I have an Esterbrook nib that is in sound condition and has been cleaned in my ultra sonic cleaner, but it lacks that like new shine.
Is there a way to shine it up or is it best left as is? If I was keeping the nib for my own use, I'd leave it alone, but this one is going on a pen for a client.

Thanks!

Todd

Simichrome hand-buffed will do the job. I would rinse the nib afterwards, in case the petroleum distillates in the Simichrome were to react with ink.

Simichrome, my friend. A little dab'll do yah, use more, only if you dare, scrub firm and then watch out for the glare...

The nib will sparkle. Believe me, I had the same situation as you did once. A quick scrub of Simmers got it sparkling.

*Take the nib out of the feed before polishing. Otherwise you'll have to clean two things, instead of one*.

Thank you gentlemen ... Simichrome did indeed make it look new ...

Todd

Be careful when doing this if the nib is a two-tone nib. (both silver and gold color).

If the gold plating is cheap or thin, then you can polish right through to the base metal.

As a matter of fact, that's how I turn a two-tone nib into a single tone...take it to the buffing wheel.

In most cases, it takes VERY little buffing to get through to the base metal.

But a little hand-polishing with simichrome should be fine. Just don't get excessive with it...my 2 cents.

Did you mean to take the nib out of the pen (or section) - or really mean the feed? Dissassembling an Esterbrook nib isn't a job for everyone...

Regards,

Gerry

Gerry, you're the master of understatement.

The collar often has an indent, that fits a notch on the feed. It's designed to keep the nib and feed from rotating as the nib assembly is screwed into the section. If you just knock it out, you will at the least break this off, and at worst, you could shatter the collar. i.e. you could end up with a junk nib.

FWIW, Giovanni and Martin Smith at Woodbin sell buff sticks. The 12000 grit micromesh side does a super job of shining and polishing up a nib. They work very nicely on Esterbrooks.

Sorry Gerry, I got a little tangled up. I meant to remove the nib from the section. I figured if you polished the nib with it still in place, the simichrome might get into the feed-channels.