Solution for Sticky Ink Problem

[Dima]

For some time I've been thinking about how to solve the SID problem and finally yesterday I tried one idea. The idea was not to remove remaining factory oils from the converter, but to add some more instead. I know that it sounds a little bit strange and some FP users will consider me crazy, but I decided to give it a try.

 

I took Parker's Deluxe converter which I use with Sonnet and flushed it (separately from nib section of course) with a small quantity of WD-40. After flushing I removed the WD-40 from the converter with a tissue, especially from the place where it connects to the nib section. I tried to remove the oil from inside to, so that only very thin layer of it remain on the walls (I don't know the correct English word) of the converter.

 

First impressions are really good. Now the ink inside flows freely enough, although not as freely as in normal converter. For now it seems to be a satisfactory solution, but I don't know if it will cause problems in the long run. As I know, WD-40 is plastic-friendly, so I hope it won't damage the converter. Maybe there are other types of oil which are better for this purpose.

 

P.S. I can't guarantee that this solution won't damage your pen, so if you try it, you do it at your own risk.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Dima

[professionaldilettante]

WD-40 is very bad to use. Sure, it is plastic friendly, but it will gum up over time. That is why you never want to use it in mechanical chain driven clocks, because WD-40 while it works in the short term, will turn to a nasty goo that is far from lubricative. You might try some light mineral oil, but nothing vegetable based, cause that will gum up too.

[ZeissIkon]

This is an interesting approach -- seemingly following the reasoning that you either want the ink to completely wet the inside of the converter, or completely fail to wet it, and WD-40 is named for "water displacement" so might keep the ink from wetting the surface.

 

I'd be concerned about traces of the WD-40 getting into the rest of the pen, however; it's formulated to attach to metals. The molecules of the primary ingredient are hydrophilic -- water loving -- on one end, and hydrophobic -- water-averse -- on the other, and the hydrophobic end will bond to metal, even to the point of slipping in under water that's already present. However, if the plastic of the converter isn't compatible with the hydrophobic end, the WD-40 will, instead of forming a film that's hydrophilic on the exposed side, instead clump into nanodrops with the hydrophilic sides out -- and then travel wherever the ink travels, possibly depositing on the feed or nib and causing gradually increasing flow problems.

 

The real problem with "sticky" converters is a combination of inside diameter (if too small, it's easy for ink surface tension to bridge across the bore) and material choice (some plastics, such as polyethylene, are used because they injection mold well, but the waxy surface doesn't wet readily). There's no genuine solution to a poorly wetting plastic or a too-small converter diameter, other than to find a better converter. A small stainless ball bearing inside the converter may help, however...

[Dima]

There's no genuine solution to a poorly wetting plastic or a too-small converter diameter, other than to find a better converter.

Maybe Lamy's converter can be a good substitution to Parker's Deluxe. As far as I know, they are interchangeable and I have never had any problems with Lamy's converters.

[ZeissIkon]

There's no genuine solution to a poorly wetting plastic or a too-small converter diameter, other than to find a better converter.

Maybe Lamy's converter can be a good substitution to Parker's Deluxe. As far as I know, they are interchangeable and I have never had any problems with Lamy's converters.

 

Only Aurora converters are genuinely interchangeable with Parker -- they use the same nipple size and cartridge length. As I recall, Lamy converters have a slightly larger neck opening, so may not seal tightly. What I'd suggest is getting a better Parker converter; the current squeeze-bar design is only $10 new, and the sac (after a flush with dish soap) will wet better than the polyethylene of the slide converter (plus, it's larger, so the ink has a better chance of flowing past an air bubble).