Removing Labels From Platinum Preppy. What Do I Use?

[Icywolfe]

This is what Diamine Registrar's ink does to Platinum's Labels

 

http://www.mediafire.com/convkey/364a/vn5g9z5n3mdf4xo6g.jpg

 

I had a ink drop spill out and dry. So I wiped it off and part of the label came off. It came out clear and not foggy.

[madlib]

Thank you so much for your suggestions!

Alright so, i went through several options with the pilot preppy's. I have 2 preppy's at the moment and tested Isopropyl alchol (Brand name: Iscol).

 

I did a fair amount of rubbing but the paint barely got scraped off. Some of it did get stripped, however i used a Eucalyptus Oil Repellent and the ink managed to fade away. Here is the picture. As you can see there is no clouding, however i did rubbed my nail quite a bit and in the process got a manicure for my thumb . There is no clouding whatsoever!

 

http://iforce.co.nz/i/wbjeffgo.rx0.jpg

 

Now, i tried this on the second preppy and i was applying too much pressure and the plastic started to crack near the thin end. So i broke it out of frustration and threw it away .

 

I took the time off today and purchased Denatured Alcohol and tried rubbing it onto my Sakura Pigma Micron and a XP Micron Pen. Surprisingly the labels vanished and the finish appears Glossy! Here are some pictures:

 

XP Micron

http://iforce.co.nz/i/vhzakljt.yv1.jpg

 

Pigma Micron:

http://iforce.co.nz/i/4iiy5stz.tcd.jpg

 

Also, i tried the denatured alcohol on the First preppy barrel (the one which i removed with the rubbing alcohol and eucalyptus repellent spray) and wanted to see if it would cloud the plastic and it didn't! So I am safe to assume that denatured alcohol is good if you want to remove them labels, but i haven't tested it yet on a labelled preppy. When i do, i will post pictures on here.

 

Now, since i threw the 2nd Preppy barrel in the thrash i couldn't use the denatured alcohol and test its effectiveness. I actually searched the trash bin but then realized if anyone saw me, my neighbors would have a bad impression of me.

 

My second batch of preppy's are on the way, can't wait to test it!

Edited September 20, 2014 by madlib

[RMN]

@ Madlib: was that Methanol or Ethanol alcohol? And if Ethanol, which percentage?

 

 

D.ick

[LamyOne]

Hello Madlib,

 

THANKS! I should have thought of it myself - I have a can of it sitting on my workbench!

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

[madlib]

@ Madlib: was that Methanol or Ethanol alcohol? And if Ethanol, which percentage?

 

 

D.ick

No idea what the percentage is, but its a Methylated Spirit. Which i am presuming is ethanol.

 

This is what i used

 

http://www.bunnings.com.au/diggers-1l-methylated-spirits_p1560782

[RMN]

No idea what the percentage is, but its a Methylated Spirit. Which i am presuming is ethanol.

 

This is what i used

 

http://www.bunnings.com.au/diggers-1l-methylated-spirits_p1560782

It's ethanol with about 10% methanol, making it unfit for digestion.

 

They say it's great for removing inkstains.......

 

D.ick

[sambking]

I just tried removing the label with some Comet bathroom cleaner. Comet is a fine abrasive like headlight cleaner. It's polish, really. It worked like a charm. I simply dumped a little into my bathroom sink and used a piece of synthetic chamois I had lying around. I moistened the chamois a bit so that it would pick up the Comet. I dabbed up the Comet from the sink and rubbed it onto the writing on the pen. With a bit of "thumb grease," as opposed to elbow grease, the writing came off. A bit of work but in five minutes it was all off. Rinse with water and dry and you are in business. Hope that this helps!

[Water Ouzel]

Sticky Stuff Remover - brilliant stuff for removing labels and all sorts of messes. Smells nice too!

If the label has been on for a while, I soak it and leave it for a bit. The label will come off, usually leaving a sticky residue. apply some more SSR and it will come as clean as a whistle. I've used it on all sorts of surfaces and it has never caused a problem.

New Preppys don't have an adhesived lable, it seems to be silkscreened or printed on the pen body. Older ones, and Varsities, would come off with acetone or nail polish remover, but the new labelling is different, and I haven't tried cleaning one off yet.

 

On the other hand, I don't really worry about it too much; they make easy eyedroppers with or without the advertising graphics on the pen.

[Water Ouzel]

I just tried removing the label with some Comet bathroom cleaner. Comet is a fine abrasive like headlight cleaner.

Barkeeper's Friend, or Bon Ami, should work well, too. They're both very fine abrasives, perhaps fine enough to leave no visible marks.

[mike.jane]

I know I'm late to the party. To top it of I never actually tried these methods (all my preppys were no-print (besides one red noodler's ink print) from the get-go.

