(My) Beginner's Guide To Pen Maintainance

[lordz]

Pen maintenance-- the thing one does not do to ballpoints (a million curses upon you, ballpoint!), but does to fountain pens.

 

The do's:

• Polish your pens with a lint free cloth. Silk or microfibre works well for removing grime, while flannel works well for a "serious polish". One can also find special pen polishing cloths, such as rouge cloths, which can remove tarnish from metal barrels. For plastic (celluloid included), hard rubber or resin barrels, consider Simichrome or a similar product.
• Flush nib and feed upon purchasing a pen.
• Flush nib and feed at least once a year of use.
• Consider lubricating piston filler and vacuum filler pens. Instructions can be found online or in the pen owner's manual.
• Sharpen tip-less cheap italic points after a few months' use. 4000 grit micromesh works well for the grind, and 12000 grit micromesh is ideal for the finish.
• Replace converters, accordion-fill, lever-fill, vacumatic and aero-metric cartridges as needed (At least once a decade).
• Replace aero-metric, accordion-fill,, lever fill and vacumatic type bladders upon the purchase of a vintage pen, unless the pen has been restored in the last ten years.
• Consider buying backup nibs, esp. if nib is very flexy. (Without substantial experience, flex nibs are subject to being sprung.) Additionally, nibs may wear out over time.
• Keep your pen in a pouch. *Glares at Lamy Safari users.*
• Rinse out the inner cap of your pen. They get grimy, and mold can form!
• Empty your pens if you aren't going to use them for a few months.
• Send your pen to an expert for any major modifications or repairs.

 

The don'ts:

• Don't use flames on any pen not made of hard rubber. Even on hard rubber pens, use sparingly, and only use alcohol flames. But remember, you are always better off with a heat gun.
• Don't use bleach near a gold nib! Or a pen in general! Gold parts will spontaneously crack.
• Don't make major nib adjustments and expect it to work the first time. You will kill a few nibs.
• Don't use brasso or similar polish on plastic pens. This only works on copper-bodied or brass-bodied pens, and even then it may cause long term damage. Personally, I would let the pen gain a natural patina.
• Don't use waxes on pens. At all. They release acid over time, and can damage the finish.
• Don't use alcohol or acetone on pens, esp. vintage pens. These substances can damage celluloid and many older plastics.
• Don't force things together or apart. (E.G. twisting a nib and feed to remove it.) If it isn't working, chances are you aren't doing it right. Google it, and try again with the correct technique.
• Don't submerge celluloid or hard rubber in hot water. It may discolor. Hard rubber can often be sanded and polished back to color, but the surface will then be very rough.
• Don't use superglue. Please, I'm begging you, do not superglue your brand new Montblanc 149's feed into its section (I saw somebody do this). Try shellac, if you really need to glue something. It can be removed with a heat gun or hairdryer.
• Don't press too hard on any nib, flex or not. This isn't technically maintenance, but following this rule of thumb will save you from a lot more maintenance.
• Don't try to smooth out an Esterbrook duracrhome nib (rolled tip). The tip will fall off, and you will end up with a sub-par stub nib. I learned this from experience.

Now, go and have fun pen collecting!

 

Lord Zephyrian

 

DISCLAIMER: I'M NOT AN EXPERT, AS IS SEEN IN THE COMMENTS. TAKE MY RECOMMENDATIONS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, AND SOME OF YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Lord Zephyrian

[Flounder]

Could you call your opinions "Handy Tips" or somesuch? The didactic style is a bit off-putting.

[lordz]

Fair enough.

[lordz]

Could you call your opinions "Handy Tips" or somesuch? The didactic style is a bit off-putting.

How's this?

[kirchh]

• Re-vulcanize black hard rubber (ebonite) pens as needed. I'm no expert on this one, and have now idea when "needed" is. I just know it sometimes is.

How do you know this, and who offers this service?

 

Thanks.

--Daniel

[lordz]

How do you know this, and who offers this service?

 

Thanks.

--Daniel

 

I can't remember where I found it exactly. It is not, in fact, vulcanization. I will edit that in a minute.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Lord Zephyrian

[lordz]

How do you know this, and who offers this service?

 

Thanks.

--Daniel

Ah, here we go!

 

http://www.vintagepens.com/pen_repair_donts.htm

 

Apparently, I was thinking about re-blackening with a bleach solution. But it is dubious at best. Sorry, and thanks for pointing out my error!

Edited December 21, 2014 by Lord Zephyrian

[fountainbel]

Very informative for beginners , well done !

