Serious, it's not BSB!

Ok, joke aside, after 2 weeks of use with Visconti blue, I just flushed it and played the fill and empty many times with water, removed the nib and did some more, and the section holding the ink still has a blue tint...

I've not tried any other products yet, nor trying to plunge a q-tip in there and rub.

What is the easiest way to remove this?

Thanks

nick

I don't know if there is an easy solution. It took a lot of work to clean mine out to where I was satisfied, but it's clean. I never had one ink in the pen for that long of a time and my BSB test, well, that was only in the pen for 24 hours. That threaded part of the section, pretty stubborn. I had to go in with the old fluffed Q-Tip. Many of them.

I was wondering, should I expect to need to invest this much time each time I empty the pen?

I know that red stains... and that sometime a very good rinsing is required... But I did not expect a blue to require me rubbing!

My intention was to collect mostly clear demos... this means that I may end up doing mucho clean up!

Am I understanding this correctly?

Thanks

nick

Man, I keep reading this in multiple threads. It seems like the Pelikan 200 series demonstrators are very prone to staining and getting ink all the way past the plunger too. My only clear pens are Safari Vistas which, being c/c fill, have no problems.

I like the colors of the Pelikan demonstrators, but they sure seem like more trouble than they are worth!

Anyone have any stories of inks that don't mess up the Pelikans?

Most Pelikans are very resistant to stain and you can use almost any ink with them. The demos though do tend to be a little more prone to staining though. For demos you should be able to try any inks from Waterman, Pelikan and Parker without staining. I have also used Aurora (which is the darkest black i can think of) and never had any staining.

In my experience though with all other Pelikans, any inks shoud be fine except for deep reds.

Remove the nib from the barrel and try flushing it then, that might work with your demo

I ended up buying a bottle of Quink Washable Blue for my M2xx demonstrator. I don't regret it at all. It's not the best or most permanent color, but I have confidence that it will not stain the pen. It's a good thing, too -- I messed up and did something with the piston that resulted in getting ink in the cap.

The Pelikan 205 inner barrel tints to the ink color, but not as badly as other piston demonstrators. I stay away from red or red based inks, that's asking for trouble. Experience tells me what inks to stay clear of. I've taken to filling my 205 like an eyedropper, simply unscrew the nib and syringe in the ink. I avoid having to dip into the ink which causes unsightly stains in the section area. For some reason, the ink can't get into the section from the barrel end, don't know why.

I've been calling the ink on the plastic a tint as opposed to a stain. It doesn't stain like, say, you got ink on a white shirt kind of stain. The Pelikan takes on a very light tint from ths inks I've used. I'm wondering if that's how it is for you?

I guess with the pen being that low in cost you could just dedicate it to the visconti blue (which is a nice colour), and never change, or just to blue in general, then you would not notice the stain?

Correct, it is a very slight tint!

I'll also use it as an eye dropper. It will also protect the part of the barrel behind the piston (which is the only part I cannot wash at all at the moment).

nick

In theory, I agree, but I still like to be picky and have everything as close to mint as possible...

And even if it is low cost, it is still the pen I have that costs the most for the moment... but my next ones should still be demos... so I want to be prepared!

nick

Sorry for bringing back this thread, but all this talk of staining and inks getting into places they shouldn't be has gotten me quite worried! I've got an M205 on the way, and I pretty much only use Noodler's La Couleur Royale, and other purples. Does anyone have experience with purples and browns in regards to staining? I know they must contain some red pigments....

thanks!

Purples, reds, and greens do stain.

Thanks for the quick reply! I guess I'll have to switch to some kind of blue black then...

Guess it's a good thing I took a pass on the demonstrator, then, since aside from black, purple and green are my favorites.

My experience with the 205 is this.

The best way to not stain it is to not use the piston. Remove the nib and use an eyedropper or a syringe.

Also, if there is a little ink left on the inside after, use a q-tip to "scratch" it. It will remove a lot.

And as somebody mentioned in another thread, there are 2 layers laminated close to the nib. If ink gets in between, remove the nib, fill it up with water, put it upside down in a glass full of water overnight. This got that section 100% clean for me.

I still have not used red, purple or green in it, but probably will at one point.

I'm still happy with my demo, and am looking for more. Actually, I'm looking to mostly get demos in the future.

nick

I've also not had any staining issues with mine...I have used turquoise and black inks in mine (waterman, noodler's, quink, and aurora) with no issues at all. I probably wouldn't put my waterman violet in, just to be safe.