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Cartier Rollerball Has Tacky Barrel – How Do I Clean It?


Tammy68

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I have my father's old Cartier Diabolo roller ball pen. It works just fine but the barrel feels sticky and if I try to wipe with a cloth then the cloth sticks to the barrel. It's as though it has melted or broken down and become tacky. I don't want to spoil the pen by doing the wrong thing. It is black rubbery or resin material it's not shiny and really hard, but more matte and softer, warmer feel.it has a black cabochon not the regular blue so I think it's probably quit unusual or rare?

Any advice please on how to lean it so that it is usable? Thank you

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Yes, that is alas a well known problem with these silicone coated pens. (and other objects, I had a computermouse that became so sticky I had to throw it away)

 

I don't know of any method to restore the silicone.

Washing it with soap does not help, and alcohol, nafta etc will make it worse.

 

I just googled a bit. They advise using a baking soda batter on silicone cooking utensils, but I would not know if this works on pens.

I read someone who uses WD40, but one of our repair gurus is warning against that as it will harm many pen materials.

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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Thank you RMN. I don't really want to throw it away though. I'm not even sure what the pen is made of to Google it. Surely there must be some way of restoring or saving it? I've not actually found anything else mentioning this as a problem to find any solutions or what has already been tried and failed.

 

I'm stumped!

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Thank you RMN. I don't really want to throw it away though. I'm not even sure what the pen is made of to Google it. Surely there must be some way of restoring or saving it? I've not actually found anything else mentioning this as a problem to find any solutions or what has already been tried and failed.

 

I'm stumped!

 

Why not get the info from the source?

 

Google Cartier, look up their contact info and send them an email asking for advice?

 

 

D.ick

~

KEEP SAFE, WEAR A MASK, KEEP A DISTANCE.

Freedom exists by virtue of self limitation.

~

 

 

 

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Thank you RMN, I emailed them yesterday afternoon and am now awaiting their response. I will post their reply here as it may be useful to someone else.

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This is the response I have just received from Cartier:

 

 

Dear...(removed my name),

 

Thank you for the interest that you have expressed in Cartier.

 

In response to your enquiry, may we kindly inform you that we are only able to provide you with general guidlines for cleaning a Cartier pen, as we do not have the exact model of the pen in question and the material it is made of.

 

In order to clean a Cartier pen, we recommend you to remove the cartridge from the pen. Following this, you may clean the pen in clear water and dry it carefully. For fountain pens equipped with a converter, you may insert the converter full of cold water and flush the water through the ink-feed. This process may be continued until the water is clear. Any external parts of the fountain pen may be cleaned using a soft, dry cloth. May we kindly advise you not use any other products.

 

Alternatively, may we invite you to visit one of the following Cartier Boutiques*, where one of our Sales Associates will be delighted to clean your Cartier pen free of charge:

 

175-177 New Bond Street

London

W1S 4RN

Tel: 020 7408 9192

40-41 Old Bond Street

London

W1S 4QR

Tel: 020 7290 5150

143-144 Sloane Street

London

SW1X 9AY

Tel: 020 7312 6930

 

We trust that this information meets your needs and remain at your disposal for any further assistance.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Marie Louise de Nie

Cartier Client Relations Centre

020 3147 4850

contact.uk@cartier.com

 

 

*Jewellery is exclusively available in Cartier boutiques and in our e-Boutique.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This email was sent to you by Cartier International S.A., 8 Boulevard James-Fazy, CH-1201 Geneva (Commercial Register CH-660-0169981-7). Privacy Policy | © Cartier 2015

 

 

 

 

 

Message related to: Other

Message:

I have my father's black, rollerball Diabolo pen. It has a black cabochon and is kind of rubber matte material. The problem is that the pen has stayed in his office and in its box for some time, (he has dementia and is now in a nursing home). I wanted to give the pen to a friend of the family as a thank you for their help and promised it to them. Now, having got the pen out, I find that it feels really sticky. I tried to wipe it with a cloth but the cloth seems to stick to the pen. I don't know how to clean it. What are your recommendations? I've posted this as a question on a pen collector forum and they suggest I contact Cartier at source, hence this email.

