Jump to content

overlander

Recommended Posts

My ink samples for my first pen arrived yesterday, and I am still waiting for my first pen to arrive in the mail, a Lamy Vista. When I looked at the ink samples, I noticed immediately that the sample vial of bsb was totally stained with blue, and none of the other samples had any staining at all. With all my research online, I knew that bsb has a reputation, but the color is just so breathtaking! I am now having second thoughts about putting this ink into my pen. If (when) staining occurs in my Vista, will an ammonia solution be able to get it out? I have heard of some issues with using bleach with steel nibs and some rubbers, so I am a bit off put about using bleach.

Also, I don't know how many of you are aquarium people, but I have a bottle of Dr. Tim's brand ammonium chloride solution for "fishless cycling" of a tank; would this work to clean a pen, or should I avoid it?

Sorry for my ramblings here, but hopefully some of you can help me.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • overlander

    3

  • Lou Erickson

    2

  • Biff

    1

  • PAHarris

    1

Staining and BSB go hand in hand, so if staining is a concern, you might want to forego the brightness. By the way, the electrifying brightness does not last terribly long, so it is good for temporary writings and notes.

Jeffery

In the Irish Channel of

New Orleans, LA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, it will stain. Personal experience.

 

I had some success using rubbing alcohol to flush, but it is generally a worse idea than leaving it. The alcohol will soften the plastic. This means your crystal clear vista will become a frosted vista as you touch it. Ironically, the inside will stay clear because you don't touch the inside.

 

This was before I learned about ammonia flushes. The ammonia definitely helps but I don't know if it will flush completely. I had lost my Lamy by that time.

 

Personally, if you have any reservation, any at all, just don't do it. Get a preppy and use that instead. If you don't mind not seeing the fins of the feed, go ahead.

 

 

Meanwhile, this week I'll try bleaching my Ahab piston.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep one pen that only gets BSB in it. It does not play well with other inks. Alcohol in the form of hand sanitizer will remove it, because the gel holds the alcohol to the surface. A stained converter is the price you pay for the joys of inks like BSB, BSCG and Private Reseve Bubblegum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 on use only in one pen. Do not use another ink in that pen. Other people may say they can switch inks with BSB but I'm too lazy to take that much effort. Pick an inexpensive pen with a nice writing nib in the size you like and put BSB in it and enjoy. I like the nib on a Pilot 78G or Hero 616. usually find them for $12 or less. isellpens.com ebay

 

I enjoy BSB but like other things in life, I have rules about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like a good idea. I bought a bottle a few months back ago without knowing about its history for staining pens. I will now look for a good writer and dedicate it for use with Bay State.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bleach will be safe with the Lamy Vista; I've done it. Use a mild solution, and BSB should come out pretty well.

 

I've been using a Vista for ink testing - I can see when it's really clean, and I have all the nib sizes - and haven't had staining problems that I couldn't cure. BSB took a little bleach.

 

I've decided BSB lives in the Preppy that came with the big bottle, and in a Jinhao 159, because it writes like a fire hose and I have lots of BSB. (And the look from the medium/very wet nib is quite different than the look from the fine Preppy.) So another +1 for "dedicated BSB pen."

 

I think you can clean it out, but is it worth it?

--

Lou Erickson - Handwritten Blog Posts

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the advice. I think i'm gonna get the big bottle w/ the preppy and dedicate that to BSB, and use other inks in the vista. Just for future reference though, what bleach dilution ratio would you recommend?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Vista with a permanently blue section thanks to BSB. It doesn't really show when it's inked, but I can't shift it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...