When I popped into Empeg last week, I mentioned this issue with the handles to Hugo.

He said that the coating has not turned out to be as resilient as expected, and certainly nowhere near as good as the contractor indicated it would be. It's a great shame, as the unpainted metalwork is of superb quality. It's just a pity that the metalworking company can't do the painting as well.

I believe that Empeg are now looking into alternative coatings for future production, but I'm sure that Rob can provide more accurate details on this.

Andy.