Cleaning A 21 Super

[restlesscourage]

So I just cleaned out the Parker Super that came in the mail a couple of days ago so that I can test out one of the new inks that came in the mail today. It was...an experience. So I'm wondering, those of you experts with all the wisdom out there...is there an easier way to clean the darn thing than pumping water in and out of the sac, or am I stuck?

 

I guess what I'm asking is this: am I correct in thinking that the filling mechanism does not come out of the pen? Because it doesn't seem like it wants to, and I don't want to force it and break something.

 

(It's not the worst thing in the world. I've just been spoiled by the twist converter in my other pen. Pop it out of the pen and flush it with a syringe...and a bulb syringe takes care of the feed.)

[sargetalon]

I'm interested to here the responses on this too because my experience has been similar.

[rezwrrd]

The ink sac is immobile. If it comes out of the pen, there is a problem.

 

It can be a chore to flush them. From my experience, mostly with similar Hero aerometric fillers, the least painful method is to fill the pen with water then drain it as completely as possible. Repeat. Or just fill a large glass with water, stick the nib in, and keep pumping slowly.

 

I'm no expert, of course, but it seems to work on my Heroes and I used the fill/drain method on my Parker 21 this morning. If there's an easier way, I'd also love to hear it.

[Mags]

Fill drain is the only way I know though the addition of ammonia to the water and the squeeze and flush will be more effective as it helps get the crud out of the sac.

[OldGriz]

Fill and drain it the way to go..

You can use a 5% household nonsudsing ammonia solution to break down the dried ink in the pen for your initial flushings.... then change to clear cool water to rinse it out completely..

Use the ammonia solution until the flushes turn clear then go to the plain water....

I generally flush a few times then let it sit filled nib down in the ammonia solution overnight and start all over again for more stubborn pens

[OcalaFlGuy]

You could follow the pinned thread on found in the wild 51's.

 

The internals on at least a Super 21 and P-51 are similar. At least that way, the one problem you likely be able to eliminate is internal cleanliness.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[rezwrrd]

So if I just keep pumping water, filling without draining, is that likely to damage an aerometric filler? Or is it just less efficient? It seemed to work fine on my cheap Heros, but now that I'm "graduating" to real Parkers I should probably learn how to take better care of my pens.

[OldGriz]

So if I just keep pumping water, filling without draining, is that likely to damage an aerometric filler? Or is it just less efficient? It seemed to work fine on my cheap Heros, but now that I'm "graduating" to real Parkers I should probably learn how to take better care of my pens.

 

Pumping the filler unit of a Parker Aero pen is what it was made for.... it will not damage the filler....

The amount of flushing done to clean the pen is far far less than the amount of pumping that was done over the years to fill the pen for other owners....

[restlesscourage]

Thanks for all the tips. Good to know I'm doing what I'm supposed to. I think I'll end up dedicating just one or two inks to this pen, so I don't have to flush it quite as thoroughly every single time.

[OcalaFlGuy]

If you are speaking of the found in the wild P-51 pinned thread flushing between ink colors, that isn't necessary at all, just flush Most of the old ink out of the pen and converter. A remaining wisp of old ink will not greatly affect a colors full fill.

 

The found in the wild flushing is a Worst Case scenario. It assumes a prior owner had poor pen hygiene and allowed fills of ink to dry up inside the pen. Most old time users weren't so fastidious on pen hygiene as the more constant use usually kept them out of trouble. If you don't know your pen came from someone who took reasonable care of it, it's best to assume they didn't.

 

It's actually preferred to take apart a P-51 for proper cleaning and check out. The found in the wild thread was for those that didn't want to open the pen up or pay someone else (at least for the moment) to do it for them. It may get the pen most of the way clean but that's not The Best way to be sure things are completely correct inside the pen.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[pajaro]

If you have never taken your 51 or Super 21 apart, and if it continues to work very nicely, do the repair pros recommend dismantling the pen for cleaning and inspection? I am not being argumentative, I am curious about what the pros think. I have several pens I have put the first ink into, and am wondering if they ought to be dismantled for inspection, considering they have been in use for 30 to 40 years. If I took one of these pens apart and something broke or cracked in the process I would be upset, but that has to be weighed against the possibility that something could deteriorate and I wouldn't detect it because of the gradual erosion of effectiveness.

 

I have one pen I wrote letters with using red ink. I never used red ink in that 51 after 1979, but every so often I flush the pen and find a trace of red ink. Go figure.

[Eccles]

By coincidence, I've just dragged my P21 Super out of the "one day" section at the back of the pen drawer and had a go at getting it to work. I'd put it there in disgust and frustration at least 2yrs ago when I found it didn't suck or blow fluid from the converter when I bought it. I thought I must be up for an expensive service or repair (at least a new sac) and put it off till better times.

 

Anyway, I soaked it for a bit in a glass of plain water and so much ink was coming off it I decided to persevere with soaking and attempted squeezing interspersed with a couple of cycles in a jewellery ultrasonic cleaner. Suddenly it started to suck and squirt far more than ever before, the stream still almost solid black from dried ink.

 

Further soaking and squeezing and u/s cycles now have the converter working normally with only a light grey cloud being ejected. It shouldn't be long before it runs clear.

 

I guess the moral of this and the other tales above is that there are simple remedies that really do work, they just need patience and persistence.

 

Glenn.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Glenn, do some searching til you find an exploded view of a disassembled P-51. It's collector under the hood is very similar to the Super 21. See all those fins? There's barely a razor blades distance between them, that's what can help make these pens cloggy with bad pen hygiene.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[pajaro]

The collector and the positioning of nib and feed with respect to some reference marks, the breather tube, and general crud. Makes me think I should reverse my previous thinking and take the hood off or have someone else do it.

[OcalaFlGuy]

If you have never taken your 51 or Super 21 apart, and if it continues to work very nicely, do the repair pros recommend dismantling the pen for cleaning and inspection? I am not being argumentative, I am curious about what the pros think. I have several pens I have put the first ink into, and am wondering if they ought to be dismantled for inspection, considering they have been in use for 30 to 40 years. If I took one of these pens apart and something broke or cracked in the process I would be upset, but that has to be weighed against the possibility that something could deteriorate and I wouldn't detect it because of the gradual erosion of effectiveness.

 

 

Paul, no expert here just thinking out loud.

 

My first concern would be DID Parker upgrade the material for the hoods on the Supers like they did I think on the Barrels? If the answer is no, the hood material on the early ones I think is Really Bad. Whichever one of the 21 hoods are so bad, IF I had one that was shellaced/sealed very well down already, I'd be less likely to want to take the hood of for fear of cracking/deforming it.

 

If everything is lined up nice and pretty and it appears the pen hasn't already been opened at some time I think your worst potential problem area would be the breather tube IF it were a P-51. I am pretty sure they didn't use the Sterling tubes in the P-21. The silver tubes could get horribly clogged and misformed from Superchrome ink. Even with a clogged breather tube the main issue would be not getting a full fill. You've used enough of those type fillers I think you'd notice if you weren't getting a full fill due to a hosed up breather tube.

 

Me, I'd say for a Super 21 if it's all lined up nice and writing and filling well, you're probably ok inside.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL