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Please, Please, Please Don't Use Silicone Grease On Estie Nibs!

OcalaFlGuy

By OcalaFlGuy
in Esterbrook

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OcalaFlGuy

Posted
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Silicone grease Isn't a sealant contrary to popular belief.

 

The stuff is insidious. It migrates to Everywhere you Don't Want it to get to.

 

It's HELL to remove.

 

Please, Stop It.

 

If you absolutely Must Use something, (just tighten the nib m'kay?) Maybe bees wax.

 

No. Silicone. Grease.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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FarmBoy Museum Piece

FarmBoy

Posted
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Cleaning a pen sent for repair or eBay purchase?

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OcalaFlGuy Museum Piece

OcalaFlGuy

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Can't say 'cause I really can't complain... :blush:

 

It was all over the whole aft end of the renew point, all the way up to the edge of the back plate. Which of course has me wondering if it made Inside the feed slit... :unsure: And of course, a dang nice nib...

 

FB what's the solvent for it that I would have?

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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FarmBoy Museum Piece

FarmBoy

Posted
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Try lighter fluid.

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sirgilbert357 Antique

sirgilbert357

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Uh oh...guess I'll pull my two Estie nibs and do a little deep cleaning. It was either that or have flooded fins in the feed and ink dripping onto the paper (and trust me when I tell you the nib was screwed in plenty tight). I'll look into getting some beeswax I guess...

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kidde Extremely Rare

kidde

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I must raise my hand. I put almost none just on the units threads for a pen that had them sticking horribly. No more than an extremely light wipe, and just the collars threads. While I won't be shocked to hear I should have known better, I do/did think it made removal easier, but still not as easy as usual.I would appreciate a comment yes/no if I am doing this wrong and if yes any tip for binding units in sections. Thanks in advance.

 

Paul

"Nothing is impossible, even the word says 'I'm Possible!'" Audrey Hepburn

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KBeezie Donor Pen

KBeezie

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LoL, Silicon Grease is a lubricant... great for lubricating pistons, and maybe to temporarily make a thread watertight... But I wouldn't put that stuff anywhere near the nibs, like you said it tends to migrate either into the feed or into the nib somewhere then you can't get flow.

 

I haven't tried beeswax, but I haven't needed to "seal" anything, usually I'd use a very tiny tab of sac cement on the section/barrel join, usually working it while it's still wet a little, then another tiny dab or so, so that it's firm, but still capable of being undone with a little bit... but I think I'll probably just get bees wax ahead of time just in case I need to actually 'seal' something in the near future.

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mhguda Antique

mhguda

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Uh oh...guess I'll pull my two Estie nibs and do a little deep cleaning. It was either that or have flooded fins in the feed and ink dripping onto the paper (and trust me when I tell you the nib was screwed in plenty tight). I'll look into getting some beeswax I guess...

inside the nib housing unit, the nib and feed are friction fit. Maybe you could try to adjust them, to get a tighter fit? Do they move at all, relative to the outer part of the renewpoint?

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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Can't say 'cause I really can't complain... :blush:

 

It was all over the whole aft end of the renew point, all the way up to the edge of the back plate. Which of course has me wondering if it made Inside the feed slit... :unsure: And of course, a dang nice nib...

 

FB what's the solvent for it that I would have?

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Industrial Methylated Spirit?

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FarmBoy Museum Piece

FarmBoy

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Posted (edited)

I believe the recommended Dow Corning product was originally formulated as a sealant for glass to glass joints found in vacuum systems.

Edited by FarmBoy

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Ron Z Museum Piece

Ron Z

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You really needn't seal an Esterbrook nib at all. There is a shoulder near the back end of the section against which the collar of the nib tightens. That in theory creates a liquid tight seal. You will get ink in from the front end when you fill the pen, and that can't be helped, but not from the sac.

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sirgilbert357 Antique

sirgilbert357

Posted
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inside the nib housing unit, the nib and feed are friction fit. Maybe you could try to adjust them, to get a tighter fit? Do they move at all, relative to the outer part of the renewpoint?

 

Well, looking at the collar and the feed that is fit into it, you can see a slight gap between them in a couple of places...so yeah, I just filled that in with the silicone grease. Guess I'll look into getting some beeswax, but I would prefer to buy locally, so it may take awhile to find a source. I'll just leave them as is for now and deal with the clean up later...

