Cleaning Permanent Ink Off Of A Yellow Pen

[Paul-in-SF]

I have this no-name yellow flat top pen that has some blots and smears on the cap and barrel that look like ink, and I am presuming it is permanent ink because water doesn't budge it at all. Photos attached that show some of the stains; there are also stains on the barrel in the threads and where the cap lip ends up when the cap is screwed on.

 

Is there a safe way to at least attempt to remove these stains?

[FarmBoy]

Try rapidio-ease.

[Paul-in-SF]

Thanks! It looks like Blick carries it, so I'll check tomorrow to see if they have it in stock.

[Bibliophage]

Depending on the material of the barrel, alcohol may take it off. The most common solvents/carriers for permanent markers are xylene and alcohol.

[FarmBoy]

Use the correct alcohol or the pen will suffer.

[Bibliophage]

Use the correct alcohol or the pen will suffer.

That's why what kind of plastic the pen is made from is important. Isopropanol vs methyl vs ethyl alcohol doesn't matter. Xylene can melt some plastics (which includes some finishes). Alcohol mostly just melts shellac, and some non-shellac lacquers. From the picture it looks like it's probably just a polystyrene pen, but it could be a polyacrylate.

 

A place to test with a q-tip would be the _inside_ of the cap, or the barrel. that way any damage would be hidden.

[FarmBoy]

That's why what kind of plastic the pen is made from is important. Isopropanol vs methyl vs ethyl alcohol doesn't matter. Xylene can melt some plastics (which includes some finishes). Alcohol mostly just melts shellac, and some non-shellac lacquers. From the picture it looks like it's probably just a polystyrene pen, but it could be a polyacrylate.

 

A place to test with a q-tip would be the _inside_ of the cap, or the barrel. that way any damage would be hidden.

My doppelganger of that pen is celluloid.

Edited December 7, 2019 by FarmBoy

[Addertooth]

Or... you can polish the pen and remove the stain.

[Paul-in-SF]

My doppelganger of that pen is celluloid.

How does one tell, especially with a plain color like that? (This area remains one of sweet mystery to me as a relative newcomer to fountain pens).

Edited December 8, 2019 by Paul-in-SF

[Paul-in-SF]

I finally got hold of some Rapido-Eze, and it didn't touch it. Per instructions, I soaked it in the 100% strength solution for "several minutes" (at least 15) and nothing happened.

 

Maybe it isn't ink after all, although I can't think what else it would be. Under magnification the big blob has a bit of texture to it that I might not expect with ink; I can't feel it with my finger.

 

Anyway, the floor is now open for other suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[Addertooth]

As I said before, I would polish it with micro-mesh cloth backed abrasive. Unless the stain is significantly below the surface level, this WILL work. As a matter of fact, if it won't work, then nothing will.

[Paul-in-SF]

As I said before, I would polish it with micro-mesh cloth backed abrasive. Unless the stain is significantly below the surface level, this WILL work. As a matter of fact, if it won't work, then nothing will.

Yes, thank you, I remember. How micro should it be, to avoid leaving noticeable scratches? I have a sheet of 12000 grade micro mesh, and also mylar paper at 1.0 micron and 0.3 micron.

 

edited to add: polished dry, or should I use water or something?

Edited December 15, 2019 by Paul-in-SF

[Intensity]

If it has texture, and it's outside of the pen, it's probably not fountain pen ink at all but something else that dripped onto the pen. Like some form of paint (could even be automotive epoxy paint, which would be hard to remove with gentler solvents). You could try to see if it's only bonded to the very top layer of the plastic by trying to scrape off a tiny area around an edge of the "stain". With a box cutter type tool, just chipping off parallel to the surface a very very small piece.

 

I was also cleaning out an old plastic drawer storage with some old pencils and ballpoint pens, and one of the ballpoint refills leaked out completely. It had formed shiny off-black, flattened, hard chunks at the bottom of one drawer. Some of the ink stuck to the pens that were nearby. I could peel it off of some plastics, and others required a bunch more scraping. Ultimately I tossed most of those things anyway. But it did make me wonder if it's some form of super-dried ballpoint ink on your cap too.

Edited December 15, 2019 by Intensity

[Paul-in-SF]

Or... you can polish the pen and remove the stain.

