Celluloid Crack Repair--A Success

[Rowingbiker]

Dear pen friends,

 

This forum is also well-suited to share successful repairs!

 

About seven years ago I bought a carmine plunger-filling Sheaffer Statesman, which had to be serviced.
I decided to warm the barrel and knock the barrel seal out with a dowel (which I had done once before-successfully).

However, this time, although the cartridge came out fine, a crack appeared in the barrel. Not too wide, but more than enough to dissipate any vacuum created by pushing the plunger down.
Well, the pen still looked gorgeous, so after some serious swearing I reassembled it and kept it as a display piece and just looked (longingly) at it every now and then.

 

In this forum celluloid crack repair is discussed every so often, so I decided to give it a go, helped by valuable comments by Ron Zorn and Fountainbel (amongst others).

I used an old broken Vacumatic plunger as a source of celluloid and used a cutter to cut off very small pieces, which I dissolved into acetone until I had a kind of celluloid “paste”, quite fluid still.

I opened up the barrel crack by pushing a wooden pencil in and then used a pin to carefully bring in the dissolved celluloid, taking care not to make too much contact with the barrel.

 

Afterwards, I put the barrel away for three weeks (Thanks Ron!). After the curing period I made another small amount of celluloid sludge and carefully filled up what remained of the crack as best as I could. Again: three weeks rest.

Then I used micromesh sticks and pads to remove the surplus celluloid and to polish the barrel. It turned out quite nice. Not perfect, as you can see in the photos, but I was happy enough.

 

I glued in the barrel seal cartridge with epoxy after having installed a new O-ring and closure washer and a new plunger seal and screwed in the nib unit (thank you for your tool, Frances!) and after another two days’ wait I filled it up.

It fills very well, about two-thirds of the barrel, and it writes very nicely indeed, with a nice, wet medium nib.
And I think it just looks cool!

I have used the pen off and on for about two months now, having filled and flushed a couple of times, and that is why I dare post this message.

 

Thank you for reading.

 

Best regards,

Rob

[pen lady]

Well done! I have a Roseglow Sheaffer junior with a cracked cap lip. Can I use the same method to fix that please? I'm sure I can dig out a Vac plunger from the parts bin.

[Rowingbiker]

Thank you!

 

I am really no expert, but as it's also celluloid, then it should work.

However, I think a cap lip is more difficult and "visually challenging", hard to make an invisible fix.

Good luck!

[pen lady]

Thanks for the encouragement. My pen, like yours, is striped, and the crack is short, not extending past the cap band. I might give it a try.

[CS388]

Very nice work. Well done!

 

Thanks for sharing - and may your repair stand the test of time and use!

[fountainbel]

Bravo, well done Rob !

@pen lady : Note that prior to fusing the crack should be cleaned ,removing accumulated dust and grease which entered the crack slit. This can be done by pulling a sheet of mylar through the crack.

Francis

[pen lady]

Thanks for that tip Francis, much appreciated.

[mitto]

Good repair job. Thank you for sharing.

[pen2paper]

Looks Great!

 

Just think, very nice pens like this have been tossed for far less negative issues. Instead, we see a fine result demonstration of what happens when pen community members generously share their tried and true methods. They could keep their expertise secret to themselves, but clearly enjoy seeing others successful working through their own repairs.

 

p2p, still delighted my own roseglow was more easily spiffed-up by one such at a local show.

[Ron Z]

Nicely done! Good job blending the repair, which is the more difficult part.

 

The only suggestion I would make is to use MEK instead of acetone. You will find that on occasion acetone will cause micro bubbles to form in the celluloid slurry. MEK though a bit more hazardous evaporates a bit slower and penetrates the work piece better so you get a better weld.

[pen lady]

Ron, in Canada, where can I buy MEK please, any idea? I have a bottle of nail polish thinner which on the label is described as Methyl Isobutly (surely that's wrong, shouldn't it be Isobutyl) Ketone. Can I use that?

