached a number of local jewellers who have all said it is technically possible to remove the rhodium plating by polishing, but they have expressed concern about either bending the nib out of alignment or gunking up the feed with their polishing effluvium.

Has anyone done something similar? How would you assess the risk of ruining a delightful nib?

Chrissy
November 11th, 2017, 02:31 PM
I suspect that the first thing to do would be to pull the nib and feed out of the collar, so the nib can be worked on without 'gunking up the feed.'

Once the nib is out and is on a nib block, then polishing off the rhodium would surely be easier? How to get the rhodium off, while leaving all of the nib imprint on the nib might be the next problem. :(

BayesianPrior
November 11th, 2017, 02:45 PM
Thanks Chrissy. Yes, I suppose isolation of the nib is an obvious preventive step for a FP Geek. I doubt any of the jewellers here would be familiar with that approach. Perhaps the services of a nibmeister who has the proper tools and appreciates the delicate nature of the nib should be retained.

As for the imprint, I'm not that bothered.

I think an M800 nib with plating similar to a Waterman 100 would be beautiful. Fully gold nib except for a chevron of rhodium at the business end.

Chrissy
November 11th, 2017, 02:55 PM
'dutchpen' on FPN rhodium plates nibs, and in order to do that, they have to be pristinely clean before you can start plating. He might know about removing rhodium. Just a thought. :)

top pen
November 11th, 2017, 04:42 PM
Migh be counter intuitive but plating it in gold may be the simpler option over removing the rhodium

dfo
November 11th, 2017, 05:21 PM
I would not suggest trying to polish off the Rhodium trim. There are too many factors that might harm the nib and would definitely void the warranty. If you pay a jeweler to do it, you are running into the price-realm of just purchasing a new M800 nib from a European distributer. I would suggest seeing if anyone here or elsewhere would be open to trade nibs.

SIR
November 12th, 2017, 12:09 AM
You can try talking to Michael of Hepworth Dixon (http://www.hepworthdixon.com/contact.php), he is clued up on plating ;).

jar
November 12th, 2017, 04:11 AM
Or maybe just buy an 800 nib?

Chrissy
November 12th, 2017, 05:40 AM
Or maybe just buy an 800 nib?
Yes I think I would go with this option. :)

BayesianPrior
November 12th, 2017, 05:50 AM
That would be a logical option, except the M805 nib has been ground from a fine to a 0.3 CI and is just amazing.

Also the jeweller quoted me less than £20 to polish off the rhodium, which is less than a new M800 nib.

Thanks for the all the input - a good reality check!

Chrissy
November 12th, 2017, 04:43 PM
I would live with it. Taking off the rhodium might make it unexpectedly more flexible, and you might not like it quite as much.

adhoc
November 13th, 2017, 02:41 AM
I’d buy an M805 Stresemann. It’s beautiful and the nib fits perfectly - aesthetics wise. I’d strongly advise against removing the coating. My source is my masters degree in fracture mechanics and degree in mechanical engineering, as well as 7 years of experience in fields of mechanical and thermal fatigue, and residual stresses (automotive research and development).

Mori45
March 11th, 2018, 04:58 PM
Simichrome works great for this--I've used it to scrub gold wash off vintage Pd nibs, and it's worked well. The bigger challenge may be resetting the nib once your refinishing is done. Goes without saying, but you'll have to remove the feed and collar before you polish the nib.