Ink Plus Vinegar Equals Goo

[FatherofOdin]

I have a Parker 51 that had a problem with mould. I used vinegar to make sure that the mould wouldn't come back. I mustn't have rinsed it out enough and then tried to fill it from a half full bottle of noodler's 54th. At that instant the contents of the bottle turned to goo.

 

I'm sure it wasn't because of a defective bottle of ink. This ink has been used almost continuously in various pens with no problems.

 

So vinegar and ink don't mix.

 

Well actually they do and it makes ink colored goo.

[Oldane]

There's ink and then there's ink. I think it very much depends on the ink in question whether it transforms to goo when subjected to acids (like vinegar). 54th does as per your experience. I would imagine that alcalic ink plus acid could also set some kind of solid matter (acid + alkali = water + salt, and that salt may or may not be soluble. On the other hand, I wouldn't expect it to happen with acidic inks. A special subcase is iron-gall ink. Here you can actually use vinegar to dissolve sedimented iron-gall.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Oldane

[rogerb]

I remember getting the cane at school for adding dilute nitric acid to a girl's bottle of blue Quink, because it turned GREEN

 

I'd probably have got away with it if the silly girl hadn't then spilt some on her dress and then told her mother !

[mhosea]

I mustn't have rinsed it out enough and then tried to fill it from a half full bottle of noodler's 54th. At that instant the contents of the bottle turned to goo.

 

 

Ouch! FWIW, I won't fill a multi-stroke filler from the main ink bottle unless either A) it's the same ink as the pen was already filled with, or the pen is clean and dry. If I can't wait for the pen to dry out, I transfer ink to a sample vial and fill from there (and I do not return the remaining ink in the vial to the bottle).

[LamyOne]

Hello NDW,

 

You may want to try mixing a 20% solution of CLEAR ammonia and water, (20% ammonia & 80% water). Fill the pen with that and let it stand for a while in the hopes that it will equalize the chemical interactions. Then keep flushing with plenty of plain water once the ammonia solution breaks down the goo, (I'm hoping it will).

 

From what I've been reading, I seem to recall that Goulet's Liberty is a alkaline ink with a basic pH, (something like 8-9). The acid in the vinegar, (a low pH), is what caused the bad interaction - you have to counter-balance the acid by adding the ammonia solution to balance things out again and hopefully this will be able to dissolve the goo.

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

Edited October 20, 2014 by LamyOne

[FatherofOdin]

The pen is fine. I was able to clean the goo out of the pen. But the ink is useless. The sad thing is that thiso was my favorite ink.

 

I can't use clear ammonia here because it can not be purchased in Thailand.

[Morphling27]

The pen is fine. I was able to clean the goo out of the pen. But the ink is useless. The sad thing is that thiso was my favorite ink.

 

I can't use clear ammonia here because it can not be purchased in Thailand.

Is there a reason for no ammonia? Maybe order a pen cleaning solution then for any future issues, if possible.

 

Also, investing in a few vials to decant your ink into to fill from might be good for the future. Much cheaper and safer than wasting a bottle of ink.

[FatherofOdin]

I have a few empty vials care of sample pen flush from Goulets. They will come in handy. As for ammonia, it can't be bought here because it is an ingredient in a recipe for making things go boom.

[LamyOne]

Hello Nathan,

 

That is a shame you cannot get ammonia; however, like M27 suggests above, perhaps you could get an 8 oz. bottle of Goulet Pen Flush past customs. It has ammonia in it, but it is not straight ammonia, it is heavily diluted with distilled water and other ingredients. But it is still good for cleaning pens.

 

I am really glad to hear you were able to get the P51 cleaned out and working again.

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

Edited October 21, 2014 by LamyOne