Bought My First Parker Yesterday - A 1939 Vacumatic Junior In Shadow Wave

[Deadboots]

It's a Speedline filler; 4th quarter production imprint. Won an auction and got it for $60 shipped. It'll need a tassie and jewel for the blind cap, but I'm not too worried about minor aesthetic parts for now. It's already been restored by Danny Fudge (thewritepen.net).

I guess I have a few questions for those of you who have Vacs...

• What's the best way to buff white marks out of this finish?
  

It looks good as is, but I'd like to touch it up a bit further when I get the chance to. I've heard that micromesh and a buffing wheel can do the trick just fine. I may also end up wanting to buff the nib and clip - they look pretty good, but there are a few spots that look slightly tarnished/stained.

• Are the elongated blind caps from Vacumatics generally interchangeable?
  

I had the thought that I could just purchase a plain black one (rounded end; no tassie or jewel), as they're available in relative abundance on eBay. Unfortunately, some sellers aren't extremely specific about the model they were pulled from.

• Is $60 a good price for this pen?
  

$60 is worth it to me for the finish, filling system, and 14k nib. Based on the prices I saw doing prior research, this is a pretty good deal considering that it's been restored.

A few questions concerning the blind cap: am I correct in assuming that the jewel and tassie are strictly cosmetic? Is the blind cap left open without them? I don't think that this could cause drying issues as the diaphragm should form an airtight seal for the ink chamber, but I figured it'd be worth asking about.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Edited March 4, 2015 by Deadboots

[kirchh]

 

It's a Speedline filler; 4th quarter production imprint. Won an auction and got it for $60 shipped. It'll need a tassie and jewel for the blind cap, but I'm not too worried about minor aesthetic parts for now. It's already been restored by Danny Fudge (thewritepen.net).

I guess I have a few questions for those of you who have Vacs...

• What's the best way to buff white marks out of this finish?

It looks good as is, but I'd like to touch it up a bit further when I get the chance to. I've heard that micromesh and a buffing wheel can do the trick just fine. I may also end up wanting to buff the nib and clip - they look pretty good, but there are a few spots that look slightly tarnished/stained.

• Are the elongated blind caps from Vacumatics generally interchangeable?

I had the thought that I could just purchase a plain black one (rounded end; no tassie or jewel), as they're available in relative abundance on eBay. Unfortunately, some sellers aren't extremely specific about the model they were pulled from.

• Is $60 a good price for this pen?

$60 is worth it to me for the finish, filling system, and 14k nib. Based on the prices I saw doing prior research, this is a pretty good deal considering that it's been restored.

A few questions concerning the blind cap: am I correct in assuming that the jewel and tassie are strictly cosmetic? Is the blind cap left open without them? I don't think that this could cause drying issues as the diaphragm should form an airtight seal for the ink chamber, but I figured it'd be worth asking about.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

 

 

White marks in a finish are strange. Do you have a picture of these marks?

 

If you don't have experience with using a buffing wheel on pens, don't start with anything you care about.

 

The "stain" on the clip might be where the gold (or other top layer of metal) has already been worn through. Polishing won't reverse that. For the nib, a gentle wipe with a dry jeweler's polishing cloth will make quick work of any toning, though if the nib is original, it's gold alloy and won't really tarnish; if there are spots on it, they may merely be ink.

 

A missing jewel shouldn't have any functional effect.

 

--Daniel

[Deadboots]

The ad should still be viewable here: http://m.ebay.com/itm/151600789557?_mwBanner=1&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

If you have issues viewing, I can download the pics and put together a Drive album later.

 

Darn, I thought the clip may have been a solid silver-colored compound.

 

Thanks for the pointers and info!

[kirchh]

The ad should still be viewable here: http://m.ebay.com/itm/151600789557?_mwBanner=1&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

If you have issues viewing, I can download the pics and put together a Drive album later.

 

Darn, I thought the clip may have been a solid silver-colored compound.

 

Thanks for the pointers and info!

 

The pen has extensive trim wear and some corrosion of the base metal under the plating on the clip. Polishing will make that less obvious, but it won't actually improve the state of the parts.

 

--Daniel

[FarmBoy]

The white marks are the silver lines in the design.

[kirchh]

The white marks are the silver lines in the design.

 

That's a good possibility. Might also be some sort of marks -- e.g. toothmarks -- that have gotten filled with polishing compound residue. Hard to be certain from the pictures. In either case, buffing isn't the answer.

 

--Daniel

[FarmBoy]

 

That's a good possibility. Might also be some sort of marks -- e.g. toothmarks -- that have gotten filled with polishing compound residue. Hard to be certain from the pictures. In either case, buffing isn't the answer.

 

--Daniel

I hadn't thought about it being compound. I think there about three of us that don't use it much...

[Deadboots]

What is the compound that the clip is comprised of? Would some type of corrosion treatment work? As I understand it, the cap's clip and jewel are removable.

 

I didn't mean the finish's silver/white aspect. There are small horizontal marks in the cap - these may simply be light scratches that are catching light in the photos.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Deadboots

[kirchh]

What is the compound that the clip is comprised of? Would some type of corrosion treatment work? As I understand it, the cap's clip and jewel are removable.

 

I didn't mean the finish's silver/white aspect. There are small horizontal marks in the cap - these may simply be light scratches that are catching light in the photos.

 

The clip is not made of compound; it is likely a brass or bronze alloy. I don't recommend any type of corrosion treatment. It can be cleaned up, but short of re-plating the clip, it is what it is.

 

--Daniel

Edited March 5, 2015 by kirchh

[Tom Heath]

Shadow Waves are neat and not too common.

 

You have had great advise above this posting.

 

I must re-iterate Kirch's remarks to go slowly with any buffing..

 

There is much to be said about hand polishing possibly light use of different grades of mircro-mesh

But any kind of mechanical buffing is risky , even in experienced hands

 

For example the piece may fly out of your hands, it may burn it could catch fire , it could become

distorted , some say when ever polish is applied original material is lost and can never be replaced.

Imprints are very easily compromised , just to get a dull finish brighter.

 

This is doubly true of metal parts, especially a nib

 

Just as in Automobile body work some things are best left to the trained mechanic.

 

A good nib needing new tipping may run $60.00 just for starters. when machine polishing a nib too many

things could happen to it... Best to do this work by hand and eye loupe.