Need help removing silicone grease from pen feed

[mzwasp]

Help, I messed up - literally!

 

I followed the Writer's Bloc blog's very clear instructions for successfully converting

my Kaweco sport fountain pen into an eyedropper pen -

but the second time round didn't pay enough attention

and appear to have clogged the feeder with silicone grease - hence no ink flowing through!

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for cleaning the silicone grease out?

I just called my local hardware store and they suggested lacquer thinner or Cutex nailpolish remover -

both of which seem so harsh that I'm afraid they'll damage the pen.

 

[hari317]

Does anyone have any suggestions for cleaning the silicone grease out?

 

Hi, I suggest you rinse the section under a tap of running water with some force. The water pressure should be able to wash off the grease. Do not use any solvents. personally I would have removed the nib and feeder for a thorough wash.

 

Usually Trichloroethylene is suggested for cleaning silicone grease off glassware, however glass is resistant to many chemicals, pens are not.

 

Best,

Hari

Edited April 11, 2009 by hari317

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I found that citrus based cleaner removes the grease. Soak in a 1 part cleaner:3 parts water mixture for a day.

 

Dillon

[mzwasp]

Thank you both.

I thought the lacquer thinner suggestion sounded off.

I will start with a citrasolve soak and see ...

[sputnik1]

Hi,

 

I found that citrus based cleaner removes the grease. Soak in a 1 part cleaner:3 parts water mixture for a day.

 

Dillon

 

Dillon's suggestion of a citrus based cleaner is one of the best I've read about.

 

For some more information about removing silicone lubricants, see this post on the penturners forum:

 

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread...p=4184#post4184

 

Foster

[loweevan]

Help, I messed up - literally!

 

I followed the Writer's Bloc blog's very clear instructions for successfully converting

my Kaweco sport fountain pen into an eyedropper pen -

but the second time round didn't pay enough attention

and appear to have clogged the feeder with silicone grease - hence no ink flowing through!

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for cleaning the silicone grease out?

I just called my local hardware store and they suggested lacquer thinner or Cutex nailpolish remover -

both of which seem so harsh that I'm afraid they'll damage the pen.

I actually have a question that might be answerable because of this unfortunate issue. How does one remove the feed from the Kaweco Sport, if at all? I know that some feed assemblies come out easily (safari, tombow havana) and others not so easily if at all. Does anyone know what category the Sport falls into and what is involved in the removal of the feed? I'm thinking about getting one but would like to know that this is possible first.

 

In all honesty, I'm looking for a pen that I don't mind being potentially ruined with Baystate colors, but that is easy to take apart for a full cleaning to try and prevent that encre fatale from hanging around when it's not desired -- I suppose trying to dodge the fatale part as much as possible....

[ZeissIkon]

In all honesty, I'm looking for a pen that I don't mind being potentially ruined with Baystate colors, but that is easy to take apart for a full cleaning to try and prevent that encre fatale from hanging around when it's not desired -- I suppose trying to dodge the fatale part as much as possible....

 

The Kaweco Sport Ice is only around $10, I'd say just get one, convert to eyedropper, and dedicate it to one Baystate color. Who cares if the barrel gets stained, it'll be a stain the same color as the ink you're using anyway. If that's too much money to treat a pen this way, the Platinum Preppy is even cheaper, well under $5.

[loweevan]

The Kaweco Sport Ice is only around $10, I'd say just get one, convert to eyedropper, and dedicate it to one Baystate color. Who cares if the barrel gets stained, it'll be a stain the same color as the ink you're using anyway. If that's too much money to treat a pen this way, the Platinum Preppy is even cheaper, well under $5.

 

My thoughts exactly. I want to get a solid colored one rather than the Sport Ice with the clear body. Thus, I was wondering about the feed removal for cleaning in switching between colors. I definitely don't care about staining just about a fair cleaning between colors and emptying it all the way out when it's not being used at all -- if the ink really has the habits of clogging that some have reported, even though I haven't seen anything of that trait yet.