Platinum Preppy Cleaning?

[gts1117]

So I want to switch inks out fo my Platinum Preppy (eyedropper converted), but I can't seem to get all of the ink out of the feed part. Not the actual feed, but the rings that kind of hold the ink in if you know what I'm talking about? No matter how hard I try, I can't get the ink out of the grooves. And I can't seem to get the part out of the pen body itself. Any tips on how to do this?

Edited October 31, 2012 by gts1117

[savingbirds]

Have you tried a bulb syringe yet (the kind to remove nasal fluids)?

[myn]

If the bulb syringe flush doesn't work then simply lay the whole part in water and let it soak.

[crunchmaster]

I've become a fan of the "lazy" method: soaking. Sometimes in water, sometimes soapy water. Then I put it in a cup with a napkin or kleenex and let all the moisture be wicked out. Sometimes it may take several cycles to get all the ink residue out of some pens.

 

I've never tried to remove a Preppy's feed. With the taper at the end of the section, I'm not sure if it would fit. Maybe it comes out the back of the section? Maybe try soaking it in hot water for a few minutes and then try to push it out the back.

[gts1117]

I've become a fan of the "lazy" method: soaking. Sometimes in water, sometimes soapy water. Then I put it in a cup with a napkin or kleenex and let all the moisture be wicked out. Sometimes it may take several cycles to get all the ink residue out of some pens.

 

I've never tried to remove a Preppy's feed. With the taper at the end of the section, I'm not sure if it would fit. Maybe it comes out the back of the section? Maybe try soaking it in hot water for a few minutes and then try to push it out the back.

 

how did you do the kleenex thing? i soaked it because the flushing wasnt working but i couldnt figure out to get the water out of it

[irrigger]

To do the kleenex thing, you place the pen nib down in a cup with a napkin in the bottom. The napkin will wick the moisture out of the collector/ feed through the nib by capilary action and gravity. This takes a little while but will remove the moisture that you can't normally reach.

[gts1117]

thanks it worked!

[infinitum]

If you're ever in a pinch and don't have a bulb syringe or time to soak it, you can simply hold it under an open tap for a while until the water runs entirely clear. You should be able to see all of the ink gone from the feed of the pen. Then you can dry it with the cup and Kleenex trick crunchmaster and irrigger mentioned always worked for me!

[mhphoto]

I always hated waiting for it to soak thoroughly, so I dug out my trusty old mouth-wound irrigator from when I had my wisdom teeth yanked out. That strong, thin stream of warm water shot straight down into the front side (with the nib unit removed) usually does the trick in no time.

[Olafsen]

If there is dried ink inside, or if you want good cleaning, use a ultrasonic cleaner like the ones for jewelry. Simply put water with enough dish soap and do multiple passes. At the end replace with clean water and do a couple of passes.

 

Also, since you are there, take the time to remove completely the nib from the plastic holder (use a thin knife or screwdriver or a knife) and with some baking paper (or thin normal paper) remove the paint from in between the tines of the nib. Being the paint always wet, the one between the tines easily detaches from the metal and reduces the flow. The nib is painted AFTER getting the slit.

The pen improves a lot.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Olafsen

[Ink Stained Wretch]

If there is dried ink inside, or if you want good cleaning, use a ultrasonic cleaner like the ones for jewelry. Simply put water with enough dish soap and do multiple passes. At the end replace with clean water and do a couple of passes.

 

The difficulty here is that the collector of the Platinum Preppy is sealed inside the section. AFAICT the collector cannot be removed from the section without breaking the section, which permanently breaks the pen.

 

I was trying to find a way to get the collector out some months ago.

 

I could never get the last tiny drops of water out of it, I had to let them evaporate their way out.

 

With ink you're going to end up with at least a tiny bit of it left in the section, sequestered by the fins of the collector. When you fill the Preppy with another ink you will end up mixing the inks, perhaps with unforeseen consequences.

 

I think that the best idea is to choose an ink for the Preppy carefully because you are probably going to have to stick with that ink from then on. Or you could do experiments with ink mixing and load a new ink into the Preppy only after your experiments have shown that the result of mixing the old ink and the new ink is something you want to have happen.

[Denver]

I too have struggled with thorough cleaning of Preppy collectors, but I have a routine that works quite well. Using some homemade flush (90% distilled water, 10% ammonia and a couple of drops of Dawn per 250ml) with a catheter tip syringe and 8mm ID silicone tubing placed over the nib end of the section with the feed in place, I flush the collector until visibly clear of all ink. Sometimes it is necessary to allow the flush to sit inside the collector for half an hour. Blocking the feed hole with the feed itself directs most of the flush to enter the larger side opening in the collector, and I have successfully cleaned even stubborn accumulations of ink. Flushing from the cartridge/converter end directs the flush through the feed and isn't as efficient as the reverse direction. Occasionally I use a solution of Oxiclean to remove stains on plastic parts, and this seems to work better than Clorox. The flush is followed by several cycles of distilled water, then I shake the nib section like a glass thermometer from one end then again from the other. The nib section is placed on a paper towel with the nib end down, and in dry Colorado it dries in a couple of hours.

[mke]

@Denver

What does 10% ammonia mean in your operation procedure?

 

10 vol % of a commercial ammonia solution?

But what is the concentration of the commercial ammonia solution you used?