Best Sealant Brand For Reassembling Parker 51

[Arstook]

Dear friends,

 

I just disassembled my Parker 51 aerometric to do some nib tweaking. Now that it's time to put the hood back on, can anyone recommend a specific brand of sealant? I would prefer something that's fairly easy to remove in the event the pen needs to be taken apart again, hopefully not shellac as I understand that it's a pain to unscrew.

[mitto]

Rosin sealant. Sold, I think, by Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens. I personally use shallac.

Edited January 28, 2018 by mitto

[Arstook]

Thanks Mitto, I just went to Rob Zorn' s website where I saw what you were referring to. Zorn mentions however, that while he uses rosin sealant for Sheaffers, he uses shellac for Parker 51s. Is there any reason why shellac seems to be the sealant of choice for many P51 veterans?

[mitto]

Yes, shallac is the preffered sealant for securing joints on a P51. But you wanted to know of a sealant 'that is fairly easy to remove', I made a mention of the rosin sealant. The rosin sealant, however, would work on a 51 hood if you want to easily remove it again and again using less heat.

[Chrissy]

Rosin sealant. Sold, I think, by Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens. I personally use shallac.

 

Yes, Ron also uses shellac on Parker 51 hoods

[hari317]

Dear friends,

 

I just disassembled my Parker 51 aerometric to do some nib tweaking. Now that it's time to put the hood back on, can anyone recommend a specific brand of sealant? I would prefer something that's fairly easy to remove in the event the pen needs to be taken apart again, hopefully not shellac as I understand that it's a pain to unscrew.

For the moment use nothing. Test the pen thoroughly. Carry it etc. see if ink leaks out. Most probably it will be just fine without any sealing or thread locking. Pros use shellac as a thread locker to prevent customers removing the shell. Oldfield and marshal say no adhesive is usually required. As defence in depth, silicone grease or rosin castor paste may be used. Hth.

[Chrissy]

For the moment use nothing. Test the pen thoroughly. Carry it etc. see if ink leaks out. Most probably it will be just fine without any sealing or thread locking. Pros use shellac as a thread locker to prevent customers removing the shell. Oldfield and marshal say no adhesive is usually required. As defence in depth, silicone grease or rosin castor paste may be used. Hth.

 

I have two Parker 51 pens. One vacumatic and one aerometric. Neither of them has any sealant on the hood. Whenever I want to remove the hoods, I do. Neither of them leak when I write with them.

[CS388]

I also have had 51's without sealant, including my current carry. Haven't had a leak, so far.

 

The only disadvantage I have found with this, is that I'll sometimes unscrew the hood, instead of the barrel, when opening to refill. A small dab of shellac rectifies this.

 

Shellaced parts are easy to remove with a bit of heat. It's a great 'adhesive' for joints. You don't need to use much.

 

Good luck.

[mitto]

I shellac the hoods on only those of my 51s that tend to leak without shellacing. The rest and especially the ones with the 0 rings are all without any sealant and with no leaks.

[pajaro]

Unless you want to change nibs, I don't see why you would want to remove the hood / shell. I use as little shellac as possible on the threads. And not all over all the threads. I have had too much heat distortion of shells trying to remove thoroughly shellacked shells. There is one I have never been able to get off, despite repeated heat applications over several years. I suspect it was excessively shellacked, and maybe cemented. Go easy with the sealant. I think the shellac is good to keep the hood from coming off when you want to refill, but just a miniscule bit of shellac will do that. Then you won't have to heat the heck out of the hood to remove it.

[mana]

I use as thin as possible coating of silicone grease on the threads and the O-rings on my Aerometrics (just swab the area required with a Q-tip qently dabbed in silicone grease).

It ads a bit of viscosity and completes the seal so that a gentle tightening of the hood to a 0 is enough to keep it in place and perfect the seal. It also makes sure that the force needed to open the hood is much greater than that needed to open the barrel (for refilling) so I've never had a hood open accidentally.

