Jump to content

Is There A Problem With Making This A Part Of My Normal Restoration Routine?


eharriett

Recommended Posts

I know there's at least one person that will say, "if you ask if there's any problem with doing.... then the answer is usually yes," :) But I wanted to ask anyway.

 

As I take apart and restore my vintage pens with 70-90 year old ink ink it, after I finish letting it sit in water with a touch of Dawn detergent until its clean, I cane upon a couple pens that needed a little more cleaning, so I put it in an empty ink sample tube with a little bit of amonia and water. Let it sit overnight and the solution was black with more ink, even though the water/detergent I normally use was clear by then.

 

So my question, as you can guess, is there any problem with making sitting in an ammonia bath for the nib and feed part of my regular restoration routine?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • eharriett

    3

  • Freddy

    2

  • Ron Z

    1

  • Sailor Kenshin

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

I dimly remember having read that ammonia can damage gold nibs.

Ebonite sections can bleach out with prolonged contact with water (can be polished back, but still).

 

I recommend further research.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreeing also with Polanova, my query is, what is your need for this level of cleaning? While you do not specify, it sounds like you are trying to get all ink traces out of lovely ink-soaked ebonite feeds rather than merely clean an ink window.

X

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ammonia can be corrosive, and as mentioned, can damage the gold of nibs, especially with extended exposure i.e. over night soaking. A short cleaning with Dawn and ammonia is often needed to clean a pen (primary ingredients in the pen flushes on the market), and I don't worry about the 2-3 minute ultrasonic cleaning cycle. But the extended exposure to the ammonia over night can make gold nibs brittle, and lead to cracking.

 

An ultrasonic with the solution is better, and Rapidoeze better still. You can buy it in quart bottles on Misterart.com at a reasonable price, and on Amazon. I know somebody will pipe up "I just soak my nibs in water." Grand. But there are many times when that simply is not enough, and when the cleaning solution alone is not enough.

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

I know there's at least one person that will say, "if you ask if there's any problem with doing.... then the answer is usually yes," :) But I wanted to ask anyway.

 

As I take apart and restore my vintage pens with 70-90 year old ink ink it, after I finish letting it sit in water with a touch of Dawn detergent until its clean, I cane upon a couple pens that needed a little more cleaning, so I put it in an empty ink sample tube with a little bit of amonia and water. Let it sit overnight and the solution was black with more ink, even though the water/detergent I normally use was clear by then.

 

**So my question, as you can guess, is there any problem with making sitting in an ammonia bath for the nib and feed part of my regular restoration routine?**

**Don't need to guess.....Answer: It ain't good.**

Fred

Old woman.

Man.

Sorry.

What knight lives in that castle over there?

I'm 37. What?

I'm 37. I'm not old.

Well I can't just call you man. You could say Dennis.

I didn't know you were called Dennis.

 

You didn't bother to find out..did you?..............Dennis The Constitutional Peasant to the King

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rapidioease is not ammonia based. I recal it is triethanol amine.

 

Ammonia leached the copper out of gold alloy and can result in embrittlement.

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just looked on Amazon UK . Quart bottle of Rapidoeze is £64 (inc delivery). DIdn't win the Euromillions the other night so maybe I'll stick to filtered water and a drop of Fairy Liquid. :D

(I suppose I could ask Ron how long a quart bottle lasts him. I believe the stuff can be re-used several times?)

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift.

That's why it's called the present

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had my quart bottle of Rapido Eze for several years.. have not used more than a fifth to clean my 200+ pens over that time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found this thread on the Rapidoeze with a sterling recommendation from RonZ. Made my purchase tonight and shall put my ammonia bottle back next to Mr. Clean.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/153237-koh-i-noor-rapido-eze-pen-cleaner/

Rapido-eze is the way to go..............................Not ammonia..Mr anything.....Years ago some folk

extolled the virtues of 409...Please put that one on the {sounds like fit} list...

Fred

Doctor { Vinnie Boombatz } ...I can't take it no more...Everyday I wake up..I look in the mirror

and I want to throw up....What's wrong?

 

I don't know..but your eye sight is perfect....

 

I tell ya I get no respect.....Rodney Dangerfield, Last week I met the Surgeon General, he offered me a cigarette.....{rim shot}

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rapidioease is not ammonia based. I recal it is triethanol amine. ...

Use caution and plenty of ventilation with Rapidoeze pen cleaner, because the triethanolamine is known to cause asthma and exacerbate existing asthma. I have asthma caused by floor cleaning products at work. A single exposure to a floor stripper containing ethanolamines took my asthma from mild to severe.

Ammonia also triggers asthma, but is less likely to cause asthma in someone who does not now have asthma.

http://www.dick-blick.com/msds/DBH_2293200001001.pdf

Edited by WalterC
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I need to get an ultrasonic cleaner.

 

Got it. Don't do that.

 

Thank you

 

I put my parts in a regular old plastic container with water or if I'm feeling professional: distilled/demineralised water.

 

I then put the container on a running washing machine or similar machine. The machine vibrates, thus the container vibrates, thus the water vibrates, thus I get a hobo ultrasonic cleaner. A hobosonic cleaner if you will.

Edited by DonLeone

>8[ This is a grumpy. Get it? Grumpy smiley? Huehue >8[

 

I tend to ramble and write wallotexts. I do that.

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
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    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...