SK -4613 3/8 drive 6 point regular length socket

[cherrybomb]

I just received a new set of sockets 1/4 thru 1 inch.The 1/4 and 5/16 are absolutely perfect chrome,inside and out.The 3/8 thru 1 inch have excellent chrome on the outside but the inside is absolutely terrible. They look like somebody spray painted flat aluminum paint.What a disappointment, I was hoping SK had turned things around.I thought they could hang with Proto,Wright and Williams USA.Any body else seen this?What would you do?

 

[jumbojak]

I'm pretty sure that what you are looking at is in fact paint. It's a corrosion inhibitor that SK is using on new production. The sockets without the paint are older stock that they had on hand. Unless I'm mistaken Proto does the same thing now.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I just received a new set of sockets 1/4 thru 1 inch.The 1/4 and 5/16 are absolutely perfect chrome,inside and out.The 3/8 thru 1 inch have excellent chrome on the outside but the inside is absolutely terrible. They look like somebody spray painted flat aluminum paint.What a disappointment, I was hoping SK had turned things around.I thought they could hang with Proto,Wright and Williams USA.Any body else seen this?What would you do?

Discussed SO many times before. That is protective paint. It will wear off and the chrome is the same underneath as the outside of the socket.

 

[davethorik]

Do you use your tools, or polish them? If you use them, its a non-issue

 

[LB-1911]

I just received a new set of sockets 1/4 thru 1 inch.The 1/4 and 5/16 are absolutely perfect chrome,inside and out.The 3/8 thru 1 inch have excellent chrome on the outside but the inside is absolutely terrible. They look like somebody spray painted flat aluminum paint.What a disappointment, I was hoping SK had turned things around.I thought they could hang with Proto,Wright and Williams USA.

Any body else seen this?What would you do?

Nothing new

08-26-2015

I just want to make a comment about SK sockets. I've read several posts on here about the satin finish inside some SK sockets and not others.

When looking at my sets, sizes about 3/8" and up have the satin like "paint" It seems it is paint over the chrome for a small layer of added protection.

Use the socket the first time and the paint wears away and the socket looks like it was used for it's intended purpose.....turning nuts and bolts.

Smaller sizes don't seem to have this finish, likely b/c of spraying onto the outside of the socket? All the larger sizes have this paint and it comes off with first use and there is good chrome underneath.

I don't know why people are complaining about this when it comes to SK. There are taking an extra step in the process and whether it's beneficial or not is up to the end user i guess, but it's certainly not a QA problem, or an old stock new stock thing. I think some get their ******* in a bunch over SK because of the changeover and past QA problems.

SK is the best bang for your buck, and are not made for the people who open up a case of sockets and analyze every little detail.

It definately seems SK sockets are not for the "polishers" but rather for the "users". And by "polishers" i don't mean people who take good care of their tools, I'm talking about people who buy them for pretty or some sort of passage to manhood....who knows.

03-16-2012,

So I'm still deciding on what sockets to get. I keep looking at SK but always find pictures of sockets without chrome as in the picture below. Has anyone bought a set in the last 6 months that can verify if any of them are like this? Notice some of them are satin inside?

03-16-2012,

That's an anti-corrosion coating.

I've seen discrepancies between sockets anywhere from HF all the way up to Snap-on.

You don't want heavy chrome inside your sockets, one, because it will modify the dimensions of the socket, and two, because the stress it is put under will cause it to flake almost immediately.


I've been wrenching for quite some time, and only in the past year or so, and only on this forum, have I seen people getting so concerned about the finish on the inside of sockets. I'm not trying to say this in a mean way or anything, just that I really don't understand the concern.

If you look at any well used socket set, the inside looks NASTY after very little use... grease, rust, dirt, etc. from bolt heads get stuck in there right off the bat.


All this says to me is that SK started using an anti-corrosion coating on the inside of their sockets at some point in the past, and this set has some older and some newer sockets in it. Almost every USA socket manufacturer uses some form of this coating nowadays.