[Arstook]

Thanks for all your insights! I didn't know you could go without sealant. I thought it was required. I reassembled my P51 last night and left it in a bowl. It didn't leak at all. Am I ok taking the pen around in my pocket sans sealant? It's going to be my daily writer.

[Freddy]

Shellac { easy to remove with dry heat }....In the absence of shellac....Sheaffer formula thread/section sealant {very easy to remove with dry heat }

 

Fred..

[pajaro]

Good luck with whatever seems to work. I have a lot of pens, and when I put one together, I want to not have to worry whether the hood will come off or leak, or anything but work and be solid. I have tried the different ways advocated here, silicone grease, Sheaffer sealant, nothing at all and shellac. I use a very small amount of shellac. I think you should try the different solutions if you want to, and the results might vary from pen to pen. Some pens will stay intact without leaking with nothing, but I do not like vagaries and uncertainties. If you don't have a lot of 51s, it is easy to remember how each is reassembled.

[Venemo]

If your 51 has an O-ring, no sealant is really necessary, but it is recommended to apply something (shellac, or rosin, etc.), once you have tuned the nib to your satisfaction. If your 51 does not have an O-ring, it has a much higher chance to leak, so in that case, definitely use a sealant.

[Ron Z]

I disagree. The original 0-rings have usually lost their elasticity by now, and having hardened they don't seal as well. Even if they haven't hardened you really do need a thin layer of silicone grease so that the shell slides over the 0-ring as you thread it on. I apply a very thin layer to just the edge of the shell.

 

I have seen evidence that Parker used a rosin based thread sealant on 51s, but I we) prefer to use shellac because it discourages the casual user from opening up the hood and screwing up the alignment of the parts. You rarely get things lined up right the first time you put the hood on, and its easy to screw up that alignment.

[ac12]

I use Ron's rosin sealant.

• The sealant is a sealant, keeping the ink from leaking out.
• With a sealant, you do not have to tighten the hood as much to get a good ink seal, thus less risk of damaging the hood.
• As Ron said, when (not if) I get the nib alignment off, I can unscrew the hood and try again. Although I suppose you can do that with shellac, as it takes several minutes for shellac to set.
• I use a sealant, just in case I need to go back in, which I've had to. My wife wanted a wider nib than was on the pen that I gave her. The sealant is easier to open than shellac, lower temp needed.

[pajaro]

It reads like each person's choice of a sealant is perfect for their personal objectives.

 

No sealant if you believe in that.

 

Rosin sealant if you suspect you will take the hood off from time to time.

 

Silicone grease if you think it will work.

 

Shellac if you want it on for the long haul or don't want the loose nut in the chair playing under the hood.

[Arstook]

Thanks all! People's choice of sealant seems as varied as their personality. Since I've posted this question, I've been walking around with my 51 naked! Things seem fine without sealant, no leaking even after riding in the pocket multiple times. I suspect I may rub some rosin down the line. Maybe when I'm down to installing a new breather tube.

[Flounder]

No sealant at all isn't my preference, as the clutch ring will be permanently exposed to the ink. I've seen clutch rings perfect on the outside, and heavily pitted on the inside. I blame decades of ink exposure!

 

While I agree with the horses-for-courses argument:

I remove the hood during every vacumatic diaphragm change, to check for proper installation and operation.

 

Once they're serviced and tuned to my preferences, I never open Aeros. In the long term however, accidents can happen! I prefer to minimise the heat and torque aeros are subjected to, the older those injected molded connectors get. I don't want to have stubborn hood issues in 10 years when a spacequake bends my nib, knowing Zornbot 5000 charges 200 cashbucks to turn a new connector.

 

So its a "neigh!" to shellac from me

 

ps -Arstook, the rosin sealant is gloop in a jar, it's not a solid block of rosin that you'd rub on, like you would with a violin bow.