Cleaning Outside Barrel Of Lifetime Jade Oversize Flat Top Pen

[ad4vs]

how do I clean/restore the color to lifetime jade oversized flat top pen? I know that sunlight can fade some colors but on this pen, the original jade green color is on the upper part of the clip cap and the rest of the pen is much darker.

[kirchh]

Can't. It's irreversible decomposition and likely not due to exposure to light but rather largely a result of sac decomposition.

 

--Daniel

Edited February 23, 2015 by kirchh

[Roger W.]

There is no way to restore the jade color. The color it is now is likely the best it will ever be. All plastics are deteriorating - may take hundreds of years or much shorter. We see on early balances, especially red veins, crystallization of the ends. Jade could go bad within three years of them introducing the color (Sheaffer repair manual 1927). Other jades, especially late jades, can and have retained their color very well over the years. You want good jade color you have to buy good jade color.

 

Roger W.

[tryphon]

Jade Sheaffers with good color are very rare. Still, regardless of discoloration, they are excellent writers and make good user pens. A word of warning: do not immerse it in water (especially warm water) as the ends may turn white.

 

http://s26.postimg.org/qatestemx/Sheaffer.jpg

Edited February 22, 2015 by tryphon

[3rdlakerobert]

What's surprising is not the number of discolored early celluloid pens but the number of them that have survived in excellent color. Always seem to be some beauties available on eBay. I've made it a goal to buy some before the supply peters out. They'll never be cheaper.

[ad4vs]

Tryphon your photograph is exactly what mine used to look like when it was new. Since I cannot clean the outside is there a way to polish the outside of the pen?

[kirchh]

I've never seen a Jade Sheaffer turn white due to exposure to room-temperature water. If you do immerse such a pen in water, be sure to dry the parts and leave things disassembled to ensure all the moisture has evaporated before reassembly.

 

--Daniel

Edited February 23, 2015 by kirchh

[tryphon]

Daniel, I have. Better safe than sorry!

ad4vs: you can use a mild polish, like the Novus #2. You will get a shiny surface, but no improvements on the color, unfortunately!

Edited February 23, 2015 by tryphon

[kirchh]

Daniel, I have. Better safe than sorry!!

Can you post some pictures of the results?

 

--Daniel

[tryphon]

Daniel, you are free to disbelieve me and I do not have the time to look for discolored Jade Sheaffers. The ones that discolored were not mine. By the way, I started collecting fountain pens in 1968 and have thousands of pens.

[kirchh]

Daniel, you are free to disbelieve me and I do not have the time to look for discolored Jade Sheaffers. The ones that discolored were not mine. By the way, I started collecting fountain pens in 1968 and have thousands of pens.

I don't disbelieve you; I'd like to see pictures of the discoloration so I can associate that appearance with damage due to water contact.

 

I'm not sure one's start date in the hobby or number of pens bears on this matter. Someone only needs to have one Jade Sheaffer, perhaps acquired recently, that has had its ends turn white due to contact with room-temperature water in order to contribute that information to the topic. But I understand that you are unable to look through your thousands of pens (or pictures of other people's pens, I assume) for a suitable example.

 

--Daniel

Edited February 23, 2015 by kirchh

[tryphon]

I don't disbelieve you; I'd like to see pictures of the discoloration so I can associate that appearance with damage due to water contact.

 

I'm not sure one's start date in the hobby or number of pens bears on this matter. Someone only needs to have one Jade Sheaffer, perhaps acquired recently, that has had its ends turn white due to contact with room-temperature water in order to contribute that information to the topic. But I understand that you are unable to look through your thousands of pens (or pictures of other people's pens, I assume) for a suitable example.

 

--Daniel

You are assuming right! I have a job and little free time. What free time I have I dedicate to being an admin on Pentrace. I remember pictures of whitish barrel ends in Jade Sheaffers and I remember that the discoloration was said to have been caused by room temperature water immersion. I was struck by that fact. I don't know if there is a standard temperature range defined as room temperature, but it sounds like it was not hot water.

 

PS: the number of years in pen collecting simply means that an old guy like me has had a greater probability of seeing unusual pens.

PPS: I have too many pens and parts: TrueWriter barrels or caps, anyone?

http://s26.postimg.org/ubujr33h5/true_writers.jpg

Edited February 23, 2015 by tryphon