Removing Noodler's Baystate Blue from clothing; a solution!

[PigsEye]

Today I made the mistake of including my fountain pen in a dryer, and Noodler's Baystate Blue ink was smeared all over my favorite 100% white and blue cotton dress shirts.

While I wailed and bemoaned my idiocy in making this mistake, my wife was much more clear-headed about it and found a way to remove the stains.

I LOVE this ink, and was I relieved to hear that it was possible for us to remove it from clothing.

 

Please note that I do not have a vested interest in the products used; it's just what we had on-hand.

 

She sprayed the affected areas with "Sebastian Shaper" hair spray and let set for 10 minutes.

Then it was followed by "Oxi-Clean" cleaner, and let set for 10 minutes.

The shirts were then washed cold for the longest time possible.

The 4th time through, the stains had been removed with no indication that there had been a problem.

 

These were surface smears rather than saturated spots; it is my hope that if anyone finds themselves with this unfortunate issue, we've been helpful.

 

Thanks from a first-time poster!

 

Good news!

 

Can you stain your shirts with polar blue? And when your wife finds out how to remove it, PM me.

 

Thanks

 

nick

 

... I don't think this get rich fast scam will work...

 

 

I spilled some polar black on a pair of khakis. The color started coming out of the fabric around the stain before the ink came out.

[lao_tzu_too]

Thanks for the great tip on Oxyclean and white shirts!

 

I'm somewhat new to this forum. I think I have only posted once - several years ago, but I learn so much here, I feel I have to contribute my Baystate Blue experiences.

 

Baystate Blue is my favorite ink - delightful - deep blue and gorgeous. However..... the staining is a problem... and the clogging... and the feed dissolution. I have found solutions... mostly.

 

Cleaning:

=======

I have good luck with Isopropyl alcohol cleaning the spatters off the sink and counter when I refill. I try hard to avoid spatters, but the little buggers somehow won't all be corralled. I drip the alcohol (I have 50% concentration) on the spots and let it sit. The stains fade/dissolve in a few minutes. Most spots are gone. Others take a vigorous rub with finger/alcohol soaked paper towel, etc to get the last dregs of stain.

 

Sink Stains:

========

For the "permanent" blue ring around the sink after rinsing feeds, nibs, sections, syringes,etc. I mostly don't let it get there in the first place. Following is my technique - it may seem complicated, but it's not. It's very easy once you understand it and do it a couple of times.

 

1) Rinse the item in a container (can, bowl, bucket, etc) reserved for that purpose or use a container that can be thrown away.

 

2) If you don't want to do that, and for disposing of the rinse water from 1) above, use the technique below in the sink.

 

The concept is to catch the ink in the swirling vortex going down the drain so it never touches the surface of the sink bowl. To do this with the rinsing you need a sink that has the faucet essentially directly above the drain hole:

 

1) Fill the sink basin with water

2) With the thumb and fingers of one hand, hold the item to be rinsed. Position it directly under the faucet, over the water and directly above the drain.

3) With the other hand, press the plunger/lever that opens the drain and quickly open the faucet again to get a small stream of additional water running into the existing pool in the sink, rinsing the item into the center water vortex. Notice how the draining water vortex catches the ink and takes it directly down the drain not touching the inner sink surface. (Experiment each time with the size of this faucet flow for best results.) Be ready to pull the item out of the stream before the sink is completely empty.

4) If you need more than one bowl of water to finish the rinsing job, be sure to pull the item away just before the water finishes emptying so you keep the remaining diluted ink from dripping on the sink bottom. Do your best to keep the drips in your hand.

5) When the sink is empty, close the drain, fill the bowl again and repeat as necessary.

 

I use a small syringe (empty Opalescent Dental Whitening Agent) for some refilling jobs. Works beautifully. I use a variation of the above technique for cleaning it of BSB ink after use:

 

When I am ready, I fill the syringe with water from the full basin, open the drain plunger with the other hand, then plunge the syringe into the water right down to the drain and inject the contents into the water swirling down the drain. (Looks very artistic - kind of paisley - as the ink goes down in the swirl.) I remove the syringe from the water just before the last of it is gone and repeat the process until the syringe is clean.

 

Like I said, this seems like a lot of complication, but those of you who have spent 10-20 minutes trying to remove the blue ring that floated on the rinse water and attached to the inside of your sink will understand how time-saving this technique is. ;-)

 

Nib/feed clogging:

=============

It used to frustrate me endlessly. A pen with BSB left lying for a minute wouldn't write. Then when it did, it would skip. Constant cleaning, clogging, conscientious capping immediately after every use, etc.....

 

No more! Solved!

 

For purists this may be unacceptable, but for the rest of us:

I dilute the BSB ink. 25% distilled water and a touch of alcohol.

 

I tried 1:1 water dilution. It lightens the ink unacceptably, but I notice very little lightening up to 1/4 dilution. Your eye may be different. This ink is potent in color - tolerates mild dilution.

 

For the clogging, I put about 1/20 to 1/10 Isopropyl alcohol (50% concentration) in the mix. It just takes a little. I just guess. No clogging. A little bit of feathering. You have to experiment according to what is acceptable to you.

 

For the feed dissolving problem - be careful. BSB dissolves some plastics. I've lost a couple of them. Search these forums for others' experiences with that.

 

 

A Confession:

==========

OK, OK, I know I've sinned, ;-)

but I just have to share this:

 

I have about 80 pens, but my everyday workhorse is a refilled Varsity using the slightly diluted/doctored BSB mixture above. I know this is heresy, but:

 

- it's a very nice writer,

- I can take it everywhere with me,

- I get the joy of using Bay State Blue,

- it dries "instantly,"

- the ink is essentially bulletproof,

- it doesn't leak,

- it takes a long time uncapped to dry out,

- it writes every time,

- I can see when it's almost empty,

- refilling takes less than 5 minutes,

- and if I lose it, I'm only out a couple of bucks.

- And.... the feed doesn't dissolve in Bay State Blue!!

 

I apologize for this being so long, but I hope it helps someone negotiate the rocky, wonderful world of Bay State Blue.

 

Cheers!

 

Dave

[Flaxmoore]

I wonder if higher concentration isopropyl alcohols would work- I have 70 and 90%, never seen fifty in a store here.

[lao_tzu_too]

Yes, you just don't need as much. I've used several concentrations - 35, 50, 70, 91. I just happen to have 50% presently.

 

Dave

[Noihvo]

[doriath19]

My experience with BSB is mostly positive. The only downside that I find is the feathering. Otherwise I find it to be a wonderful ink. The staining is a bit of a pain but just be extra careful and dont use it in a favorite pen.

[Jan2016]

another thing which works, but be careful, you cannot use it on all surfaces:

 

acetone

 

the stuff your wife uses to get rid of nail polish...

[MRose]

I haven't had an ink accident in my clothing yet with Baystate Blue but thanks for the tip on using Oxy Clean, but I can tell you that for hands or/and fingers the magic solution for this is Permatex Fast Orange - Pumice Bar Hand Soap you can find this at any Auto Part Store in the USA. Works like Magic

 

Good Luck to you all!