Getting Rid Of The Markings On The Platinum Preppy

[Plume145]

Okay, I just discovered something: the markings on the preppy rub off if you go at them with some rubbing alcohol. You should probably use the strong stuff - I used 90 proof - and you do need to scrubscrubscrub, but it DOES go away - all of it! Leaving behind a much neater looking pen devoid of all the marketing blurb and logo clutter, all of which draws extra attention to the quirky colorful nib and matching clip. Still a cheapie pen, but much better than before - and perfect for beautifully showcasing a gorgeous ink when used as an eyedropper conversion. For best results, make sure you don't leave the alcohol on the pen for too long lest the plastic fogs anywhere. Wipe with a damp cloth at the end, and during too if it's taking a bit longer.

 

If required, I have piccies, but I didn't want to post in case this was totally obvious to everyone already and I was just wasting bandwidth And if so, sorry! there's still lots I haven't yet come across around here

[Daisy]

Cool! That's good to know. I don't have a Preppy, but if I ever do it's good to know all that other stuff can be easily gotten rid of. And while it may be posted elsewhere, this is the first I've seen anything about it, so definitely do post your pics! I'd love to see how it turned out.

 

Don't be so fast to bash the value of your own input. You never know, there may be someone out there with a Preppy just waiting to be de-uglified and didn't know it could be safely done. I just saw a thread where someone had the chutzpah to put a matte finish on a MB 149 with scotchbrite and it came out *wonderfully* well. That was after others tried it on their own pens of varying value, and I found out about it because someone had the courage to do it to a Pilot 78G and post about it. There was even one who was inspired to rehab the brushed finish on a cap that had been accidentally worn away by a leather pen case, and now that pen that had been sitting in a drawer is (or soon will be) back in rotation.

 

I guess what I'm saying is, don't underestimate your ability to inspire the best in others.

 

 

(edited to add thread links)

Edited October 8, 2012 by Daisy

[pokermon]

Yay a post I stared got linked hehe. I did the brush look on a preppy and now I'mma go at it with some rubbing alcohol for a clear barrel next.

[Daisy]

Ooooh, pics please!

[pokermon]

The alcohol didn't work. I think the newer preppies have a tougher print on them. I was rubbing with alcohol for 20 minutes while watching anime with my gf and 1% came off. I then hit it with some very fine sandpaper and it worked but clouded up the barrel. So I just said fudge it and took the scotch bright out for a sandy brushed look. I'll throw up a pic if I can get a quality picture of it.

[bbwriter]

A variation of Plume145's idea. I have 5 Preppy's. I filled a empty medication bottle with alcohol and allowed the barrel to soak for 10-15 minutes. A thumbnail through a paper towel was used to scrape the paint off. A re-soak was used as needed. The paint on one Preppy came off very easy, three were so-so, and one was difficult.

Edited October 12, 2012 by bbwriter

[Kelly G]

I found that if I just used the Preppy on a consistent basis, the markings wore off on their own - no rubbing needed. But you do have to be patient.

[pokermon]

I found that if I just used the Preppy on a consistent basis, the markings wore off on their own - no rubbing needed. But you do have to be patient.

 

Not the preppies I have. I've been using one daily for work and the print on it was still 100%. Which is why I concluded that maybe the newer preppies have a more durable print. Since BBWriter had a few and one of them was difficult as well, I really think the ones that come off easy are from the past maybe. My preppies are fairly new about a month old from gouletpens. Can anyone chime in how old their preppies are with the print easily coming off?

[bbwriter]

The Preppy's I have are between 3 and 4 months old and I had not considered the age of the pen.

 

However, The end of the paint lines near the thread portion of the barrel was the most difficult to get off on all of the pens. I thought perhaps the roller putting the paint on the pen had a little too much paint on it when the barrel started its run through the painting section of production.

 

As for age, Goulet's probably has a pretty good turn over of the Preppy's on their shelves. But what about Goulet's supplier. How long did that box of pens sit in the manufacturers warehouse. ?????

[UDog]

I actually like the markings on the Preppy.

[pienaar]

Just paint them.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8021/7283267426_1263b9dd2e.jpg

[kb8dnr]

I just took the markings off three Preppies using a mild abrasive brass cleaner from a company named Guardian and a paper towel. Brasso or ordinary toothpaste may also work.

 

Just be sure to wash the pen off using warm water after rubbing off the markings to remove any residual grit and chemicals.

[Wheatflower]

Just paint them.

 

That is amazing. What kind of paint did you use?

[requiescat]

Just paint them.

 

That is amazing. What kind of paint did you use?

Not a Preppy, but I've painted a Nemosine Singularity. Acrylics worked just fine--I suspect a layer of primer would help.

[Daisy]

I don't know what paint Pienaar used, but there are spray paints made specifically for plastics that are supposed to chemically bond to the underlying plastic and not just sit on top of it. I'd probably try one of those first, just because it generally doesn't take a lot of effort to remove paint from plastic, unfortunately.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Daisy

[pienaar]

I used the flat camo colors from Krylon Fusion paint. It is made for plastic. (No primer needed) I tried one pen with a none flat color and it was not as nice. So I would stick to their flat colors. I just washed the plastic with some soap and water to get the oils from my hands off the pen. Dried it and went to painting.

 

I will also tell you that you wont take this paint off. This paint was designed for troops to paint their kit they were taking to the gulf.

[Daisy]

Yeah, Krylon Fusion were the spraypaints I was thinking of when I wrote that. I've had good luck with them, but I couldn't remember the name. I even painted a plastic kitty door with it that's still going strong 4 years later, and I know of no greater test than kitty paws and noses (no claws, though).

[Tessy Moon]

Just paint them.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8021/7283267426_1263b9dd2e.jpg

 

I want to try this with my preppies! I would love to add a nice color to my cheap pens.

 

How do you recommend doing this? Do you have a post or step by step guide with pictures?

 

I am not very good at handy-man diy, but can manage kids-crafts type projects pretty well, lol. (Yes, I have young children...crafts are not optional in my line of work known as motherhood!)

 

 

Thank you for this brilliant idea!!!

[Plume145]

The painted ones look spectacular, but the reason I wanted to see if I could remove the markings was to be able to get the full see-through effect - either using it as an eyedropper pen to see the ink slosh around (purdy!) or to use with a cartridge/converter to inserts a piece of decorative paper and make a pen to match a notebook cover or desk set.

 

But I think I'm gonna buy a couple and play around with spray painting them! They are so cheap you can't really go wrong lol.

 

Thanks for the idea guys! And it's kind of fun that this thread still gets revived from time to time :-)

[Tenkai]

I just took the markings off three Preppies using a mild abrasive brass cleaner from a company named Guardian and a paper towel. Brasso or ordinary toothpaste may also work.

 

Just be sure to wash the pen off using warm water after rubbing off the markings to remove any residual grit and chemicals.

 

Does this cloud the pen?

 

I managed to remove the labels with time by using the edge of a plastic ruler/credit card to scrape at it.