Delta Dolcevita Eyedropper

[treborefir]

Hi everyone,

 

I've recently gotten a new DolceVita which I absolutely love. The only thing is the converter runs out of ink pretty quickly. I've removed the converter and used the pen as an eyedropper, which it is designed to do. Now for the but, after filling with the new MB Royal Blue I've gotten some discoloration in the barrel. I'm hoping it will go away after I empty it. If it does I'm wondering if there is anything I can use to coat the inside of the barrel. The discoloration really takes the sharp beauty of the orange away and I am nervous about it permanently staining.

 

Anyone have thoughts about this?

 

Thanks

[Strang]

I'm not aware of anything you can coat the barrel with to prevent this and, with translucent celluloid, staining may be inevitable.

[treborefir]

I'm not aware of anything you can coat the barrel with to prevent this and, with translucent celluloid, staining may be inevitable.

 

 

I believe its acrylic not celluloid. I was thing about trying lacquer, on a beater pen, to see if it would help.

[MJ Vesuvius]

I bought a used Dolce Vita with a faint stain near the threads that was obviously caused by its previous owner using it eye dropper style. I think the light colored material is just too light for this, and wouldn't risk it. I would love to find a way to eliminate the stain ... water soaks haven't worked.

-- MJ

[kauloltran]

Hi everyone,

 

I've recently gotten a new DolceVita which I absolutely love. The only thing is the converter runs out of ink pretty quickly. I've removed the converter and used the pen as an eyedropper, which it is designed to do. Now for the but, after filling with the new MB Royal Blue I've gotten some discoloration in the barrel. I'm hoping it will go away after I empty it. If it does I'm wondering if there is anything I can use to coat the inside of the barrel. The discoloration really takes the sharp beauty of the orange away and I am nervous about it permanently staining.

 

Anyone have thoughts about this?

 

Thanks

 

Before I start, have you tried using the long Waterman cartridges? They store twice as much ink as a converter and probably more ink than most piston fillers. I have been using my oversize DS with the long cartridges, never a converter for me.

 

If you really want, you can coat the inside of the acrylic barrel with silicone grease, a whole lot of it. Use the thick kind of grease, not the liquid kind, and spread it all over the walls of the barrel. Silicone grease is a hydrophobic substance and will not mix with the the water-based inks. I would use up a whole jar of silicone grease to build a thick grease layer inside the barrel, sort of like a blood vessel that's clogged with plaque and fats.The inks can still stain the grease layer, but the barrel material is definitely protected. On a side note, the Oversized DS is the one that was designed to be used alternatively as an eyedropper. The regular size DS have metal threads, which can corrode, under no protection, over time in an aqueous environment that is created by storing ink directly in the barrel. You can still protect the metal components by coating it with lots of silicone grease and or possibly a lacquer.

 

Here is an illustration. Suppose that the yellow layer is your thick silicone grease, or some other kind of hydrophobic lubricants.

 

http://cdn3.healthcommunities.com/image-gallery/size_400x348/crop_a/dir/article-upload/578-Clogged-artery-MF.jpg

Edited November 11, 2012 by kauloltran

[kauloltran]

I bought a used Dolce Vita with a faint stain near the threads that was obviously caused by its previous owner using it eye dropper style. I think the light colored material is just too light for this, and wouldn't risk it. I would love to find a way to eliminate the stain ... water soaks haven't worked.

-- MJ

LOL, easy solution. Try ammonia and a test tube scrub.

http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/961/flashcards/355961/jpg/test_tube_bursh1314573013480.jpg

Edited November 11, 2012 by kauloltran

[kauloltran]

Using a clear lacquer to coat the barrel is probably more practical than what I had suggested earlier. I believe the barrel can still stain nevertheless, but it won't hurt you as much if scrubbing becomes necessary to remove the stains on the inside. The only other thing I can think of is the use of a water repellent solvent over an existing clear lacquer.

Edited November 11, 2012 by kauloltran

[raging.dragon]

I'm not aware of anything you can coat the barrel with to prevent this and, with translucent celluloid, staining may be inevitable.

 

I believe its acrylic not celluloid. I was thing about trying lacquer, on a beater pen, to see if it would help.

 

I believe the standard Dolce Vitas are acrylic, though celluloid is used in many limited edition variants. Some lacquers, epoxies, etc. contain solvents that are likely to damage a plastic pen. There are many types of lacquer, which were you thinking of trying?

[treborefir]

Hi,

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

I never thought about using silicone. That might work.

 

The lacquer I was thinking about using is the regular stuff one can buy at Home Depot. They use it to finish furniture and such.

 

Seems like I won't need to worry about permanent staining using the ammonia to clean it up.

 

The waterman cartridge sounds good too. I have some and will check it out.

