Parker 45 Nib Changing/sealing Question

[djmaher]

About half of the 45's that I've disassembled have had an almost gummy-like very sticky "sealant" (sealer?) on the threaded section of the nib. Almost tar-like. Not really like shellac at all. It doesn't seem like a DIY sealant fix, as I've obtained 45s from different sources, but it might be. I just cant tell, really.

 

Some of the 45s have no traces of nib sealant at all. To this point, I've only had one pen leak at the nib, after disassembly, cleaning and reassembly. I don't use any sealant during reassembly.

 

I don't tend to swap nibs constantly. Mostly for cleaning.

 

I'm just curious as to other people's experience with this pen and the nib, as to sealing. What has worked well for you?

 

Anyone know what Parker did through the years?

[Ron Z]

Parker didn't use a sealant.. The tar like stuff is ink. This is quite common when a super saturated ink is used, though you do see it at times with the less saturated inks.

[djmaher]

This stuff was just like pitch. I'm not kidding. Like something I just scraped off of the pine tree out back. Sap-like.

 

I don't disbelieve you, but this stuff was not even close to water-soluble. Water sheets off of it. Not like wickedly dried out old ink buildup. In fact, there was old ink buildup that I cleaned off, with soaking, etc. Heavy, dried crusty stuff. Bad.

 

The goo was what was left. In fact, there was crusty stuff on top of the goo, that washed off when I cleaned and soaked it LOL

 

I just didn't know that the elements of a saturated, maybe older ink could turn into tarry buildup. The warm water did soften it, enough to grudgingly wipe it off.

[azbobcat]

Can you unscrew the nib assembly from the pen?!? If you can I suggest you drop it in a cup with warm water water and some Dawn and let it sit for 24 hrs. It probably is ink!!!

[djmaher]

Ya, I disassembled and soaked it well last week. The nib came off reasonably easy, prior to soaking, but was different than others Ive done. That's when I noticed the sticky stuff. Like poor man's Locktite or something.

 

I saw the goo then, but just did a regular soak with water, ammonia and Dawn (pen clean solution, proper proportions)

 

What was left after the soak was the waxy, gooey blobs. They didn't shift or dissolve at all. Ink was gone at that point. So, it was separate from the ink, at least as far as a cleaning/soaking/removal situation.

 

And, it repelled water, like a wax or pitch might. Quite tacky to the touch, which made me think someone got creative trying to seal the nib.

 

It's gone now. Quite messy removing it. I avoided solvents of any kind. Just worked it till it was gone.

[nsalvut]

Not sure about your pen, but I once found a restored Vac Standard where the restorer used something like section grease. It was slightly tacky and repelled water. I had to use naphtha to clean it off because they applied too much to the section and it was oozing out.

Edited December 15, 2018 by nsalvut