How To Fill A Divot Hole

[chaplin37]

Good morning everyone,

 

I am new to fountain pen repairing and was just wondering if anyone had any information or websites on how to fill a divot hole that is on one of my pens that I bought. Also if it would work on teeth marks?

 

Thank you everyone

[redbike]

There are some posts in this forum about using heat - from a hair dryer or heat gun - to partially remove bite marks. I've done it myself on the blind caps of some Sheaffer pens. The indentations are raised, but not removed, by the heat, at least that's been my experience. Use "bite marks" and "heat gun" as search criteria and see what you get. Good luck.

[Ron Z]

Heat will lift tooth marks, but can also fry the pen if you aren't careful. After lifting you will need to blend and polish. But it only works if the plastic or hard rubber is compressed as with a tooth mark. If the material is cut away as with an engraved name or gouge there's nothing to lift, so the technique won't work.

[chaplin37]

Thanks everyone, niw does the heat treatment also work on the section? Or is there an epoxy or glue that can fill it and then sand down? Also is there a glue used to fill a divot in the cap of the pen? The divot us not a tooth mark

[FarmBoy]

Thanks everyone, niw does the heat treatment also work on the section? Or is there an epoxy or glue that can fill it and then sand down? Also is there a glue used to fill a divot in the cap of the pen? The divot us not a tooth mark

Padre,

Using epoxy and glue to fill holes really never works in the long term. The best repair on a polymer pen where material has been removed is to make a slurry of matching material in an appropriate solvent and slowly filling the depression until it is slightly above the adjoining surfaces followed by sanding and blending. The process is slow if done correctly you will not know a repair has been made.

Farmboy

[entropydave]

I wonder whether I could get a bit more detail or a suggestion here. My wife has damaged her Montblanc 252. On the cap, the black material above the clip ring and surrounding the white snowflake, has cracked such that a piece has fallen out. I would guess that it is all the black material comprising 10% of the circumference of the surround of the snowflake.

 

The snowflake seems secure so the repair is not urgent, but I would like to fill the hole in some way. Any suggestions? I am not at all sure how to make a suitable slurry, though I probably have some Montblanc pen parts I could melt for the purpose.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

David.

[OcalaFlGuy]

1/10th the circumference is well past the galaxy of "Divot".

 

Find a replacement cap.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[chaplin37]

Im thinking about trying a urethane adhesive on that divot. Any thoughts on that?

[Oslowe]

IMHO, I would research and carefully practice Ron Z's advice on cheap pens, and then you will probably need, in addition, FarmBoy's recommended technique. Luck!

[FOUR X FOUR]

Im thinking about trying a urethane adhesive on that divot. Any thoughts on that?

Think of it as body work, just on a smaller scale.

[Oslowe]

An even closer analogy might be an all aluminum bodied car you can't ever repaint.

[FarmBoy]

An even closer analogy might be an all aluminum bodied car you can't ever repaint.

Why can't you repaint aluminum bodied cars?

[Oslowe]

Are you saying you fill divots in your pens and then paint them?

[Oslowe]

I guess you could paint this.

[Oslowe]

Tough forum.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Oslowe

[FarmBoy]

Im thinking about trying a urethane adhesive on that divot. Any thoughts on that?

I would not attempt such a procedure.

 

How about a picture of the patient?

[chaplin37]

I would love to use farmboys technique but i dont know what he uses for a slurry

[FarmBoy]

I would love to use farmboys technique but i dont know what he uses for a slurry

You can extract some material from the inside of the barrel if you don't have a source for other matching material. But you need to know what the pen is made from before you make your slurry. You may need to add a placticizer to get a good result.

[Oslowe]

Using epoxy and glue to fill holes really never works in the long term. The best repair on a polymer pen where material has been removed is to make a slurry of matching material in an appropriate solvent and slowly filling the depression until it is slightly above the adjoining surfaces followed by sanding and blending. The process is slow if done correctly you will not know a repair has been made.

Farmboy

It's a complex subject unless you are an organic chemist or have vast experience like Ron Zorn or FarmBoy. All the info is out there on FPN and elsewhere.

 

As I'm sure you know, working with polymers, and celluloid in particular, is not without risks and I would repeat the warnings about excess heat, open flames, and the solvents involved. As such, people may be hesitant to provide a "slurry" recipe. If you are persistent, you will accomplish what FarmBoy speaks about here.

 

I, perhaps, should not have injected myself into this conversation; I only wanted to point out that the moderator and member above, IMHO, had already given you the best advice. For my intrusion, I apologize.

 

PS - In the whole Parkes, Spill, and Hyatt litigation, great-great-great grandfather Alexander said he knew all along that camphor was the necessary plasticizer and the Hyatt bros could "take their methonal on a hike." Go Xylonite!

[Ron Z]

I generally don't go into any detail on how I do plastic repair and what materials I use. I have over a decade of working on plastics, and have a lot of time/mistakes invested in the processes that I use. I've been doing celluloid repair long enough now that I get to see the results months, a year, or years later. You have to allow weeks, and in some cases months for the solvent to come out of the celluloid to see the end result. I am very skeptical about people who say "I did this and it worked great!" because it may not be so great after 6 months or a year.

 

The one thing that I can say is that filling divots is difficult and unpredictable. The properties of the celluloid varied from batch to batch, and color to color. Some celluloids can be repaired and filled without much trouble. But the larger the divot, hole, crack, the greater the risk of problems. You get micro bubbles, the celluloid can crack, it can shrink, it may yellow, and the solvents may exacerbate crazing and decay or crazing in some brands and colors.

 

That's not to say what I don't do it any more, or don't try. Just that you need to allow a lot of time for the process and be realistic in your expectations.