Please can you advise me?

Thank you

 

 

©2015 . All Rights Reserved

The information contained in this e-mail message is confidential - please do not cross-post. This communication is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, reliance, disclosure, distribution or copying of this communication may be prohibited by law and might constitute a breach of confidence. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately and delete it and all copies (including attachments) from your system.

 

 

©2015 Cartier Limited. All Rights Reserved

The information contained in this e-mail message is confidential - please do not cross-post. This communication is intended for the use of the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, reliance, disclosure, distribution or copying of this communication may be prohibited by law and might constitute a breach of confidence. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately and delete it and all copies (including attachments) from your system.

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  • 1 year later...

HI, I realize this is an old post but just dug up my old Diabolo's made of the same material and they are both tacky and not-so-nice feeling. Before I start my journey to figure it out, I was curios to know if you got anywhere with this. Thanks!

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I had this same problem with a coated pen and a pocket am/FM/sw radiojthat had a rubbery soft finish when new. The radio and pen became very tacky. Nothing would fix the tacky pen. Tossed it. I used a box of alcohol pads on the radio and got most of the sticky residue off. Very annoying.i should have tried goo gone.

Edited by Studio97
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They might offer to replace it with a current model, but I don't think there is anything they could do for the decomposing rubber.

 

I've had this happen to a few things in the past, notably all the buttons and switches on my old Volvo. Feels gross doesn't it?

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  • 2 years later...

Hi,

 

Is there any further update on tacky resins on pens, typically a Must de Cartier ballpen, a red one?

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Ive expiernced tacky Retro51 Bigshot soft touch pens. Nearly tossed them out however found on google that diluted and undiluted ammonia on cloths along with isopropyl alcohol worked after a bit of work and careful rubbing. Id suggest disposable gloves as a precaution. But interestingly the pens have not come back with the tacky feel and are now back in use.

 

This article was useful http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-remove-a-sticky-surface-from-rubber/

 

Good luck !

Edited by bdez
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  • 1 year later...

I have a couple of Omas Emotica pens that have become very sticky and the matte finish had become so soft and gooey they mar and scratch easily. They are very sticky and tacky to the touch. Soap and water and alcohol doesn’t help at all. Unfortunately now that Omas is gone I can’t get them repaired or replaced.

Secundum Artem

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Goo Gone contains Xylene, which is a very harsh chemical, and will melt some plastics. I've had the "orange" cleaners melt surfaces as well. Alcohol can damage older plastics if you aren't careful.

 

Lighter fluid, or naphtha should soften the now tacky surface treatment and remove it. I've used naphtha as an adhesive remover and in general pen repair for decades, and have never had it damage a pen It has worked very well when used it to remove sticky stuff like this on several occasions.

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I can't speak to pen experience, but the silicone-ized touch on my custom mechanical keyboard started to die a couple years ago, and I recently just cleaned the whole thing with denatured alcohol. To my surprise, it stripped the nasty tacky old coating and left nice shiny matte black ABS underneath

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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It is a well known problem with soft plastic. After some years it becomes sticky, as plasticisers move to the surface. I experienced it on my old car dashboard, a portable hard disk, a radio, my old analog camera and endless other items, including a Staedtler fountain pen. There seems not to be any quick fix, I have tried several products. The only ultimate solution seems to be to carefully rub away the rubber coating with the help of some solvent, and leave the rigid plastic below. Or, which I did in some cases, get rid of the sticky item. Call it planned obsolescence.

Don't take life too seriously

Nobody makes it out alive anyway

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  • 9 months later...
On 5/25/2020 at 7:36 AM, mikerph said:

I have a couple of Omas Emotica pens that have become very sticky and the matte finish had become so soft and gooey they mar and scratch easily. They are very sticky and tacky to the touch. Soap and water and alcohol doesn’t help at all. Unfortunately now that Omas is gone I can’t get them repaired or replaced.


My yellow Emotica had that very problem but after several cleanings with warm water and dishwashing detergent and with a single use of Goo Gone the stickiness abated.

A. Don's Axiom "It's gonna be used when I sell it, might as well be used when I buy it."

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