Francis

[kirchh]

I suggest avoiding offering advice regarding procedures with which you are not experienced, much less those that you haven't tried seen, or can remember the sources for.

 

--Daniel

[pen2paper]

Very informative for beginners , well done !

Francis

Agreed.. like that you're thinking about safe procedures for longevity. Ready and willing to backpedal when learning correct information. Being "teachable" is, imho, a positive attribute to cultivate.

 

Hope you will continue to add progress updates in your pen world endeavors!

[lordz]

I suggest avoiding offering advice regarding procedures with which you are not experienced, much less those that you haven't tried seen, or can remember the sources for.

 

--Daniel

Fair point. I will take this into account.

[lordz]

Agreed.. like that you're thinking about safe procedures for longevity. Ready and willing to backpedal when learning correct information. Being "teachable" is, imho, a positive attribute to cultivate.

 

Hope you will continue to add progress updates in your pen world endeavors!

Thank you!

[lordz]

Very informative for beginners , well done !

Francis

Thank you, Francis!

[c4bb0ose]

What would be the best bet for polishing and working out scratches on pens? I have not really delved into this so much.

[lordz]

What would be the best bet for polishing and working out scratches on pens? I have not really delved into this so much.

Hmm. Some people sell polishing compounds. Simichrome is a good one.

A rouge cloth will work as well (on metal barrels).

Edited December 22, 2014 by Lord Zephyrian

[kirchh]

Hmm. Some people sell polishing compounds.

Generally, though, a rouge cloth will work brilliantly! Look here for a decent deal: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Polish-Polishing-Fabulustre-Jewelers/dp/B001U5VLZW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419205890&sr=8-1&keywords=rouge+cloth

You've used a rouge cloth to remove scratches from vintage hard rubber and celluloid pens?

 

--Daniel

[lordz]

It works well for metal barrels, not plastic. For plastic or resins, Simichrome and a microfibre cloth works well.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Lord Zephyrian

[kirchh]

It is a widely accepted practice. Many pen websites sell rouge cloths for use on pen barrels.

 

That would come as a surprise. Please provide some links to a few of the "many" places that sell rouge cloths for this purpose.

 

But that's not what I asked; I asked if you have used a rouge cloth to remove scratches from vintage hard rubber and celluloid pens.

 

Have you?

 

--Daniel

[lordz]

 

That would come as a surprise. Please provide some links to a few of the "many" places that sell rouge cloths for this purpose.

 

But that's not what I asked; I asked if you have used a rouge cloth to remove scratches from vintage hard rubber and celluloid pens.

 

Have you?

 

--Daniel

I never stated they were ideal for plastic-type barrels. But the answer is no. As a fifteen year old, I cannot afford to try everything under the sun. So I don't have any hard rubbers to try it on.

 

http://fountainpensacs.com/body_works.html

http://www.nibs.com/AccessoriesPolshingCloth.htm

http://pensac-store.com/rouge_cloth.html

http://pentooling.com/polishes.html

 

There are more websites. Now would you kindly stop? You are being unnecessarily aggressive, and it is really starting to be a nuisance.

[kirchh]

I never stated they were ideal for plastic-type barrels.

 

Let's review. the question was asked,

 

What would be the best bet for polishing and working out scratches on pens?

 

To which you replied,

 

a rouge cloth will work brilliantly!

 

I asked you,

 

You've used a rouge cloth to remove scratches from vintage hard rubber and celluloid pens?

 

To which you replied,

 

It is a widely accepted practice.

 

So, you stated that using rouge cloths to remove scratches from plastic-type barrels was a widely accepted practice.

 

Now, you are backtracking, and admitting that you have never used this technique.

 

This is the second piece of pen restoration advice you have given that, it turns out, you have never used, or that you know nothing about (see the "re-vulcanization" issue higher up, where you stated that hard rubber pens could be re-vulcanized by exposing them to fire, among other things).

 

I suspect that many or most of the pieces of advice you are giving involve procedures you have never used, much less in which you have extensive experience. That's very irresponsible. You are giving all this advice as though you have learned it through personal experience, but you're merely repeating things you read on the Internet -- or things you thought you read, but didn't even take the trouble to check before telling others what you thought you remembered.

 

If you want to refer others to advice you've read, but have not personally used extensively, provide links and make it clear that you are not making personal recommendations. That will reduce the chances that you will mislead someone into doing something fruitless or damaging to his/her writing instrument.

 

--Daniel

Edited December 22, 2014 by kirchh