Cleaning The Tarnish Off A Montblanc

[Arstook]

Greetings friends, first time to the forum. I recently acquired a used Montblanc Writer's Edition Franz Kafka fountain pen. The previous owner must have put it through hell. He used it posted leaving microcracks in the cap. Moreover the pen acquired a layer of tarnish or weathering on the metal barrel parts. Any suggestions on how to clean or minimize the stains? I've enclosed a few photos.

 

Thank You!

[hari317]

The trim might be plated so you must be careful not to take it off. Personally I would gently clean the plated areas with a mild detergent solution and wipe off with a soft cotton rag and then use something gentle like Selvyt PR for final cleaning.

Edited January 14, 2018 by hari317

[Chrissy]

The trim on a Franz Kafka WE is silver, so you should wipe it gently with a silver cloth. If you have a local Montblanc boutique they will have some sliver cloths that they usually provide with silver pens, and will probably clean it for you or might even give you a cloth.

 

Otherwise any jewellers silver cloth will do, but be very careful not to "scrub" with it, and don't rub it over the silver hallmarks.

 

Put a piece of card under the clip to protect the pen while cleaning the clip.

[siamackz]

looks gold plated in the pics. If so then Id do as hari said. Using a sunshine cloth will surely polish it shiny but at the cost of taking off plating. If its silver though, then Id do as Chrissy said and go with the sunshine cloth

[niksch]

looks gold plated in the pics. If so then Id do as hari said. Using a sunshine cloth will surely polish it shiny but at the cost of taking off plating. If its silver though, then Id do as Chrissy said and go with the sunshine cloth

 

No, it is not gold plated. The Franz Kafka is silver.

[niksch]

The trim on a Franz Kafka WE is silver, so you should wipe it gently with a silver cloth. If you have a local Montblanc boutique they will have some sliver cloths that they usually provide with silver pens, and will probably clean it for you or might even give you a cloth.

 

Otherwise any jewellers silver cloth will do, but be very careful not to "scrub" with it, and don't rub it over the silver hallmarks.

 

Put a piece of card under the clip to protect the pen while cleaning the clip.

 

Spot on again from Chrissy. I was out showshoeing today, so am just now catching up.

[Arstook]

Thanks everyone for the tips! I ordered a silver cloth from Amazon tonight and will subject the pen to a mild detergent washing. I'll post pictures after it happens.

[niksch]

The cloth should be all that you need.

[Chrissy]

The trim is definitely sterling sliver according to Montblanc, but as silver tarnishes it does tend to look more yellowish. It will look much better when it's cleaned.

[siamackz]

The trim is definitely sterling sliver according to Montblanc, but as silver tarnishes it does tend to look more yellowish. It will look much better when it's cleaned.

Thanks for clarifying! If its silver then I agree fully that the jewellers/sunshine cloth will work wonders. I use it on my collection of silver overlay pens and its super easy to clean.

[Arstook]

The cloth should be all that you need.

Got it. I'll skip the detergent bath and used the clothe.

[Chrissy]

Got it. I'll skip the detergent bath and used the clothe.

 

By all means soak the nib end of the pen in a small cup/glass of water with a drop or two of detergent, to clean out any old ink, if it is a used pen. Also action the converter to clean out any old ink. However, it's not a good idea to soak the whole thing, especially if the internal converter isn't removable.

 

I've never seen a Kafka so I don't know much about it's unusual filler.

[hari317]

I am sorry the OP is getting lots of apparently conflicting advice.

 

When I receive a used pen that is dirty, has surface dirt, even if the parts are made of solid sterling silver, i like to remove the surface dirt with detergent solution first and a soft brush, so that you are left with only the oxide/sulphate/tarnish layer over the silver to deal with. Once you have nicely dried the parts, you can gently wipe away the tarnish without the dirt particles (some of which may be hard) inducing scratches as you use the polishing cloth. That's the reasoning behind the prewash. Hope this helps. enjoy your pen!

[Chrissy]

I do see the value of a pre-wash in most situations, and I do the same thing myself. But as the OP only asked about removing the tarnish on the metal parts, and it already has micro cracks in the cap, I wasn't so sure about the value of soaking the whole thing in a detergent solution.

[niksch]

 

By all means soak the nib end of the pen in a small cup/glass of water with a drop or two of detergent, to clean out any old ink, if it is a used pen. Also action the converter to clean out any old ink. However, it's not a good idea to soak the whole thing, especially if the internal converter isn't removable.

 

I've never seen a Kafka so I don't know much about it's unusual filler.

 

The Kafka filler is like a permanently attached converter filler. So theoretically, one cleans it like a piston filler, and no don't soak the entire assembly. I'd take a photo, but I'm too lazy tonight.

[niksch]

I am sorry the OP is getting lots of apparently conflicting advice.

 

When I receive a used pen that is dirty, has surface dirt, even if the parts are made of solid sterling silver, i like to remove the surface dirt with detergent solution first and a soft brush, so that you are left with only the oxide/sulphate/tarnish layer over the silver to deal with. Once you have nicely dried the parts, you can gently wipe away the tarnish without the dirt particles (some of which may be hard) inducing scratches as you use the polishing cloth. That's the reasoning behind the prewash. Hope this helps. enjoy your pen!

 

Except that if you look at the OPs photos of his pen, it's really not overly filthy or tarnished, not even black as I've seen some FKs. Mine looks the same as his from just sitting on display on my large pen case. Silver tarnishes over time. A cloth should be fine.