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Is There An Easy Way To Lubricate Piston Of M200-M800's ?


SamCapote

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I have a couple older M200 & M400 that I have fastidiously cleaned, and no ink/staining is visible through window, so I'm guessing they need a bit of silicone or other lubricant. Not wanting to break anything, is there a safe way to gain access to the piston seals for this purpose?

With the new FPN rules, now I REALLY don't know what to put in my signature.

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For the piston fillers m600 and below, best is to unscrew the nib unit, apply minimam amount of appropriate silicone grease using a toothpick to the walls of the berrel and working the piston a couple of times.

 

M800 and m1000 fillers can be taken apart like the MBs, you need a special thin 7mm jaw spanner and take care of LH threads.

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Remove the nib of a clean pen and rotate the piston until the seal is about half way along its line of travel. Then, using a cocktail stick or toothpick smear the tiniest imaginable dot of silicone (about the size of a pinhead) round the inside of the barrel near the end of the piston, but trying not to get any silicone on the seal itself. Then just move the piston up and down a few times to spread the silicone evenly over the edges of the seal and you should notice the difference. If necessary repeat the process, remembering that with silicone, less is more.

 

I hope that makes sense - it's one of those things that is easier to do than to write about.

 

John

 

Sorry - Hari - you beat me to it!

Edited by encremental
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Perfect! Thank you both! I'm glad I asked, as I was thinking you had to somehow gain access from the piston knob end. Out of curiosity, how do people remove that piston mechanism safely? It seems a bit fragile.

With the new FPN rules, now I REALLY don't know what to put in my signature.

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Out of curiosity, how do people remove that piston mechanism safely?

One cannot be certain of safety when removing the fillers from pens M600 and below. They are press fitted with molded retention ribs. The ribs tend to shear off when the filler is removed by knocking/ or over-extension by continuing to twist the knob even after the piston head has butted agaisnt its end stop...

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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So if Pelikan or a pen repair company has to remove the piston, they would likely break it and replace with a new assembly? (I'm partly asking because I often think I might over-twist and break one of mine) If so, that sounds like a benefit of Montblanc 146/149 providing you got the removal tool from fountainbel.

With the new FPN rules, now I REALLY don't know what to put in my signature.

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I think I'm right in saying that up to the M800, the piston mechanisms pop out and are not really serviceable, so yes - Pelikan would replace the whole thing. Lubricating the piston is such a trivial thing to do, however, that I can't imagine you would run the risk of over-twisting. If a piston was really stuck, I expect Pelikan would sort it out free of charge, no matter how old the pen.

 

John (58 Pelikans so far and never a hint of piston problems :happyberet: )

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So if Pelikan or a pen repair company has to remove the piston, they would likely break it and replace with a new assembly? (I'm partly asking because I often think I might over-twist and break one of mine) If so, that sounds like a benefit of Montblanc 146/149 providing you got the removal tool from fountainbel.

 

To be fair, the Pelikan models that compete directly with the Montblanc 146 and 149, namely the M800 and M1000 respectively, do have removable piston mechanisms. It's the M600 and below that have press-fit components that are not (easily) serviceable.

 

In defence of these "lower-end" models I provide this anecdote: I have a black M200 body that I use for the testing of all M2xx, M4xx and M6xx nibs that we supply to customers. As a Pelikan dealer of some 11 years, you can imagine this pen body has had a lot of use and is filled, emptied and re-filled several times each day. Whereas most users have to re-lubricate their Pelikan pistons every year or so, this M200's piston needs a lube every couple of weeks! Despite such heavy and abnormal use, this pen body and piston mechanism still functions perfectly and the piston mechanism is as smooth as it was when it left the factory in Hanover. On this basis, I would always recommend a Pelikan piston-filling pen.

