Clear Tape On The Cap Of My New Baby - Help!

[JesterKat]

Just sharing because it seemed cool...

Googled ketones because my curiosity was aroused - did you know the antibiotic Tetracyclene is a ketone? And that ketones dissolve plastics partially because some of them are made from ketones? And that fructose is also a sugar ketone known as ketoses? The things you learn on the side.

OK, others might not get a kick out of this, but it was too interesting not to share.

[chad.trent]

So you finally took the plunge and restored one huh? Glad to see you're one of us now...

 

We still need to get together sometime soon...

[JesterKat]

Yeah, I think I forgot to send you my email and then got the weekend wrong because I didn't write it down and so was out of town that weekend.

Here's a picture of Lee's rootbeer fixed up (still needs more polishing) and my baby:

And just to gloat share, the latest additions to my icicle family, 3rd and 4th from the left.

Sorry about that second one, I took 15 photos and still am not happy with the way the icicles show up.

[chad.trent]

Wow. That's a nice collection. Can't wait to see them in person.

[HDRoot]

Interesting comments on ketone--one learns something every day. Ketone, acetone, and naptha shouldn't be used in a closed room. I'd be afraid to use acetone on any kind of plastic. Ketone dries much faster than naptha, and, to my nose anyway, isn't as nasty and usually works better. I've used ketone on valuable old books, not sure I'd use naptha. Mind you I never recommended ketone for anything except tape removal; works wonders on the gummy residue. I've never used it for any other pen-related purpose.

 

Disclaimer: I am not a chemist or materials engineer. My poorly-formed opinions are based on hit-or-miss personal experience.

 

Good discussion.

[pajaro]

Hit-or-miss personal experience works well.

 

My only experience with any of that stuff was using MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) to cause rubbery non-skid tape to hold on the rungs of the silo ladder (8 stories) at a Titan-II ICBM site. Never dared use it again.

[JesterKat]

You wouldn't want to use naptha near books, it is a solvent for oil-based inks, at least I think they were oil-based inks. We did an art project at some point in my schooling where we took a photograph from a glossy magazine and transferred it to drawing paper using lighter fluid. The lighter fluid detached the ink from the glossy paper and it transferred to the drawing paper that was touching it. I remember having to go outside to do it and hanging them up to dry for about 10 minutes. Ah, the odd things you remember after mumble-mumble years.

Katie

[pen lady]

Rubbing alchohol will disolve tape residue and the greasy smear that WD 40 leaves behind too. Love to restore Esties too but killed a couple when I started. Pen repair has a steep learning curve! Just have to keep reminding myself, "don't try to remove the section without having a nib screwed into place".

[Brianm_14]

This is an older thread, but here goes in case it helps someone.

 

Just bought an Estie at a great discount on fleabay because it had what was described as tape that was firmly attached to the cap. From the photos, it clearly looked like older celllophane-type tape, and I'll bet it had been there for decades.

 

The tape was firmly in place, but showed signs if yellowing which seemed promising. It had already started to break down. While I considered using a quality naphtha, I first applied a drop of straight Dawn detergent to the tape, gently rubbed it in with my thumb, and then covered the area with a piece of slightly warm, wet paper towel to keep it moistened. After ten minutes, the edges had softened, and gave way to a fingernail. I kept creating more edge, reapplied a little Dawn, and kept the area moist. The Dawn softened the tape overall, but caused it to release as it migrated under the edges.

 

After about 20 minutes of intermittent attention, the tape was gone. No signs remained of it's obnoxious presence. As usual, slow and steady, using gentle methods, worked.

[FarmBoy]

This is an older thread, but here goes in case it helps someone.

 

Just bought an Estie at a great discount on fleabay because it had what was described as tape that was firmly attached to the cap. From the photos, it clearly looked like older celllophane-type tape, and I'll bet it had been there for decades.

 

The tape was firmly in place, but showed signs if yellowing which seemed promising. It had already started to break down. While I considered using a quality naphtha, I first applied a drop of straight Dawn detergent to the tape, gently rubbed it in with my thumb, and then covered the area with a piece of slightly warm, wet paper towel to keep it moistened. After ten minutes, the edges had softened, and gave way to a fingernail. I kept creating more edge, reapplied a little Dawn, and kept the area moist. The Dawn softened the tape overall, but caused it to release as it migrated under the edges.

 

After about 20 minutes of intermittent attention, the tape was gone. No signs remained of it's obnoxious presence. As usual, slow and steady, using gentle methods, worked.

You sure you didn't have one of the original tape-cap Esterbrooks?

[Brianm_14]

The tape did seem OEM . . . .