Just wanted to put in a vote of praise for Mothers Mag Polish. This stuff is freaking amazing. My routine with my new esties has now been, to break them down as much as needed (dependent on new sac, j-bar, etc...) and give them a good run over with a terry cloth and flitz. Then follow up with a nice long polishing the with mag polish and terry cloth followed by a nice long polishing with a polishing cloth. I could do my hair in them after that there so shiny.

I just got a red transitional in and it kind of makes me start saying "my precious" over and over again, so beautiful!

Very nice!

I need to get some various polishing compounds. Where did you purchase that various ones you have been using?

Flitz was from the local hardware store and the Mothers polish was from an autoparts store.

Flitz

Brian finds it at music stores also.

Music Stores can be great sources for all things pen repair related. I use old violin e strings to clean out feeds, polish cloths for, well, polishing, woodwind mouthpiece brushes for cleaning inside of caps, and flitz for the polish. If I looked hard enough I could probably find some other items too, perhaps some tools from the repair shop, but then most people wouldn't really have access to those sorts of items.

Brian

I guess I could make a trip to the music store down the road... but that could be a dangerous trip because the fountain pen store is in the same shopping center about 3 doors down from the music store! It's a trap!

--Stephen

Yeah, I use Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish also. I think it contains cerium oxide. I use it to polish pen barrels and also as a final finish on nibs


It also works great for clearing up yellowed plastic headlights on your car. I have done a number of these, including one pair that was 16 years old and so yellowed and crusty that you could not drive at night. It took about five polishing passes and about 30 minutes of effort but they are water clear like new again. Sure beats paying $350 for new plastic headlight housings. ($550 on a Mercedes)

This thread makes me snick. I am a noob around here but have a fairly eclectic collector interest. I first heard of Flitz years ago while going through a watch fob phase. A collector said he used it to clean up his enamel fobs. Since then I have heard of collectors using Flitz and Mother's Mag Polish on the gun forums, pocket knife collectors, tool collectors, padlocks, and now fountain pens. They really are great multi-use products.

And nice tip on the headlights too Cappy.

What kind of polishing cloth do you use?

-- Brian

I use a terry cloth towel for the first pass and then after it's all down use some cotton polishing cloths.

Have you come up with a fountain pen related use for a cello soundpost setter yet?

I've thought of using old E strings to attempt flossing a nib. I wouldn't use the part the bow touches as there is going to be rosin on that part. However, I do have a pen that needs, I think, a bit of a flossing to improve flow, and well... Good thinking aside, I shelved the thought and actually forgot to ask the question. Is the E string, which is the thinnest string of the violin family, good to use to floss a nib?

And what it Mothers Mag? I've never seen or heard of it before. Or if I did, I don't recall. Perhaps I'm going through a "brain functioning as well asa witnesses before Congress" phase?

Soundpost setter, ummmm..., no, no yet. Just give me time.

I should mention by old e string I mean an unused e string. If you're thinking of putting that e string in between the tines of a nib, I don't know how well that would work. Probably still too thick to fit in there.

Best-
Brian