My new (old) Parker Lady turned up today. She's lovely, or she will be with a bit of tlc.

This is the situation with her now... The gold clip is very slightly misaligned but I'm really not too fussed about straightening it if it's risky. She has one of those sac/bar/squeeze type wigits as a filler. Seems okay but the end furthest away from the feed is slightly discoloured. Can I clean this? I'm a bit worried about putting chemicals near the rubber sac? The hooded nib looks okay. Don't know how it writes yet.

The plastic red hood/barrel and cap have no cracks, just some surface scratches which I'd like to polish out. What should I use please?

So far, all I have done is place her in some cool filtered water and pumped out the dried ink. Seems to be fairly clear now but I'm changing the water frequently.

Any advice would be gratefully received. I love this pen already, it just feels right in my hand. If it's too much of a pain to talk me through this, please could you point me at something I might read to extend my knowledge?

Ta muchly...

Re: polish. I have just the thing. I'll pop some in the post to you if I can find a suitable container .

Martin

Thanks Martin. Please bill me for it though. Send me a PM and I'll give you the details.

Peachez,

I would just flush out the pen and try it. The sacs do get stained, but don't let it bother you. As to the clip, leave it if you can, it adds character!

Welcome to the Parker Obsession, now you need a Parker "51" or two

Hi Peachez,

I agree with Jim, the sac is fine, they do stain a little but they won't perish (not like black rubber sacs). Just flush with water.
I have used plastic polish as used for marine applications (window polish etc) as it is formulated for removing swirl marks etc from plexiglass. It's not too abrasive and works a treat. You can pick it up at your local auto shop. My brand I think is "Mother's".

Regards

Gary

Thank you peeps I got brave and loaded the 'ol girl up with some Noodlers. It'll either kill or cure, I thought. I got kind of smug there when she started to flow nice and steady and then I put her away for a while while I cooked dinner/sorted daughter's hormones out, etc. Tried her again, ready to write a stonking letter and guess what, she's turned ugly Noodler's Eternal blue is down to a sickly trickly and she's all scratchy and nasty.

Fortunately Jim has given me a magic recipe for further cleaning which I'm hoping might sort her out, sort of settle her stomach. As scratchy as she is, I still love her to fragments. I'm determined now to start a collection - a sort of sisterhood of 'ol 'Ladies' who can swap knitting patterns, be a little shiney and tarty but still produce the goods at a moments notice

So in the absence of anthing technical, I will own up and say that her slightly dulled barrel was not showing her at her best and I attacked her with...er...toothpaste. Look, it was marked, 'for sensitive teeth'!!! And guess what, she looks a whole lot better. I know, I have done a terrible thing and I will go to confession this Saturday. Maybe

Meantime, I washed her, buffed her with a microfibre cloth and now I reckon she looks pretty good. The crooked clip? Love it - I know this is too rude but it makes her a 'no knickers' kind of gal, gives her character

Wouldn't dream of it! A small syringe of polish will go in the post to you tomorrow.

You can also have a go at straightening the clip, provided you can get it off. Take one "eraser" (I think Rotring are best but anything will do) and push the little peaked plastic screw against it and turn to unscrew. If it comes off (they normally do) it will reveal a brass screw. Undo this and hey presto! - one kit of cap assembly. Straighten by hand but do this carefully to avoid making things worse! Reassembly is the reversal of the above procedure.

Good luck,

Martin

Aww Martin, you aint gonna get rich this way but bless you As for the clip...what you have just posted has given me an attack of the vapours. I think I am not quite brave enough yet to go fiddling with it. Will leave alone for the moment.

Re Martins tip on getting the cap apart. Just last week I needed to fix a loose clip on a "51" cap, same system. But my soft eraser had disappeared from my drawer, but what I had was a big blob of Blu-Tack, left over from the Xmas decorations, so I shaped it into a point and stuck it to the plastic jewel and twisted. Lo and behold, out it came with little or no fight. In fact easier than using the eraser I think as more of the mechanical effort went against the jewel than the cap top in general.

I have since tried it on another cap and it worked like a dream too. So that is now the method for me. Just a final tip, don't work the Blu-Tack too much and make it all soft, you just want a soft tip to stick to the jewel, the harder the rest is the better.

Jim

Thanks for the Blu-Tak tip, Jim. I'll try that next time.

The reason the Rotring plastic erasers work well is that they are soft and sticky (and thankfully remain that way). Fresh Blu-Tak would take it to another level. Maybe a spell in the 'fridge for a few minutes first?

Martin

Hi Martin,

The fridge idea sounds like a good one. Why I think it worked better for me was the eraser is an old one that dates back to my mechanical drawing days, rarely used now as CAD or Visio about do it all. The other thing was I was able to shape it to bear just on the jewel, so in theory I got more mechanical effort against it.

I see it as just another tool in the kitbag, that might get you out of a tight spot.

Jim

A quick note of public thanks to Jim and Martin. Jim was soooooo helpful with good advice on cleaning and Martin was kind enough to send me some wonderful polish. Both have worked wonders. Not sure what's in the polish Martin but it smells great, polishes pens a treat and when I managed to get some on my glasses (don't ask ) it polished them too!

I'll post a pic of the ol' girl later. Wish I'd taken 'before' pics now.

Meantime, kisses to you both

Apologies for the rubbish pic but, take a deep breath <cue Stevie Wonder on the gramophone...>

Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful...