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Materials Concern: Petrolatum


Ernst Bitterman

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This is under the heading of a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, at least in as much as it causes needless worry.

 

Point for clarification: We do not like petroleum jelly (more commonly Vaseline), right? Attacks plastic, attacks rubber, generally not a good thing. We leave it out of the tool kit, if I've done my reading properly.

 

With that in hand, I now get to the meat of the matter. I was recently re-reading a thread on the topic of sealing threads on eyedroppers, and there was approbation of wax, as can be had in bulk in the form of the rings meant to seal the outflow of a toilet to the waste pipe. Good stuff, and I've used it myself. However, with a little bit of free time, I let curiosity prod me into investigating the Materials Sheet for wax rings, and I find... petrolatum. No particular warnings, but the word rings a bell.

 

So I check the Materials Sheet for Vaseline. I find... petrolatum.

 

A little knowledge. These things have different gross properties, so they're clearly not exactly the same thing. But do they differ enough for our purposes? I don't know. I'm not starting this thread to alarm people, but rather I hope that someone with rather more knowledge will swing in and explain the difference satisfactorily and set my feeble mind at rest.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

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Far as I'm aware it's exactly the same thing as pure petroleum jelly, just different name for it. (Vaseline may be something else, since it may have something more than just petro jelly). ie: It can also be called soft paraffin.

 

Also I'm only aware of it attacking some plastics, with it being mostly a concern to hard rubbers, etc.

Edited by KBeezie
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I did a bit of research recently respecting the use of toilet sealing rings as a handy source of beeswax for use in pen work. Apparently in days of yore those toilet seals were indeed made of beeswax. However current production is virtually all composed of petroleum-based wax.

 

So off to Michael's I went where I bought a lifetime's supply of beeswax in the form of a huge bar thereof. It's not inexpensive, but as I say it'll see me to the bitter end.

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Are we talking about this wax as a substitute for pure silicone grease for thread sealant?

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I use 100% silicone (I bought it at my local Ace Hardware store). I have been advised not to use beeswax or petroleum jelly on fountain pens. May be the advice I received was not valid. For what it's worth, I have not had any problems with the 100% silicone.

 

-David

No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationery. -Anon.

A backward poet writes inverse. -Anon.

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Are we talking about this wax as a substitute for pure silicone grease for thread sealant?

 

For threads Other than maybe Eyedropper threads. Those being opened up so often is the main reason Silicone grease is used more often there.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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Vaseline is a brand name for a particularly pure and highly refined grade of white petroleum jelly. From then on, things can get complicated.

 

White petroleum jelly or soft white paraffin is a blend of many oils and waxes to give an end product that has specific attributes but the blends differ with supplier and across time depending on source materials, though the end product looks and behaves pretty much the same.

 

There are many other petroleum jellies including red. These too are blends and some are not so good for your health. Some are 'waxier' than others which are 'greasier'.

 

And then, there are hundreds if not thousands of individual chemicals that are derived from oils and tars that are 'petrochemicals' and which can be further mixed into a mind-boggling array of end products.

 

There can be confusion over petrolatum (i.e. petroleum jelly) and petroleum, missing the jelly bit.

 

Petroleum itself is not a single substance but a word used rather indiscriminately to allude to the source of many other materials.

 

When choosing what to put where (in this case, near your pen), do please be specific and when being given advice, check whether the giver of the advice is being specific enough for you to identify the right stuff or it could all end in tears.

Edited by Chris
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Are we talking about this wax as a substitute for pure silicone grease for thread sealant?

Beeswax is used on threads which require sealant but are seldom unscrewed but which threads must be readily undone when so required. A common example would be Montblanc 146's or 149's where beeswax can replace the "pink bubblegum" which was applied at the factory. The beeswax must be warmed up to make it gooey while being applied.

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The thread I initially read the recommendation on was speaking mainly of eyedropper seals, specifically as a better alternative to silicone grease; the latter was dismissed as a lubricant rather than a sealant.

 

I'd happily switch back to bees'-wax, but for how very firm it is; keeping it warm enough to remain workable while screwing parts together (like the feed of a Parker 65) is a bit of a hassle. The toilet seals are a more motile material, but if they're going to eat pens, the ease of use doesn't enter into it.

 

I'm hoping some of our top-rank professional restorers will put an oar in on this one; we've got some eminent names in the business looking in here, and "appeal to authority" isn't always a logical fallacy.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

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I think the P-65 nib was either held partially on or sealed with some sort of wax. That nib was problematic from people thinking a springy nib was a flex nib and the way the nib was attached.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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I think the P-65 nib was either held partially on or sealed with some sort of wax. That nib was problematic from people thinking a springy nib was a flex nib and the way the nib was attached.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

There's an internal nut that sucks up a thread on the back of the feed; the wax seals a seam that runs along the underside of the assembly, which sort of defines a "chin" on the pen. I'm entertaining thoughts of experimenting with mixtures of bees'-wax and castor oil. The latter is known to be safe, as it's one of the ingredients in the rosin-based sealant, and wax+oil=lotion in the right amounts, so it should be possible to prepare something with a little more give in it than bees'-wax that's just had the legs and stingers strained out of it.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

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I actually used vaseline to lubricate the piston seals on my MB 146's and 149 on the advice of a well respected member of FPN.

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