My First Restoration

[Buckandball1842]

So I've been wanting to get into restoration for a while and I finally took the plunge. After using some of my tax refund on repair tools and parts, I bought a lot of junk pens on eBay and got two Skylines in the mix. After some help from Richard Binders website and AZBennett, who sold me my first Skyline, I put in a new sac, polished everything up, and smoothed/realigned the nib. Now I've got a very nice semi flex Skyline that I very much look forward to using.

[AZBennett]

Congrats!!! Awesome job. Can't wait to see what else you are going to be restoring. I love Skylines, except for the clip, that thing can be a pain in the ass.

 

Regards,

Paul

[kbrede]

Nice! I've got a couple Skylines that I enjoy very much.

Kent

Edited March 9, 2015 by kbrede

[Buckandball1842]

Congrats!!! Awesome job. Can't wait to see what else you are going to be restoring. I love Skylines, except for the clip, that thing can be a pain in the ass.

 

Regards,

Paul

Thanks! I have to say I can't get it quite as shinny as I'd like though. I had to sand off some green patina in places and I think I might have been to aggressive. What's your polishing process like?

[AZBennett]

Currently I use simichrome for metal applied with a q-tip initially, then a microfiber cloth, and then a clean q-tip for small areas. For heavy corrosion on metal that can be removed from the pen, I have used white vinegar and baking soda bath, then aggressive use of simichrome and a cloth (this might get me in trouble with some of the old timers, but vinegar and baking soda are better than many of the chemical cleaners since they aren't as aggressive and won't potentially ruin something). I have used Flitz in the past and liked it, though it is harsher in my opinion than Simichrome, it also works faster and requires less product than Simichrome does. I have tried a few pen polishes available at pen dealers and found that most of them do very little. They do add a slight shine, some that advertise light or heavy scratch removal can be misleading, imo. As their definition of light scratches is microscratches and heavy scratches are those barely visible to the eye. They won't take out medium scratches, scoring or bite marks. You can only really attack those with some more aggressive means and those depend on the type of plastic in the effected area as some pens respond to heat while other melt or discolor, etc. Doing research and relying on the mistakes of others is key in any of the repairs I have made.

 

I am not certain as to whether Simichrome can be used on pen plastics. I try not to get it on any of the pens I am working on, I have read other people that will use it on plastics as well. I am very hesitant and anal about it when repairing any BCHR/BHR pens because I worry it might break down the plastic or ruin the chasing. Trial and error on beater pens is also a way to find out what works and doesn't. I haven't tried a jeweler's cloth, but I have heard they work wonders and am seriously considering trying one out just to see how I like it.