any celluloid precautions?

[petra]

I'm wondering if there are any particular issues in caring for celluloid pens that are really important to know (aside from just plain common sense things)?

 

Are there products for cleaning or polishing that one should or shouldn't use on celluloid? Can you soak a celluloid section in water overnight? What's the most common cause of "crazing" and are there ways to prevent it in the first place, or repair it once it has happened?

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

 

Petra

[Richard]

Most vintage celluloid pens have hard rubber sections, so that may or may not be a concern. Soaking, especially in warm water, can discolor hard rubber. Soaking celluloid in hot water is also a surefire way to discolor it -- stick with cool water for soaking vintage pens!

 

Keep alcohols of all sorts away from celluloid -- most alcohols eat celluloid, and there are other strong solvents that are even worse.

 

Don't use Brasso!

 

Here's what my glossary says about crazing (and, since it's cross-referenced, crystallization):

 

crazing: A network of cracks or fissures, sometimes so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, running over the surface of, or through, hard rubber or plastic. Crazing is caused by chemical activity; in rubber it results from oxidation and drying out, while in plastics such as celluloid it results from the gradual decomposition of the material due to the outgassing of plasticizers. See also crystallization.

 

crystallization: In pens, gradual decomposition of plastics due to the outgassing of plasticizers. The material becomes progressively more friable and may eventually crumble of its own accord. See also crazing.

You can't cause crazing, and you can't prevent it. You can exacerbate it by storing your pens in warm places or by cleaning them in too powerful an ultrasonic cleaner.

[JRodriguez]

Wow! That sounds horrible. I can just imagine writing with one of my Visconti pens one day and having it fall apart in my hands . Thanks for the tips Richard.

[Dudley]

Very interesting. I'll keep that in mind

[HDoug]

Most vintage celluloid pens have hard rubber sections, so that may or may not be a concern. Soaking, especially in warm water, can discolor hard rubber. Soaking celluloid in hot water is also a surefire way to discolor it -- stick with cool water for soaking vintage pens!

 

Keep alcohols of all sorts away from celluloid -- most alcohols eat celluloid, and there are other strong solvents that are even worse.

 

Don't use Brasso!

 

Here's what my glossary says about crazing (and, since it's cross-referenced, crystallization):

 

crazing: A network of cracks or fissures, sometimes so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, running over the surface of, or through, hard rubber or plastic. Crazing is caused by chemical activity; in rubber it results from oxidation and drying out, while in plastics such as celluloid it results from the gradual decomposition of the material due to the outgassing of plasticizers. See also crystallization.

 

crystallization: In pens, gradual decomposition of plastics due to the outgassing of plasticizers. The material becomes progressively more friable and may eventually crumble of its own accord. See also crazing.

You can't cause crazing, and you can't prevent it. You can exacerbate it by storing your pens in warm places or by cleaning them in too powerful an ultrasonic cleaner.

"...most alcohols eat celluloid..." Oh no! Most Doug's eat alcohols!

 

"You can't cause crazing, and you can't prevent it." No, it's genetic.

 

"You can exacerbate [crazing] by storing your pens in warm places..." Like... your pocket? And I live in Honolulu!

 

But to be serious, are pockets in a warm climate an actual threat to celluloid wellbeing? I don't have a celluloid yet, but they are so attractive. Is this something I should worry about? Should I keep my pens in the freezer when not in pocket or enplacket?

 

Doug

[klemenv]

Celluloid tends to became addictive .