However, bare with me, if I had to try that, I'd try magic sponge first, you know that stuff, it's like a sponge micro-pore sponge, that also dissolves into a fine abrasive. Alternatively I'd try baking soda, because that pretty much does the same thing.

 

Now, if anyone had tried those methods, well, let me know. Just because I have/had many preppys, doesn't mean I won't get a few more.

[firstpancake]

The trick with rubbing alcohol is to use the 91% blend, 70% just won't cut it. Use a soft cloth saturated in 91% isopropanol. Give rub it on and give it a few mintutes to soak in. Rewet with more isoporpanol and keep rubbing, and it will rub right off.

[HMA Kieran]

I used surgical spirit/rubbihg alcohol on some kitchen paper and with a fair bit of elbow grease and being careful not to press down to hard (can cause cracks to appear) and it worked a treat !

[BigbyWolf]

Not even a full day of actively participating on FPN and I've just completed my first fountain pen hack. I used some 91% rubbing alcohol and a wash rag, plus a little elbow grease and about 5-7 minutes (most of which was spent soaking the body with the rubbing alcohol). There are some stray white fibers from a cotton swab I used to dry the inside of the body and clear up some condensation before I put the pen back together. So, here are the results:

 

And here's the pen, reassembled (I know, I know, what's that INK CARTRIDGE doing in there?

 

I'm torn between turning this little sucker into an eyedropper or buying a converter for it. Either way, I think I'll be happy with it. Not bad for $4 from The Goulet Pen Co. (shameless plug ).

 

Now, I think I'm going to go outside and let my head clear a bit...those alcohol fumes are a bear!

[wonderwhy]

Ok, it's time for me to contribute to fountain pen community a little

 

After reading the comments, I finally decided to give my Preppy a go. First, I took 99% isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) and tried scrubbing the pen barrel. I used cosmetic cotton disc as it's surface is much larger than that of a cotton swab. The markings started to disappear after some time, albeit very very slowly — isopropyl alcohol is a relatively mild solvent which allows it to be used in a very wide range of household and industrial applications without damaging surfaces and materials it's used on.

 

So I decided to try something a little bit stronger: 95% ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which I also use for cleaning my photographic equipment. (A pro tip for those of you who are photographers: ethanol is safe to use it won't harm coating of the lenses even after many years of use. Just be sure to use light touch so not scratch the glass. If still in doubt, opt for isopropanol instead, which also works great).

 

With Preppy I applied a very firm touch and it worked! After 5-10 minutes the barell gradually became clearer until all markings were gone! And there is no clouding of the plastic like the one you would get with acetone or nail polish remover.

 

The technique I used is as follows:

• Take a cosmetic cotton disc soaked with ethanol, fold it in half and put something firm but thin inside the fold so you have a soft cotton "edge" with firm core inside. I used a guitar pick and it worked perfectly. A coin could work too but it's better to use something with straight edge.
• Unscrew the barrel from the rest of your pen.
• Hold it in left hand between your thumb and your middle or index finger, with your thumb covering the opening with threads and your other finger pushing on the other end of the barrel. This way you won't squeeze the barell from the sides which may lead to cracking.
• Take your cotton "scraper" in your right hand and scrub along the barrel while applying firm, but careful pressure. Still, be careful not to crack the barrel. Hold the scraper at 30-45° angle for best performance. From time to time the scraper edge will become too smooth to work effectively, so you will have to reposition the cotton disc relatively to the core or take another cotton disc.

I hope this process helps getting rid of those markings easier! I also used it to remove the "0.3" markings from the tip of the cap.

 

Here is a photo of my cleaned Preppy inked with some Diamine Imperial Purple:

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by wonderwhy

[dcwaites]

Somebody on the FPN mentioned Non-Acetone Nail Polish Remover.

I have tried all the other solvents mentioned here except Registrar's ink, and of all of them the Non-Acetone Nail Polish Remover worked the best and most quickly, leaving nothing left after the least time and effort.

 

However, there is a however. The older the Preppy, the harder and more 'set' the label becomes, and needs more effort. A brand new Preppy, the printed label melts right off. One that you have had for a few years will take much rubbing.

 

It works for lots of other sticky residues as well.

[wonderwhy]

the Non-Acetone Nail Polish Remover worked the best and most quickly, leaving nothing left after the least time and effort.

One should still be carefull with it and test it before use as different nail polish removers sometimes have different acive chemicals in them and can still cloud the barell plastic.

[bobje]

I soak a paper towel with methyl alcohol, wrap the towel around the barrel, and zip it inside a plastic sandwich bag for a couple of hours. Then the lettering scrapes off. In the USA, methyl alcohol comes in the yellow HEET bottle.

[Princeps Anglorum]

I have had a good result with surgical spirit(rubbing alcohol) but got frosting with non acetone nail remover.