Is bleach safe for use to remove BayState Blue dried ink from inside the cap of a Pelikan M205 clear?

thanks,

Paul

Search for Baystate Blue in the ink forums, there was a thread where Nathan Tardiff (who formulated the ink) answered this question. In brief though, I don't think bleach will have any affect on the ink.

Cheers,
Sean

Here is Nathan's response from the thread about stained pens.

"Ammonia and water will sometimes darken it....it will laugh at alcohol - so don't bother with amodex for the removal from cotton or paper. However - it is very vulnerable to simple "common water" (a mixture of approximately 15% to 25% household bleach and plain tap water). You will see that it won't leave the paper with many things - but common water and bleach make it vanish almost within an instant. There will not even be a remnant after treatment with bleach upon most paper grades...and it will also eventually fade before strong UV light. This is NOT an eternal or bulletproof ink.


Hundreds of pen users asked over and over again...."Can you make an ink with a more vibrant blue color that resists water once dried upon the paper and keep the cost down?". Many of those people who have written with that basic request are right here on FPN. "Baystate Blue" is just such an ink - it is so vibrant that on some paper grades the contrast is dramatic enough to stun the eyes - and the ink does not cost a penny more than any standard Noodler's color. The history of such a color is extensive - but always on the acid side....this is not an acid ink, BUT it also should NOT be mixed with other Noodler's colors or any other inks. Sometimes it mixes well...but as anyone can see by some posts online it is best to say "DON'T MIX IT" or risk somebody posting "I hate this new concept because it can't mix with everything...etc...". It should also be stressed that if you are hostile to new inks, new concepts in inks...and desire a weak ink akin to food coloring....please do not buy Baystate Blue. If you want an ink to mix with other inks - again...don't buy Baystate Blue. If you are among those who like new concepts in ink that expand the utility of the fountain pen so that it can remain a viable writing instrument for a long time to come....and you are among those people who have been asking for the greatest contrast and vibrance of blue inks with strong water resistance and general durability (though with a strategic weakness to "common water") - this ink was made for you.

A general note on the challenges of keeping an ink company's head above water:
Noodler's makes less than the post office and UPS on each bottle of ink sold - and the retailer also makes far more than Noodler's....but if they did not, the ink would not even be available to the public. We have barely survived and came within a single tax hike of moving from Massachusetts (one of the reasons for the label) or be rendered bankrupt as with so many other Massachusetts businesses. When we try to export to Paris, our product is slapped with heavy tariffs and taxes...but our competitors that are made in Paris enter the US virtually duty free....and retail for less here than they do in Paris. Then the EU wants not only Microsoft...but tiny ink companies...to divulge all their proprietary information about formulas to the public domain so that it can be freely counterfeited by competitors as far away as Shanghai. If the EU insists upon this - Noodler's will never again even reference an estimate of the European system of measure. All ink will be bottled by weight only - as it has been in the US since day one. By definition, this means our products will not be available in the EU. We have found greater freedom - ironically enough given our ongoing heated discussions with communists...in mainland China...than in the EU !!

One does not enter a 5,000+ year old business with more competition than any other for profit - but as somebody who grew up with fountain pens, one does seek to enhance the viability of the fountain pen through the expansion of its utility until it is recognized by the majority of writing instrument users as the most versatile and economically sound writing instrument known. A post like this hits harder than 1,000 positive remarks (one of the major reasons I bottle more and spend time online less).......so I simply ask - please try some "common water"....and if you are seeking a weak ink - just add food coloring to distilled water and call it a day. Noodler's will not reduce dye content and claim it's "safer" when the reality is the only thing that matters with ink IS dye content and its properties - pen users are buying an ink...not just bottled water. If you like an ink that has been "discounted" to 1/8th the dye content it once had in 1960 and made with the cheapest dye families with the least utility to the pen user (back in 1960 fountain pen inks were preferred to the alternatives - as ball pen ink vanishes in seconds before simple rubbing alcohol and acetone as well as after a few days in the sun)...there are other companies that make a product you'll like.

Virtually all Noodler's Inks are pH neutral and can rinse with plain tap water - Baystate Blue in general can rinse with plain tap water too....but if you must remove it from paper or some fabric, try common water - which also rinses pens well too (though as a rule: always rinse the pen with tap water if you have used a common water rinse). Baystate Blue is NOT pH neutral...and this is clearly stated on the label - it is on the alkaline side of neutral."

Cheers,
Sean

I would try it. Stat!

The problem you are going to have is that there are two plastics in there, the cap and the inner cap. I surmise that BSB will stain one, the other, or both.

I advise some serious soaking.

My general philosophy is:

Start with the least harsh or intrusive means and work your way up from there.

I would start with the usual water and ammonia mixture. It sounds like that probably won't work- but it's worth a shot to start with. If that doesn't work, then move from there.

Folks,
thanks for the reponses. I appreciate them. I'll try these solutions (pun intended) tonight.

Paul

I agree with starting with weakest solutions and working up.

However, everyone seems to think Isopropyl won't work. Don't discount it until you try it when you get to that stage. It absolutely won't work on paper, but that doesn't mean it won't work on the plastic of your pen.

I read a post quite some time ago from one of the Bill's, can't remember which, that said they removed a PR stain from a safari some years ago using Isopropyl. When all the Baystate flap started, I had a pen to clean, too. I cleaned my pen's cap using Isopropyl after having first tried water, a mild organic cleanser, and then Amodex. It took a little bit of gentle rubbing, but I DID clean the stain from my pen's cap with the Isopropyl. The Pelikan plastic won't be the same composition as my pen's cap, but really, don't discount the solution until it's been tried, even if someone else says it didn't work for them. I'm a firm believer that some of these pens have really odd makeups of composition and don't necessarily match year to year, batch to batch, and certainly not maker to maker.

My 2 coppers.

But make sure absolutely all of the ammonia is out before trying the bleach.

This is entirely true!



Unless you're working for the Kaiser.




As a somewhat ironic aside- I had a somewhat similar meltdown quite awhile back. I had a clogged toilet where I was living at the time and decided to try some drain cleaner. After I ran the first formula through, I had no luck. I flushed a couple of times. Then I tried the second- turned out two flushes wasn't enough to clear the pipes. The two formulas mixed in the pipe and a powerful chemical reaction took place. The water in the toilet turned yellow and VERY foamy. As this happened a sickly green gas cloud emerged from the toilet and I caught a good lung full of the stuff. NOT GOOD!