[Ron Z]

Ron, in Canada, where can I buy MEK please, any idea? I have a bottle of nail polish thinner which on the label is described as Methyl Isobutly (surely that's wrong, shouldn't it be Isobutyl) Ketone. Can I use that?

 

I'm going to assume that is a different, though related solvent. MEK is often sold in paint stores, and in the paint department of stores like Lowes or Home Depot. There are "substitutes" for MEK that aren't the same and won't do the job for you.

[pen lady]

Thanks Ron, off to the "big-box" I go.

[Ron Z]

Do be careful with any of these solvents. Wear gloves, protect your eyes, and use in a well ventilated area or wear a mask to filter out the fumes.

[pen lady]

Sound advice. Thanks.

[Rowingbiker]

Thank you all for your nice comments!

 

@ Ron: pure MEK is not so easy to obtain over here. In our lab acetone is routinely used, which is why I used it.

 

The "MEK" I have used before is a "degreaser" and remover of certain types of adhesives and the solution contains other substances as well. It did not work well.

[pen lady]

Apparently, MEK is not stocked by either Lowes or Home Depot in Canada, however, I found some at Canadian Tire this afternoon. I'll report on how things go with my Roseglow cap in due course.

[siamackz]

I cant find MEK. I have Acetone and I have some generic paint thinner. Im trying to figure out if either will work.

 

1. What if I mix them with a little celluloid and see which one forms bubbles and does not, and then use the one that does not?

2. Can I use guitar picks made of celluloid for this https://www.amazon.in/Alice-Black-Celluloid-Guitar-Holder/dp/B01MTZM42J

[Greenie]

Testors plastic cement has MEK (product 3502)

 

I have used celluloid guitar pics as the donor material and it works well.

 

My only issue is finding guitar pics that aren't a bit sparkly. I would love to find plain boring solid color celluloid picks. Thanks for the post of plain black There is hope to find others now.

 

MSDS for testors 3502

 

excerpt

 

============= Composition/Information on Ingredients =============

Ingred Name:ETHYL ACETATE (SARA III)
CAS:141-78-6
RTECS #:AH5425000
Fraction by Wt: 35%
OSHA PEL:400 PPM
ACGIH TLV:400 PPM; 9192
EPA Rpt Qty:5000 LBS
DOT Rpt Qty:5000 LBS

Ingred Name:METHYL ETHYL KETONE (2-BUTANONE) (MEK) (SARA III)
CAS:78-93-3
RTECS #:EL6475000
Fraction by Wt: 35%
OSHA PEL:200 PPM/300 STEL
ACGIH TLV:200 PPM/300STEL 9192
EPA Rpt Qty:5000 LBS
DOT Rpt Qty:5000 LBS

Ingred Name:ACETIC ACID, 2-METHOXY-1-METHYLETHYL ESTER; (PROPYLENE
GLYCOL METHYL ETHER ACETATE)-LIMITS AS PGME.
CAS:108-65-6
RTECS #:AI8295000
Fraction by Wt: 25-30%
OSHA PEL:100 PPM;150 PPM STEL
ACGIH TLV:100 PPM;150 PPM STEL

Ingred Name:ALLYL ISOTHIOCYANATE, INHIBITED; (OIL OF MUSTARD)
CAS:57-06-7
RTECS #:NX8225000
Fraction by Wt: <0.5%

[tmenyc]

Excellent job on the repair, and the enforced three week wait is the same advice Ron gave me some years back, and it's the key to success.

 

MEK is not only not available in Canada, it's not available in some states. The substitute is not the same thing and is not useable for this purpose, and acetone will scar the pen more readily than MEK. Various model cements (I'm a modeler....) have contained MEK over time as they have shifted away from toluene, but now the MEK cements are also almost gone. Now most are acetone-based, I think. But even then MEK was one of numerous ingredients, not the only solvent. You really want MEK. I got mine in Massachusetts, where it is still available. It's worth a trip to the States to do a little shopping.

 

As Ron noted, MEK is really toxic. I try to remember to use my fume hood when using it, or I hold the jar out my open window. One snoot of it and you'll have an instant very powerful headache, and yes, been there done that.

 

Tim