Trying to learn, working on cheap junkers I picked up, I started with the easiest-looking thing and am just cleaning up some cartridge-fillers.

One Wearever however, has a steel nib with some rust on it. What's the best way to clean it up? Do I need to get some Naval Jelly?

Rust?

More likely dried ink. I'd try some 409 (on a wiper, don't spray it on, it will eat celluloid!) and see if ti comes off. Otherwise, rust or corrosion means find another nib -- the 50's ones fit the 30's and 40's celluloids just fine. If there is corrosion on top, the bottom is mostly missing!

Peter

I think I can tell ink from rust, thanks. ^_^; Little orangey-browny red spots, kind of roughened? The ink on it was a black or blue-black.

There was a spot of rust in the nib slit and a couple more toward the base on the underside---I've got the feed and nib out so I can see the whole thing (and not worry about getting any cleaners on the barrel). I've also put the nib through an ultrasonic cleaner a few times and had at it with cream of tartar and lemon juice paste, which has mostly gotten the rust off the nib slit, although there's still a little rough spot, so yeah, replacement might be the best thing to do... I definitely think the pen is from the '50s at the earliest. The nib is marked "8363 Medium".

ETA: I had a few generic "Veri Smooth" nibs around and tried one of them; it seems to fit OK.

Here's the nib in question. I just put it on the scanner bed so parts are out-of-focus...

You could try Q-Tips and 3M Tarni-Shield, followed by washing in ammonia solution with a couple of drops of dish detergent to remove the Tarni-Shield's coating, and a thorough rinse. If the nib has a gold wash, it'll probably come off, though.

-- Brian

I've had some luck cleaning rust off of metal in general with a little Simichrome. I'm not talking severe rust, but minor surface stuff I've been able to get off of various metal parts, though never a pen nib. I suppose it would work the same on a nib though- it's metal. I'd be careful of making a mess of it and plugging the thing up though.