Their little issues with their chrome on their sockets is just goofy, I'm sure they'll get it worked out; but they need to work it out! The chrome issue on their sockets is probably the most disturbing issue to me since their sockets are their backbone and have always been their best and most consistent product. I REALLY want that 1/4" set, but I'm just not going to buy it until my confidence level is higher.
What issue with their chrome?
The fact that some sockets have paint on the inside and others don't?
That's been explained to death and people still keep spreading misinformation.
They don't paint the insides of the sockets because there is an issue with the chrome, or that they don't chrome the insides of their sockets or anything like that (on a side note, how the hell do you not chrome the inside of any sockets- sockets are dipped when they are chromed, not like chrome is sprayed onto the sockets or something like that).
Furthermore, if the chrome on the insides of the sockets was so poor, then why would they apply a paint layer that comes off with a use or two? The paint comes off, and then you can see the nice chrome underneath it. This is a technique that is used by more than just SK, but people only complain about it when it comes on an SK socket set (Armstrong has the same thing on their sockets, and I've seen it on others- usually US brands- too).
The reason not all of them come with the paint on the inside is an old vs new production thing. Sockets made early (not sure when exactly it ended, but it was probably 2-3 or maybe 4 years) under the Ideal industry ownership did not have the paint. It was a recent change.
SK (as do most tool manufacturers) doesn't have one machine for every single socket size they make. Instead they have just a few large machines with dies that can be swapped. They then make X number of size Y, and then A number of size B, and so on and so forth. Therefore, SK still has many sockets left over without the paint. It may take years (especially for some of the less popular sizes) to be worked out of the systems (not to mention those that are sent to a warehouse and may be there for 5, 10 years) before they all have the paint. And by that time SK may decide that the paint isn't worth the cost and switch back to unpainted interiors!
Now occasionally some sockets do get released with an over spray, globby interior spray, or partial interior spray. Yeah, they don't look great, but again, the paint comes off easily if you actually use them
If that's not what you meant, then this doesn't apply to you. But it's probably helpful to repeat for many here who have no clue (many of which don't own any SK sockets, or they would know that the paint comes off with use).
I should also note by "use," I mean using them on nuts and bolts like in automotive repair. Not "use," as is polishing them for your display case next to the dining room table.
On another aside, I've never understood this forum's obsession with the interior finish of sockets. Don't the interiors all get beat to hell and filled with dirt in a few days anyway? Or is that just me?