 

 

If it has texture, and it's outside of the pen, it's probably not fountain pen ink at all but something else that dripped onto the pen. Like some form of paint (could even be automotive epoxy paint, which would be hard to remove with gentler solvents). You could try to see if it's only bonded to the very top layer of the plastic by trying to scrape off a tiny area around an edge of the "stain". With a box cutter type tool, just chipping off parallel to the surface a very very small piece.

 

I was also cleaning out an old plastic drawer storage with some old pencils and ballpoint pens, and one of the ballpoint refills leaked out completely. It had formed shiny off-black, flattened, hard chunks at the bottom of one drawer. Some of the ink stuck to the pens that were nearby. I could peel it off of some plastics, and others required a bunch more scraping. Ultimately I tossed most of those things anyway. But it did make me wonder if it's some form of super-dried ballpoint ink on your cap too.

 

The biggest blob, because of it's position, might indeed be anything. The other smaller smears and wisps, because of their positions (at and slightly inside the cap rim, at the cap threads, and at a spot where the cap rim meets the barrel) I think are more likely ink that wasn't wiped off when it was wet enough for that to work. Anyway, thank you for the suggestion. I was skeptical but I did have some success scraping away the big blob which is now mostly gone, leaving behind a much smaller and fainter brownish stain and a few micro-scrapes from the blade that seem amenable to polishing out. My 12000 grit sanding cloth seems too fine for this job so I am trying to find coarser grits to try, say 3000 to 7000 (Pentooling has a pack but at $51 for 9 small sheets it seems a bit pricy, so I'm still checking other sources).

[kestrel]

Anderson Pens has individual sheets in both thin sheets and with foam backing.

https://andersonpens.com/repair-supplies/micro-mesh/

[Paul-in-SF]

Thanks, I found some at Rockler (woodworking supplies) with the same range of grits but where I can just order the ones I wanted, so I have already done that. I have a set of the pads already but I don't think a stiff pad is a good idea for a pen body.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Paul-in-SF

[Addertooth]

i would start with a paper which is no coarser than 8000 grit, this isn't a race. Run out to your finest grit on hand (for me, 14k). If the finish is not glossy enough for your enjoyment (unlikely), the liquid polish from one of the pen suppliers, like Pensbury Manor will give you the ultimate gloss. Typically, leaving scratches in the finish are a result of starting too coarse, or, not running progressively through all the grits. Occasionally, it can be from sanding/polishing entirely in one direction.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Addertooth

[Paul-in-SF]

Advice noted, thanks. Fortunately I did order an 8000 and another 12000, as well as some coarser grits.

[readytotalk]

When grinding and polishing, it`s important to ensure that the cylindrical shape does not change.

If pigment has penetrated deep into the plastic, it is important to stop in time.

Edited December 17, 2019 by readytotalk

[Paul-in-SF]

Well, here's a how-de-do. I had experimentally soaked the top of the cap for around 15 minutes in full strength Rapido-Eze, to see if it would budge that big stain (this was before I scraped most of it off). It didn't budge the stain, but when I brought it out, there were a couple of faint blue lines radiating from the place where the clip goes into the cap. I thought maybe the solution had loosened up some very old dry ink in the cap and it had leaked out, but even though lines of "loosened ink" were new, they wouldn't rub off at all. That's when I did the scraping and a further brief attempt to use my 12000 grit to see if it would do anything to the remaining small stain, with no success, so I put the pen away pending receipt of the lower-grit micro-mesh.

 

I just pulled it out of its drawer to find that those little blue lines were actually cracks in the cap, and the cap has now split in two horizontally (with jagged rather than even lines) while it was in storage. Further, there are three vertical cracks going up as far as the finial, and one long vertical crack going down to and slightly past the cap ring. I feel like it's going to dissolve into pieces before my eyes.

 

I am eager to learn a lesson from this experience, but I'm not sure what lesson life is trying to teach me.

 

Also, I presume I can try to glue the cap back together and possibly halt further disintegration, but it will always have those blue lines at the joins unless I can get rid of the ink that has apparently bled out from the inside.

 

So, my original quest for a safe way to remove the ink smears and/or whatever was making the large blob, has failed. I have made the problem worse. I bought it in a lot of 3 pens and it didn't cost much, but I am still disappointed.