QUOTE (fncll @ Nov 15 2005, 04:08 PM)
This is the first question in my quest to learn a little more about (and perform some) basic pen repair and restoration.
So, first the nib. Most of my junker pens have nibs which are at the very least seriously dirty, even black. Maybe some are corroded, I can't really tell yet. What do I clean them with? Is there a safe polishing agent? Different agents for gold plate vs steel, etc?
Please, share a little nib expertise in getting nibs to a point that I can safely test them and later worry about smoothing/tweaking or even grinding...
You've probably opened an interesting, and perhaps controversial topic here, but the responses should make interesting, and informative reading.
Let me begin by saying that while in general, one might initially treat pens the same, their value, condition and whether a collectable will influence many of the choices you might make. For the sake of simplicity, lets drop the expensive and collectibles right now, since that doesn't appear to be the thrust of your post anyway (and that's probably where the most controversy would exist).
First would be a water wash, then another with liquid detergent mixed in. The next step would include an ultrasonic cleaner, if you have access to one. Gentle cleaning with a cloth or cotton swab follows.
If this doesn't remove the gunk, try a longer soak - perhaps using a 10% ammonia mix followed by gently 'scraping' with a fingernail if the deposit is thick. For thin coatings or discolorations, you can start to try polishes such as Maas, Simichrome or Tryphon products. As these vary in abrasive qualities, care should be exercised - checking for possible damage often. A steel nib will rarely be damaged, a plated one often. If the plating is a flashed on plating, it will dissappear almost immediately you use a polish, so if that is a concern, go no further than gentle cleaning with a mild detergent and a cloth (even that can damage these platings). A heavy gold plated nib is much sturdier, as is a solid gold one, and these will respond well to mild polishes.
If you are looking to restore the factory finish (or better), you can proceed to polishing with jewellers rouge - either a cloth impregnated with the polish (jewellers polishing cloth) or a powered wheel charged with the polish. Again, thinly plated finishes will likely be damaged, better quality ones will not. There's more chance of damage with a powered wheel than by hand polishing, but the results come at the cost of a lot of effort when done by hand.
Perhaps I've spent too much time on the gold nibs - the ones you get in most junkers and low cost pens are so thinly coated it's probably more practical to remove it all initially, and treat as a steel nib, which it really is. The gold is nothing more than cosmetic, and offers nothing to performance anyway.
I am sure others will offer their own preferred polishes and cleaning agents - and I am looking forward to that discussion as much as you are.
Regards
Gerry
PS: Another polish often used is Flitz.