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OcalaFlGuy Museum Piece

OcalaFlGuy

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Like El Zorno said, you really don't need to lube them.

 

(I said Bees wax for the few I knew who were gonna Use Something come hell or high water.)

 

The threads are Ebonite or plastic that's 60-70 years old, the threads aren't steel. They're going to get slop (play)

in them. If they get too much slop and leak all the time, (rare I'd think) replace the nib and or section.

 

Just Be Sure they are in Snuggly and rock on.

 

You don't need anything other than maybe a soak in water to remove them.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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pajaro Museum Piece

pajaro

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I think you need to think through the use of silicone anywhere in a pen. I don't know if silicone and ink form a mixture with the silicone floating around and getting into places it shouldn't for pen function. Seems like slippery silicone could migrate, though. I have quit using it. Even for piston fillers.

Beeswax seems to work in a messy way. I heated a disc of beeswax and rolled the collar threads in it. Then I screwed it into the section. Some beeswax came out the front end. Not sure I want that in the sac. If you change nib units, you have to do it again. This becomes tiresome, apart from possible floaters.

 

I considered teflon tape. This would add a marginal thickness to the collar threads that might put enough extra stress on the section to crack it. Don't chance it.

 

I am not doing this stuff, because the collar was designed to fit and seal securely. If there is leakage, get a new collar.

　

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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sirgilbert357 Antique

sirgilbert357

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I think you need to think through the use of silicone anywhere in a pen. I don't know if silicone and ink form a mixture with the silicone floating around and getting into places it shouldn't for pen function. Seems like slippery silicone could migrate, though. I have quit using it. Even for piston fillers.

Beeswax seems to work in a messy way. I heated a disc of beeswax and rolled the collar threads in it. Then I screwed it into the section. Some beeswax came out the front end. Not sure I want that in the sac. If you change nib units, you have to do it again. This becomes tiresome, apart from possible floaters.

 

I considered teflon tape. This would add a marginal thickness to the collar threads that might put enough extra stress on the section to crack it. Don't chance it.

 

I am not doing this stuff, because the collar was designed to fit and seal securely. If there is leakage, get a new collar.

　

 

Where would one procure a new collar should one be inclined to do so? And its not the collar on mine, its the feed itself that appears to have the irregularity that is causing the leakage. Both of them still have sacs mostly full of ink, so as a test, I will write them out and then pull the nibs to see how things are going. If I remember, I'll take a pic...but the only other reliable solution I can come up with is just buying a whole new nib...the issues, with mine at least, dont seem repairable (at least not without a new feed AND collar -- but then I might as well buy a whole new nib by then).

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FarmBoy Museum Piece

FarmBoy

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Where would one procure a new collar should one be inclined to do so? And its not the collar on mine, its the feed itself that appears to have the irregularity that is causing the leakage. Both of them still have sacs mostly full of ink, so as a test, I will write them out and then pull the nibs to see how things are going. If I remember, I'll take a pic...but the only other reliable solution I can come up with is just buying a whole new nib...the issues, with mine at least, dont seem repairable (at least not without a new feed AND collar -- but then I might as well buy a whole new nib by then).

The Esterbrook company is resuming sales on Dec 1.

 

Never mind, wrong thread; just salvage one from a dead Renew Point.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

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mhguda Antique

mhguda

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Sirgilbert, have you seen this thread? It might be just what you need.

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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sirgilbert357 Antique

sirgilbert357

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Posted (edited)

Sirgilbert, have you seen this thread? It might be just what you need.

 

Yes, I saw it. But I would need replacement parts to make taking it apart worthwhile. And since I'd have to replace the feed and collar, it would be more cost effective (and less work) to just buy a new nib I would think...

 

Edit: or seal it up with something instead of silicone grease. Might try the beeswax Bruce mentioned, but I would rather it just be permanent so I don't have to worry about it ever again...

Edited by sirgilbert357
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Ron Z Museum Piece

Ron Z

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I would rather it just be permanent so I don't have to worry about it ever again...

 

....which you wouldn't until you want to change the nib. And you will want to change the nib, especially if it's damaged. Then too, just the ability to change a nib makes you want to change the nib just to see what another nib will feel like in your favorite color pen. (we all know that the same nib in a different pen writes differently. Or should.)

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