Refill Leads - PICA, for Pica-Dry, 4 Graphite + 2 Red + 2 Yellow, Ø2.8 mm, 8 Pieces, 4020

PICA 4020 Refill Leads for Pica-Dry, 8 Pieces

PICA 4020 is a set of 8 refill leads for the Pica-Dry automatic pencils: 4 graphite, 2 red and 2 yellow. Lead diameter 2.8 mm, length 125 mm. EAN 4260056150272.

Not graphite only

The shop's name calls these graphite refills, but the set is mixed: half graphite and half coloured. The coloured leads are precisely why this refill exists.

Why coloured leads

Graphite is grey and disappears on dark material - black pipe, dark section, scorched surface. Red and yellow read where graphite cannot be seen. That makes 4020 the refill for mixed work rather than for pure setting out.

Non-permanent marking

The leads are non-permanent - the mark rubs out and can be corrected. That is an advantage when setting out, where a line serves once and then gets in the way. For lasting marks the Pica-Ink range is the tool.

Wet and dry

PICA states the leads work on wet as well as dry surfaces and grip most substrates. That is the difference from an ordinary pencil, which simply slides on damp material and leaves nothing.

Compatibility

The refill is for Pica-Dry - the automatic pencils taking a 2.8 mm lead. It does not fit Pica-Fine Dry, whose lead is 0.9 mm. Diameter is the first thing to check when ordering.

Loading

The lead drops into the tube at the back of the pencil and is advanced with the button. Changing colour means removing the current lead - which is why many people keep two Pica-Dry bodies: one graphite, one colour.

How long one lead lasts

A lead is 125 mm and is consumed only by writing, not by sharpening - the automatic pencil feeds it out as needed. That is why one lead outlasts a wooden pencil of the same length several times over: on a wooden pencil half the material leaves as shavings. A set of 8 covers months for someone marking daily.

Technical specifications

Questions and Answers