Ballpoint Pen Ink Vs Fountain Pen Ink

[Crim]

Just wondering...

 

What kills bp pen ink? I just wrote using Parker Washable Blue, Eternal Black, Yama Budo, a home mixed ink (blue ghost, navajo turq, shah's rose, apache sunset), and a cheap bp pen.

 

Under water everything was legible but the Washable blue got really thick and bled out. The BP pen and Eternal black were the only ones that didn't change.

 

Poured bleach... Washable Blue vanished instantly. 15 minutes later the paper is beginning to bleach and Yama Budo has vanished save a few marks. The mixed ink is faintly visible.

 

Eternal Black and the BP remain unchanged.

 

Should I try pouring 40-50% alcohol (baijiu; drinking alcohol) on it? Would that kind of alcohol affect the ink?

 

I'm sure I should try more inks, but it just seems like FP ink is so "fragile" unless it's ferro-gallic or bullet proof. I know there are water resistant inks... guess I should try those vs bleach.

 

The point is really moot. I mean I can except to spill Water, Soda, Tea, even alcohol on a journal or something. I can expect a random rain storm to splatter a journal a few times before I close it. I've even had a pack of baby wipes squish water out onto my journal while in my backpack. I don't think I'd ever have to worry about spilling bleach on something I've written.

 

Still it's just interesting that BP ink is as strong as it is. It really does make me wonder... is there a way to make BP ink vanish without leaving some kind of evidence... like a slightly wrinkled page or the paper changing color due to bleach or w/e was used...

[nunez]

Just wondering...

It really does make me wonder... is there a way to make BP ink vanish without leaving some kind of evidence

 

Acetone

 

- SteveN

[psfred]

Sunlight works too, at least on the phone number list my mother had posted in the kitchen!

 

BP ink is dye in an oil base of some sort, so non-polar solvents and some mixed polarity solvents (acetone, ethyl alcohol, etc) will remove it completely.

 

Peter

[Yoda4561]

Depends on the ballpoint, a number of the ones I've played with came off with bleach, as well as with other common solvents like alcohol or detergents. Rubbing alcohol has been the most effective, usually rinses the ink right off the page without leaving a trace. Gel pens and Rollerball inks fall into different categories, since their ink is so different. Most Uniball pens (rollerballs) have a pigment based black ink that's quite "bulletproof", while pens like the pilot V5 rollerballs wash off easily with water.

[mackthepen]

Just wondering...It really does make me wonder... is there a way to make BP ink vanish without leaving some kind of evidence... like a slightly wrinkled page or the paper changing color due to bleach or w/e was used...

 

Brake fluid - apparently.

 

Andrew

[mrt77]

I've read that ISO 12757-2 ballpoint ink is supposed to be solvent proof. I've not done any tests myself. I also know that Fisher Space Pen ink is much more "bulletproof" than other ballpoint inks, at least from tests I've seen online. Again, I've not tried it myself. Somebody here put a piece of paper with various inks in his office window for over a year. IIRC, the only survivors were the bulletproof Noodlers and black Space Pen ink.

[bluemagister]

Any grease ink ballpoint will come off in just about any solvent other than water. Try rubbing alcohol, drinking alcohol, acetone (complete removal), kerosene and so on. The ink won't come off if it's got pigment in it instead of dye. You can also ruin BP ink writing by simply leaving it in the sun or fluorescent lighting for awhile. It will fade.

 

True pigmented gel inks (which can be found in ANY gel pen that doesn't have a yellowish plug at the end of the refill, meaning that the ink isn't dye ink) won't fade or be removed by anything short of destroying the paper. FP inks that are custom crafted (like bulletproof Noodler's inks or Nano inks by Sailor/Platinum) will perform similarly. So if you want permanence, gel pens are a good bet if you can't get decent FP ink. You'll find any number of gel pens for pennies each that will outperform 90% of FP inks on longevity and colorfastness.

 

You're lucky though because you can get Hero Carbonic Ink and use it in cheap FPs. It is permanent and will last as long as any gel or nano ink will. Plus, it's about $1.50 or less per bottle!

[mstone]

Just wondering...It really does make me wonder... is there a way to make BP ink vanish without leaving some kind of evidence... like a slightly wrinkled page or the paper changing color due to bleach or w/e was used...

 

Brake fluid - apparently.

brake cleaner, maybe?

[mackthepen]

Just wondering...It really does make me wonder... is there a way to make BP ink vanish without leaving some kind of evidence... like a slightly wrinkled page or the paper changing color due to bleach or w/e was used...

 

Brake fluid - apparently.

brake cleaner, maybe?

No, I believe it's brake fluid (ethylene glycol) - it is used to dissolve ball-point pen ink from drug prescriptions so that you can re-write them to your own personal requirements!

 

It also takes the paint off people's cars if you spray it on after an argument.

 

http://autos.bluesock.com/clients/13/images/large/213611.jpg

 

Andrew

Edited June 28, 2010 by mackthepen