The ones I've seen that were chipped were all older - brownish cast from age, but not plated types, just the types that were originally lacquered.
I use the lever cap because it's always with the plane, it always works, and it kind of encourages me to not to overtighten things. If an iron and cap iron are slipping on each other (sometimes happens on wooden planes), then it's a good idea to use 220 sandpaper or something and sand some light cross scratches on the iron and cap perpendicular to their length.
I used to have three screwdrivers in my sharpening bench, but I gave one away (the LV cap iron thingy shaped like a knob), still have the LN one somewhere (someone gave it to me as a gift) and the other was a husky (home depot) stubby screw driver with a long handle (the most practical of the three because the blade isn't so fat). I couldn't tell you where it is as all of my current metal planes fit (and maybe by chance, they all have plated lever caps and no chipping). Millers falls maybe comes to mind as a plane where the lever cap didn't fit and I found that unrewarding!!
