Jump to content

Flushing / Cleaning Solution For Fountain Pen Nibs


dave321

Recommended Posts

after flushing the nib with distilled water, I find flushing it with eye glass (spectacle) lens cleaning solution, to be very good, followed by

further distilled water rinse.

 

the surfactants used in the lens cleaning solution are quite mild and perfect to help clean the nib and feed system.

does not contain solvents and is an aqueous solution.

 

anyone using other diy solutions(excuse the pun) I would be interested to hear.

 

NOTE I do not mean contact lens cleaning solution that contains water soluble gums.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 31
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Brianm_14

    6

  • Ron Z

    5

  • inkstainedruth

    2

  • Madeline

    2

About 10:1 water to clear ammonia, plus a few drops of Dawn dish detergent is what I use in my ultrasonic. I also suggest a couple caps full of ammonia with a few drops of Dawn in a juice glass of water to flush a pen. I don't use distilled water, some people do. Flush with clear water to rinse.

spacer.png
Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are two main types of cleaning solutions for spectacles. One contains a little ammonia, and is probably the one intended by dave321. The other is a concentration of isopropyl alcohol, which should be nowhere near your pens. A sniff test should work.

 

The usual advice to use a mix with clear ammonia is fine but can be rather frustrating when I find that only cloudy ammonia is legally available in stores here. Not all countries are the same. My best bet is in fact a pre-mix such as dave321 suggested, or a commercial pen flush or, in my case, a lot of soaking and flushing with perhaps (if the section is not hard rubber) a bout in the USC.

 

eta: Dawn is not a shelf product here either. Presumably there is an equivalent but I am not bothered to search it out.

Edited by praxim

X

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are two main types of cleaning solutions for spectacles. One contains a little ammonia, and is probably the one intended by dave321. The other is a concentration of isopropyl alcohol, which should be nowhere near your pens. A sniff test should work.

 

 

no, there is no ammonia in the lens cleaning solution and no ipa either.

the composition of the solution I use is

 

water

sodium alkyl sulphonate

potassium lauryl phosphate

 

all standard surfactants and is a superb spectacle lens cleaner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tend to use Platinum International ink cleaning solution. It's slightly sudsy, so it lubricates pistons as well as cleaning them out. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

no, there is no ammonia in the lens cleaning solution and no ipa either.

the composition of the solution I use is

 

water

sodium alkyl sulphonate

potassium lauryl phosphate

 

all standard surfactants and is a superb spectacle lens cleaner

 

Data. :swoon:

 

Thanks for clarifying. It is useful to know specific ingredients (and concentrations when mixing) rather than 'generic product'.

X

Link to comment
Share on other sites

after flushing the nib with distilled water, I find flushing it with eye glass (spectacle) lens cleaning solution, to be very good, followed by

further distilled water rinse.

 

the surfactants used in the lens cleaning solution are quite mild and perfect to help clean the nib and feed system.

does not contain solvents and is an aqueous solution.

 

anyone using other diy solutions(excuse the pun) I would be interested to hear.

 

NOTE I do not mean contact lens cleaning solution that contains water soluble gums.

Hi Oneill here all I have ever used to Flush out pens is a small drop and I mean smalldrop of

Amonia

with an

even smaller drop of detergent and clean or distilled water,that usually cleans out every bit of rubbish in a pen,if not at first keep using a little stronger fluid,it has worked for me for

years and costs virtually nothing.Good luck

Trust. Me Oneill

Edited by oneill
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Any thoughts or reviews on the J. B. Perfect Pen Flush that's commercially available? (One of my fountain pens needs more help than the water flushing that I've tried.)

Moderation in everything, including moderation.

--Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Commercially made pen flushes are just ammonia and a detergent in distilled water in a convenient package. I respect those who prefer not to mix it themselves, but it isn't research level chemistry so doesn't have to be precise, and you aren't buying magic.

spacer.png
Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The one thing to remember if mixing your own is that if you're flushing out an acidic ink (like an iron gall ink) do NOT use ammonia (or, at least not to start with). Instead, use the same ratio of white vinegar to water (i.e., substituting the vinegar for the ammonia).

Don't know what the water is like where Ron lives (he's roughly an hour from me) -- but where I live? Oh, yeah, I used distilled water. I'm less concerned with the ratio of ammonia to water and more concerned with the calcium buildup around my faucets -- I don't want THAT clogging a pen feed....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reverse osmosis (RO) water works just as well as distilled. My espresso machine & my pens have enjoyed a clog free operation. Our communal well's water is mineral rich & often discoloured.

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the feedback. And thank you, Ruth, for the warning about ammonia and acidic inks.... good to know! Especially since the J.B. Perfect Pen Flush contains ammonia, too.

Moderation in everything, including moderation.

--Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Commercially made pen flushes are just ammonia and a detergent in distilled water in a convenient package. I respect those who prefer not to mix it themselves, but it isn't research level chemistry so doesn't have to be precise, and you aren't buying magic.

Does rapidoeze fall under the pen flush category or is that something else? Same ingredients?

Edited by siamackz

My Vintage Montblanc Website--> link

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does rapidoeze fall under the pen flush category or is that something else? Same ingredients?

As far as I know, Rapidoeze is formulated for technical pens & for the special inks they use, but this product will also clean pens that use water based inks.

Edited by tinta

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does rapidoeze fall under the pen flush category or is that something else? Same ingredients?

 

Rapidoeze and pen flush are two different animals.

spacer.png
Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rapidoeze and pen flush are two different animals.

Rapidoeze will go where pen flushes fear to tread,great stuff in the right location, technical, etc... type inks,some are wont to put in fountain pens !

Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge (Charles Darwin)

http://www.wesonline.org.uk/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

An overlooked safe cleaner is Windex or a generic competitor, without ammonia or alcohol. It is simply a very mild surfactant and a very dilute dye in purified, filtered water. We use it as a lens cleaner on microscopes, even when the research-grade lenses cost $300 or $400 each. (This use is endorsed by a rather savvy group I belong to, the Royal Microscopical Society.) It saves up to several hundred dollars a year in teaching labs in a busy university biology department, compared to commercial lens cleaners. It will not harm the soft optical glass, nor harm the various lens coatings. Works well on cameras, computer screens, etc. as well. I trust it on all my personally-owned optics, which I cannot afford to replace.

 

So why not use it on pens? It works fine even when diluted.

 

If you want ammonia, then just buy the ammonia-containing form. Just avoid the alcohol or antibacterial versions! Check the label. This sort of product might be available even in places where plain ammonia is restricted.

 

(You can actually make your own with some distilled or deionized water, a few drops of blue Dawn, and a few drops of blue food coloring. I just buy Windex. The point is, there are no secret, especialy-effective commercial formulas.)

Brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't know about yours, but every bottle of Windex I've ever bought has declarations to the effect that it contains ammonia...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...