Resacking My First Pen

[sobalamandra]

Hi everyone -- and maybe, especially, the people of Quebec.

 

I wish to attempt my first resacking job on a Welsh end-of-day pen that I bought months ago and forgot in a drawer, and on a new one that I just won on eBay.

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTg3WDE2MDA=/z/MAwAAOSwnDZUIK5v/$_57.JPG

 

On the first one (not the one on this picture), the plastic is clear at some places, opaque at other, so I think a clear sac would be best. So question 1: where can I buy that? (International websites are fine, Canadian websites are better, Montreal "physical" stores would be perfect).

 

Also: where can I buy shellac/pen cement? Can this here work? http://www.deserres.ca/en-ca/search/elmers-rubber-cement/77653/

 

And what about talc? Is it really so hard to find "pure" talc in stores?

 

Finally, I also have an Esterbrook hard-rubber pen (no idea which model it is!) in need of a new pressure bar -- another operation that I have never tried before. Same question here: where do I go to buy one? Do I need specialized tools to install it?

 

I guess there is a way to buy a kind of "starter kit" on eBay or elsewhere, and I wouldn't mind doing it if someone could show me the best place to do it without buying things that I will end up not using...

 

(I also know that all this information can be found on FPN, but it is hard to find the perfect answer to all my questions, so I thought I could just... you know... start a new topic that would answer my specific needs!)

 

Thanks so much in advance!

[JonSzanto]

Take a look on this page and scroll down to the "Starter Combo Kit". All you need to sac more than a few pens. Also, if you browse around, you'll see they have pretty much anything anyone, short of a full-time professional pen restoration person, could need. You'll note that they sell pressure bars, and the site has ample areas for finding information, such as a sac size chart (to find the right size for a given pen).

Edited September 30, 2014 by JonSzanto

[ac12]

Since it is your first resac, I will caution you to be VERY VERY VERY careful when removing the section from the barrel.

That is where many pens (including a few of mine) have been damaged or destroyed.

A section can be easy or a royal PiA to remove. Patience and very careful limited use of force. The hard part is to know how much force to use, which will not damage the pen.

 

If that is a scarce/expensive pen, I would NOT practice on it.

 

The closest that you will get to a clear sac is a silicone sac. But there is no free lunch, it is not without issues. And you have to use a different cement than shellac.

http://www.vintagepens.com/FAQrepair/pen_sacs.shtml

[OcalaFlGuy]

Andersonpens.net also.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

PS A latex sac would be just fine for that pen.

Edited September 30, 2014 by OcalaFlGuy

[viclip]

Home Hardware carries shellac in 8 oz. cans. I've also seen shellac at Home Depot.

I'm in Ontario but presumably one or both of those chains have QC presence.

Don't use rubber cement to install sacs!

 

Your best bet for talcum powder is probably to order it on-line. The following Canadian site carries talc + shellac in a small bottle while you're at it, as well as sacs:

 

http://www.woodbin.ca/Tools.html

 

http://www.woodbin.ca/PenSacsAndPressureBars.html

[JonSzanto]

Ah, sorry, forgot to let the CA part sink in: I'll second the recommendation on woodbin then.

[sobalamandra]

Thank you for your recommendation, viclip! Woodbin seems to carry everything that I need.

 

And ac12, thanks for the link on the differences between latex and silicone sacs. I realized how little I know about all this! I will indeed be very, veeeeery careful. I have already successfully separated the section from the barrel of two pen, so lets hope that my good luck won't leave me!

 

Also: do I need something special to install a new J bar? Does it need to be "glued" at the end of the barrel?

[pen lady]

"J" bars are held in place by the natural spring in the "J", so no glue is needed. There is plenty of information here about that job, so best of luck. BTW though Martin Woodbin is in Canada, his prices are in US dollars. I've bought lots of things from him and his service is swift, so I'm a satisfied customer.

[sobalamandra]

Thank you all for your answers. I have placed an order with Martin Woodbin (whose items are indeed listed in US dollars, which is strange...) and I can't wait to start trying to give a new life to my pens!

[kidde]

Just an unasked for comment. You can do both repairs, just read and believe. My first repair was with FPNer Hooker56, my friend now. I asked for assistance and he came through in spades. Pay close attention to every warning, someone broke theirs and is telling you what not to do. Care and patience are your friends. I have every confidence in your ability. Post a couple photos when you get them done.

 

Paul

[sobalamandra]

Thank you for your encouraging message, Paul. Advices are useful, and I need to be told to be careful, but it's wonderful, too, to receive your kind words.

 

I will indeed post some picture when I'm done with the repairs! (Oh, how proud I will be if it works fine!)