 

HTH,

 

Martin

The Writing Desk

Fountain Pen Specialists since 2000

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Having done the toothpick silicone trick, and seeing how perfectly it fixed the movement, I now have no concern about stressing the piston mechanism. It is a fairer comparison matching the 800/1000 with the 146/149--good point! :thumbup:

 

The best thing is reading your posts representing much more use/experience with the M200-600 pistons holding up just fine--is VERY reassuring. When you are twirling back and forth umpteen times to flush a pen that should have been lubricated, this was a concern born of just not knowing how "hearty" is the mechanism.

 

Thank you all for your help and experience. :notworthy1:

With the new FPN rules, now I REALLY don't know what to put in my signature.

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Remove the nib of a clean pen and rotate the piston until the seal is about half way along its line of travel. Then, using a cocktail stick or toothpick smear the tiniest imaginable dot of silicone (about the size of a pinhead) round the inside of the barrel near the end of the piston, but trying not to get any silicone on the seal itself. Then just move the piston up and down a few times to spread the silicone evenly over the edges of the seal and you should notice the difference. If necessary repeat the process, remembering that with silicone, less is more.

 

I hope that makes sense - it's one of those things that is easier to do than to write about.

 

John

 

Sorry - Hari - you beat me to it!

 

Does this toothpick method apply to vintage Pelikan (say 100, 140 or 400) or only the newer M200-600 series?

 

Would appreciate some info there.

 

Thanks

 

The nib units on the vintage pens can be difficult to unscrew, are fragile and tend to break easily. If you know that the nib unit on your pen unscrews easily then the toothpick trick should work. But there can be problems in the older pens like a shot cork seal which will not be solved by this...

 

In my view, this lube from the front method is a compromise, but it allows you to get away without a total dismantle. YMMV.

Edited by hari317

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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To dismantle the m800 piston you need a narrow wrench. You lower the piston, and the cap separates slightly from the body, leaving a narrow gap where you can insert the wrench and unscrew the piston. The Twsbi is sold with a wrench that is the right size to do this.

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To dismantle the m800 piston you need a narrow wrench. You lower the piston, and the cap separates slightly from the body, leaving a narrow gap where you can insert the wrench and unscrew the piston. The Twsbi is sold with a wrench that is the right size to do this.

 

Well now isn't that a fortuitous TWSBI benefit!

With the new FPN rules, now I REALLY don't know what to put in my signature.

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  • 3 months later...

Remove the nib of a clean pen and rotate the piston until the seal is about half way along its line of travel. Then, using a cocktail stick or toothpick smear the tiniest imaginable dot of silicone (about the size of a pinhead) round the inside of the barrel near the end of the piston, but trying not to get any silicone on the seal itself. Then just move the piston up and down a few times to spread the silicone evenly over the edges of the seal and you should notice the difference. If necessary repeat the process, remembering that with silicone, less is more.

 

I hope that makes sense - it's one of those things that is easier to do than to write about.

 

John

 

Sorry - Hari - you beat me to it!

 

Does this toothpick method apply to vintage Pelikan (say 100, 140 or 400) or only the newer M200-600 series?

 

Would appreciate some info there.

 

Thanks

 

The nib units on the vintage pens can be difficult to unscrew, are fragile and tend to break easily. If you know that the nib unit on your pen unscrews easily then the toothpick trick should work. But there can be problems in the older pens like a shot cork seal which will not be solved by this...

 

In my view, this lube from the front method is a compromise, but it allows you to get away without a total dismantle. YMMV.

 

Edit

Edited by Dead_Smile
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I cheat when I clean my twist out nibbed piston pens.

 

I twist out the nib.

 

I take either a rubber ear syringe or needle syringe and flush it out, rather than sitting there twisting and wearing at my piston.

 

When I need I take a tooth pick to the side of the piston wall.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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can someone post a link to the type of silicone you guys are using??? my m200 with my company logoon it is getting tough to move upand down. I would like to try and lubricate it.

 

thx.

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Check with your pharmacist.

In Germany I was just told a couple of weeks ago, to do that :thumbup: , in 100% Silicon grease is impossible to get here; with out going to the mail and mailing cost.

 

I get my ammonia (hard to get in Germany; different cleaning fluid companies), glycerin and paraffin oil (for re-corking) from my pharmacist as is.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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