Silicon grease contamination?

[Idiopathos]

Will silicon grease contaminate ink, please?

 

Sometimes, I empty ink from my ED pens back into the bottle. This means the ink must pass over the silcon grease that covers the barrel threads. So ... can I still do this, or should I throw the ink away and start afresh?

[excarnate]

Will silicon grease contaminate ink, please?

 

Sometimes, I empty ink from my ED pens back into the bottle. This means the ink must pass over the silcon grease that covers the barrel threads. So ... can I still do this, or should I throw the ink away and start afresh?

Per http://www.novagard.com/compounds/index.html

Silicone lubricants exhibit the following attributes:

 

• Excellent oxidation resistance and thermal stability

• Superior hydrolytic stability and water washout resistance

• Broad operating temperature range (-70ºF to 400ºF)

• Exceptional release properties and good lubricity

• Excellent dielectric properties, corrosion protection and viscosity stability

• Chemically inert and compatible with a wide range of substrates

[tfwall]

Will silicon grease contaminate ink, please?

 

Sometimes, I empty ink from my ED pens back into the bottle. This means the ink must pass over the silcon grease that covers the barrel threads. So ... can I still do this, or should I throw the ink away and start afresh?

 

No. You might get microbial or bacterial contamination from pouring ink back into your bottles, but silicone grease is not going to hurt it.

 

As a point of reference, silicone grease is used to grease ground glass joints used in research grade lab glassware. It is ubiquitous in any chemistry lab. Other than a few specialty solvents, few things interact or dissolve the grease. We routinely use it on glassware that contains solutions analyzed for parts-per-billion contamination. A little water with some dye in it are not going to appreciably interact with the grease.

 

A more common problem is using too much silicone grease and having it gum up your feed system. It is mostly impossible to remove, except mechanically, since the stuff that dissolves silicone grease dissolves pens much faster!

[dcwaites]

Short answer, no.

 

You might get it on your nib, you might get it on your fingers, in your hair, etc, but it won't affect your ink.