I think what happened here, is someone posted and got all worked up about the inside of his/her sockets, and then someone else read it and got the idea that it actually mattered, and it was just a snowball effect.


SK has made a decent amount of small changes in the recent past, and I don't honestly think any SK tool you get is going to be compromised in quality. The only difference IMO is slightly different cosmetics.


If you're purchasing the tools for a showpiece/tool collection as some on this board seem to do (no offense intended to anyone whatsoever, I just feel that is the truth), maybe you should step it up to brand new Snap-on or Wright. If you're planning on actually using them on dirty fasteners, I wouldn't worry about it too much, if at all. For that use, you WILL NOT find a better USA made value for your money than the SK master sets... there is just no other option at that price range/quality level/COO, period.

What you really need to ask, is whether finish discrepancies are worth spending twice as much on Wright or Proto, or four times as much on Snap-on (to you, of course, everyone's idea of worth is different).

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Do you use your tools, or polish them? If you use them, its a non-issue

This^

 

[skippy_ps]

Bought a new set of SK 3/8 drive sockets earlier this year. All but one were coated on the inside. Curious, I dunked the 15mm in acetone and swished it around a little. Took the coating right off and underneath was a perfectly formed socket.

On the left is a de-painted 15mm, then a painted 16mm and a Performance Tool 3/4 drive that is also painted. Oh. The orange on top of the sockets is some kind of funky light reflection.

Paint means that you'll get a socket that isn't rusty on the inside. Good.

 

[PJNJ]

I'm pretty sure that what you are looking at is in fact paint. It's a corrosion inhibitor that SK is using on new production. The sockets without the paint are older stock that they had on hand. Unless I'm mistaken Proto does the same thing now.

Yes it is. I bought 1/4 and 3/8 sets in the green cases last year. I think almost all were coated in the paint.

Discussed SO many times before. That is protective paint. It will wear off and the chrome is the same underneath as the outside of the socket.

Absolutely true.

Do you use your tools, or polish them? If you use them, its a non-issue

It's amazing how true this statement is.

Bought a new set of SK 3/8 drive sockets earlier this year. All but one were coated on the inside. Curious, I dunked the 15mm in acetone and swished it around a little. Took the coating right off and underneath was a perfectly formed socket.

On the left is a de-painted 15mm, then a painted 16mm and a Performance Tool 3/4 drive that is also painted. Oh. The orange on top of the sockets is some kind of funky light reflection.

Paint means that you'll get a socket that isn't rusty on the inside. Good.

I'll take the paint every time. It's an extra step that SK and others are taking for our and their benefit.

 

[like2wheel]

Pretty sure I noticed this same phenomenon back in the '80s inside Craftsman sockets.

 

[cliftonbros89]

It's the same thing with the deepwell 1/2" sockets I bought a few years ago and the same with the semi-deep 1/4" set I bought just a few months ago. Some of them have it, some of them don't. But they still work, and they're still a quality tool. I'll take some "painted" SK sockets over some worn out old Craftsman sockets or some cheap foreign set any day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[LB-1911]

Discussed SO many times before.

That is protective paint.

It will wear off and the chrome is the same underneath as the outside of the socket.

cherrybomb has become enlightened.



8/2/17

Just a while back I posted on this site about my recent purchase of a set of SK 3/8 ,6 point regular length sockets.

At the time I was extremely disappointed as there was a paint like substance in them.I contacted SK customer service,and they assured me it was for rust prevention,or just return them.

After reading here,from fellow members,with much more experience than myself,I realized I was totally wrong on my observations.

I contacted SK and apologized for actions.

They said honest question and happens quite a bit.

Enjoy them,and I believe I will.I also have to apologize to my fellow GJ members if I misled any body on SK quality.

I used one,paint came right off.SK is quality,they have turned things around,check their product if your looking for USA tools and my original post on SK 3/8 sockets.I bad!

 

[cherrybomb]

Thanks guys,I hadn't bought sockets in a few,I now know I believe I have some good old USA sockets,and you didn't beat me up,thats a win,win