[sobalamandra]

Happy news: I have two new functional fountain pens!

 

The sac in the Esterbrook was still ok for now so I only had to install a new J Bar -- that was quite easy to do. It doesn't show on this picture but the nib was also all bended when I bought it, so with my thumbs, gentleness and a lot of patience, I succeeded in making it straight and smooth again. Have I been lucky? Probably

 

The J Bar was still working in the Welsh end-of-day pen, but I had to install a new sac. And following everyone's advices, it also went incredibly well.

 

Thank you for your advices, everyone. Those were my first repairs and given how much fun I had, and how proud I now feel, I shall endeavour to give a new life to many more pens! (I have that other Welsh pen coming my way, I can't wait to see what will need to be fixed on that one!)

 

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/54/f8/16/54f816f2072c776d603e4b20853aa242.jpg

[fountainpagan]

Good job.

Now could you show how it writes?

[bsenn]

Several comments;

- Congratulations on doing it yourself!

- The Welsh Pen looks great!

- It's not Fall already, is it ?!? Cripes, just checked the weather and it tells me there will be flurries tonight farther Up Nort' dare eh!

- Based on a couple I have, the black Estie would respond really well to a bit of elbow grease with the Micromesh. Gets em looking really smooth and shiny.

- I just realized I use too many exclamation marks!

 

Brian

[pen lady]

Well done. The Esterbrook looks like an early one, a "Transitional" model, it only has the jewel on the cap. If you want to polish it up so that the barrel and cap match a bit better, get yourself to a beauty supply place and get some nail BUFFING sticks or pads, the finest ones will bring out the shine on your nails and pens! That's the micromesh Brian wrote about. If there is a Shopper Drug Mart close by, check them out too. Revlon sells a buffing pad called Crazy Shine and if you can track it down, a polishing pad called Manicure Extender. I've used both with great success

[sobalamandra]

Pen lady, I am very eager to try the Revlon products that you suggest, but I'm not sure they can do any good to my poor Esterbrook: the celluloid is clouded, I don't think anything can bring back the original color. And more than that, the person who owned the pen before me had the strangest idea: they painted a rose on the cap and a parrot on the barrel, both of which have been covered by a translucent polish, or something similar, and I don't know how to remove that. The paint is flacking at some places on the barrel, so the parrot is almost gone, but the bird shape is still very visible. (I only showed the "good" side of the pen on the first picture! )

 

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d3/15/ab/d315ab46fcb6491aa297fa7ac9271db8.jpg

 

As for the Welsh pen, the nib once was gold plated, but it's plain, damaged stainless steel. Both nibs write a fine line.

 

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/fd/21/10/fd2110686d4c3d107aae8298cfa271e2.jpg

[sobalamandra]

And here is a small writing sample with the Welsh pen. It has a very hard fine steel nib, not that pleasant to use, to be honest. I'll have to fix it or I won't use it much...

 

(And do you see how the steel is damaged on the left tine? What could have caused that?)

 

http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/originals/d7/69/00/d7690029fd971543f680f92cf5dcb5a0.jpg

[pen lady]

If you want to get rid of the parrot you can probably sand it away with VERY fine sand paper or micro-mesh. A good place to look for that kind of product (as well as the Revlon counter) is your local auto parts store. Take the pen in and explain what you need to do. I would think that products sold for getting scratches out of car paint would be a place to start. You proceed to finer and finer grit ending up with the nail buffing product. You are going to be doing a lot of rubbing, but it's better to take your time with fine grit stuff rather than make a whole load of deep scratches with coarse sand paper that you'll just have to buff out anyway. I don't think it would be safe to use any chemical remover, it would probably melt the plastic.

 

Love the look of the end-of-the-day pen, a person could make quite a collection of those! Good luck and you might need to buy some Bengay for your elbow too while your are in "Shoppers"!

Edited October 4, 2014 by pen lady

[sobalamandra]

Thank you for your suggestion, Pen Lady! I had some very fine sand paper at home and I succeeded in removing the parrot (it was already half gone, anyway). But that took a long time, and the flower on the cap won't disappear that easily -- and I already feel an unpleasant stiffness in my neck and shoulder, so your second suggestion is probably going to be as good as your first!

[sobalamandra]

Oh my god! It worked so well -- it's not even the same pen anymore! Sanding the rose off the cap was a pain in the ass, it took me almost two hours, but with very fine sand paper and the Revlon Crazy Shine buffer, the result is amazing. I was even able to give some shine to the clouded barrel -- it's not going back to the black it was supposed to be, but it does seem less gray. I am really happy!