[MJ Vesuvius]

1352620548[/url]' post='2507863']

1352619242[/url]' post='2507858']

I bought a used Dolce Vita with a faint stain near the threads that was obviously caused by its previous owner using it eye dropper style. I think the light colored material is just too light for this, and wouldn't risk it. I would love to find a way to eliminate the stain ... water soaks haven't worked.

-- MJ

LOL, easy solution. Try ammonia and a test tube scrub.

http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/961/flashcards/355961/jpg/test_tube_bursh1314573013480.jpg

Thanks for the tip, I'll try it. My concern is that the stain isn't just on the inside surface, but that the ink penetrated into the material. But maybe the ammonia will get it out...

[davidv7]

I think the problem is the translucency of the barrel.

I only fill my DVOS with Herbin Orange Indien, since it matches perfectly with the color of the pen. Any other ink is seen through even if it not stains the barrel.

[rockspyder]

I've stopped using mine as an eyedropper for two reasons:

 

- the "glow" of the barrel changes too much if it is filled with ink, and loses a lot of its lustre. Even if stains are not permanent, it looks too different. The few stains I had, eventually came out with a bit of soaking.

 

- it started leaking, not at the screw section, but at the junction between the black and the orange, not gushing, but enough to annoyingly stain my fingers.

 

I agree wih the converter being too limited in capacity, but a long standard cart works very well. Enough ink, and no stains, and no change in the pen's glow

[Namo]

 

- it started leaking, not at the screw section, but at the junction between the black and the orange, not gushing, but enough to annoyingly stain my fingers.

 

 

Not normal - I did have the same trouble with two of the DDVOS I owned: the first one was bought new and I got a full refunding from the seller (our speerbob here); the other one was bought second hand. I had it sent to Delta USA, and then to Italy. The barrel was replaced even though I didn't have any papers for this one - not free though, it costed me about 50$. Delta service is not the fastest but it seems they are doing their job and a little more.

[treborefir]

Hi,

 

Thanks again for all your input.

 

I cleaned out the barrel and there was no staining. The orange is once again beautiful! After some thought I decided to go with the Waterman cartridge, which worked perfectly. I appears to be big enough for my needs and I don't mind refilling them. With the cartridge there is no discoloration and the pen is great.

 

Bob

[torstar]

I turned my DV Oro Oversize into an ED, briefly.

 

It stained various parts of the section and barrel.

 

Experiment ended quickly.

 

The Sailor 1911 Demo was a much better choice for converting to ED.

[raging.dragon]

The lacquer I was thinking about using is the regular stuff one can buy at Home Depot. They use it to finish furniture and such.

 

That would most likely be nitro-cellulose lacquer, which is essentially plastic dissolved in solvents. The solvents in it would certainly dissolve celluloid - if you were very careful, instead of the celluloid being destroyed the lacquer coats would become a thin layer of clear plastic solvent welded to your pen! I'm not sure how acrylic would interact with nitro-cellulose lacquer but I wouldn't risk it.

 

An epoxy finish would have better resistance to ink staining and be less likely to damage plastic; however, many epoxies also contain solvents that could damage plastics. With research and careful application it should be possible to find an expoxy that works safely with acrylic resin. Additionally, with any product intended for wood finishing, there's a risk it won't adhere well to plastic, so epoxy glues would be another option to consider.

 

The problem with testing on a beater pen, is that the beater may be made of a different plastic that reacts differently to the solvent. So you really won't know for sure what will happen until you put it on your good pen.

 

The simplest and easiest solution is to use the converter.

[davidv7]

Hi,

 

Thanks again for all your input.

 

I cleaned out the barrel and there was no staining. The orange is once again beautiful! After some thought I decided to go with the Waterman cartridge, which worked perfectly. I appears to be big enough for my needs and I don't mind refilling them. With the cartridge there is no discoloration and the pen is great.

 

Bob

 

Aren`t the Waterman cartridges proprietary?

[treborefir]

Hi,

 

Thanks again for all your input.

 

I cleaned out the barrel and there was no staining. The orange is once again beautiful! After some thought I decided to go with the Waterman cartridge, which worked perfectly. I appears to be big enough for my needs and I don't mind refilling them. With the cartridge there is no discoloration and the pen is great.

 

Bob

 

Aren`t the Waterman cartridges proprietary?

 

I've been using the Waterman cart for about 2 days now. There have been no problems and the orange stays orange. The cart fit right on the Delta and seems to be a good tight fit. I'm satisfied with the results.

[kauloltran]

 

Aren`t the Waterman cartridges proprietary?

 

No. Waterman carts are international standard size.

[raging.dragon]

 

Aren`t the Waterman cartridges proprietary?

 

No. Waterman carts are international standard size.

 

Waterman cartridges are longer than standard international cartidges, though most pens that take international cartridges will work with the Waterman cartridges. I think they're sized to fit any pen that will take an international converter.