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New Diamine Racing Green Vs. Mb-Rg With Chromatography


SamCapote

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I got some of the new Diamine Racing Green from Rolf's Missing-Pen.de website that Michael R had mentioned in this thread and thought I would compare it to actual discontinued MB Racing Green. There are differences. The MB-RG has a more pure olive green, and is darker than the D-RG which has more brownish tones. Both inks flowed well, but I did not yet do extensive writing samples in multiple pens to give a reliable opinion on that. It was interesting to see how the two inks appeared in the clear plastic Platinum preppies, in terms of coating the inside wall when inverted for photos. You can be the judge with the scans and photos I did of the two writing samples. I used the same MB 149 for both writing samples. I tested the MB-RG with it first, then flushed until clear and mostly dry. Then filled/emptied it in the Diamine RG bottle 5 times to make sure there was no dilution effect. You can really see the differences with the chromatography strips. I should also note that the 149 is a nice, juicy, wet writer....and on this Rhodia paper, it took 3-4 times as long for the Diamine to dry.

 

The bottom line is that the Diamine is not a bad looking ink at all as a stand alone. However, if you are lucky enough to still have some MB Racing Green....hang onto it. (Click for high res images)

 

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Montblanc/MB-RG-vsDIA-RGs.jpg . http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Montblanc/MB-RG-vsDIA-RG2s.jpg

 

 

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Montblanc/MB-RG-vsDIA-RG3s.jpg

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Montblanc/MB-RG-vsDIA-RG4s.jpg

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

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Thanks very much for the comparison SamCapote. It's incredibly useful (especially for those of us who have never gotten our hands on a bottle of Mb-RG).

 

With regards to the last picture: is the Diamine-RG coating that we see in that photo a temporary effect, or is it the beginning of a stain?

 

Also, what's the Dia-RG drying time like for the fine nibbed pens?

 

D

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Dennis, that uncovered an interesting thing. Ya know how with an ink dropper you are not supposed to leave a large air space because the heat from your hand will transfer to the air, causing it to expand and leading to ink dripping? Well it happened very quickly and frequently with the Diamine, with drops getting on the paper when I was trying to do the drying time...but not at all with the MB ink that was similarly filled with about 1ml. I'm sure if I filled the ink dropper to 3/4 or more full, this dripping would not happen. It was more just noticing a chemical difference between them

 

To answer your question about the Diamine coating the inside of the barrel, no it is not a staining issue. More that it is coating like it has more emulsifying surfactant or something like that, but both inks clean out of pens very easily and quickly. I would have no issues using the Diamine in a vintage flex pen.

 

I did the drying times on the original Rhodia, and was going for 6 seconds with the Diamine when the drop plopped out...but I think it would have been dry in 7 seconds vs. 4-5 sec with the MB-RG using this fine point. On the Meade paper Diamine took a bit longer...and again another drip as I was about to do the 6 second time. The MB 149 medium wet nib was much more dramatic with drying taking longer with the Diamine, but I didn't want to re-ink it again.

 

Here's the scans of drying time (click for high resolution images)

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Montblanc/MBRG-DRG1s.jpg

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Montblanc/MBRG-DRG2s.jpg

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

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Thanks for the detailed answer Sam! I'm not much of a chemist, but it sounds as though the Diamine is a bit more of a reactive (for lack of a better word) ink than the MB... I wonder if the same properties that cause it to cling to the pen and to drip the way it did would also lead to feathering and/or show-through on different quality papers.

 

In any case, thanks for the response and for reposting the dry-time images. Seven seconds doesn't sound that bad to me... I think I could live with that (says the man whose fingers are currently covered in blue ink from a night spent writing with a slow-dry ink).

 

D.

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This is a good review and test for those of us who've never used the MB ink in question.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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I have never used the MBRG, but I like the Diamine variety so much, I have 3 bottles of it... I am glad it is not so dark and I revel in the olive-brown shading I get from it. I don't use eye droppers, so I am safe on that front.

Going from the comparison, the two inks are quite distinct, as if Diamine went for an MBRG inspired ink, not a copy.

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Thanks for the comparison and info.

 

Currently I'm using this ink at work in my Omas Ogiva Autunno (perfect ink color for this pen) but have not done a direct side-by-sidy comparison with this final version of the Montblanc ink. I agree that it is not a 100% look-alike but close enough for me. The Diamine Racing Green indeed shows some more yellow, true olive tone but this is less obvious when using a pen with a good or wet ink flow and more obvious with dry writing pens.

 

I believe it is very difficult to exactly copy an ink color without knowledge and usage of identical colorings/pigments.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

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Michael, I agree with you. However if I wanted to start with a "poor mans" way of trying to reproduce an ink, I would start with the paper chromatography to see what colors show up in the original ink. For example the MB-RG has more black that persists up the streak; none of the pink or navy blue; and less of the yellow you see on the Diamine sample. I would probably start with something like 20 parts black, 2-5 parts cyan, 2-4 parts yellow. No red/pink. No blue.

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

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Thanks for the comparison. Definitely doesn't look like the sought after replacement for MBRG, but an interesting color in its own right. How's the water resistance?

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thanks for the comparison, seven seconds is not a bad dry time. Not the same as MBRG but it is a good color on its own

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing

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It is a perfectly great color on its own. I just don't think they should call it "Racing Green."

 

Ahhh the water test. Knew I forgot something. This is the result of continuous stream of water for about 20 seconds.

 

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Montblanc/MBRG-DRG3.jpg

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

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Wow! What a difference in the water test...I was already very impressed with how MBRG behaves, now I'm blown away. I'm glad I managed to stock up on it (no, I'm not teasing) :)

 

cheers

 

Wael

“Non Impediti Ratione Cogitationis”

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Sam....Thanks! What a large amount of work, it is much appreciated. :thumbup:

As to the Diamine ink...it looks intriquing and is in the ballpark of the MB, but as others have said I am glad I managed to find some of the MB RG before it all totally disappeared.

I may well buy some of the Diamine as (as Sam mentioned) it looks like quite a fine color on its own!

This post contains 100% recycled electrons

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae8/Catriker/Pen%20Pics/SmallCzarNikolai.jpg

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