What's Your "Cleaner" Ink?

[DvdRiet]

7 hours ago, kestrel said:

Sharpie graffitti in my classroom could be removed with either ethanol or isopropyl (Rubbing) alcohol and a bit of elbow grease.  I'm not sure how alcohol will affect pen parts.  Xylene (aka Zippo lighter fluid) worked as well and I have used it on some celluloid and ebonite pens to remove sticker residue.  The fumes are nasty so adequate ventilation is mandatory.  Acetone (nail polish remover) removed the graffitti but the fumes were really nasty and I wouldn't let that stuff anywhere near a pen.

 

One of our custodians used MEK, the best graffitti remover I have ever seen, until I showed her the MSDS (possible permanent brain impairment).  Besides, it dissolves lots of different plastics and celluloids.

 

Oxychloride X will remove any stain from any surface but there are certain, uh, side effects.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv4qUFgQ_7s

 

Thanks for the tips! I know all about damage from acetone / nail polish remover from ruining the once-clear cover of my portable cassette player with it as a teenager!  And I was thinking of rubbing alcohol but hadn't yet dared to try it. By the way, I used a drop of olive oil to release the nib and feed from the gunked up section after I had cleaned out as much as I could, but the nib still wouldn't budge. (Not sure why, just an odd brainwave.) The olive oil dissolved just enough of the gooey ink for it to finally unscrew easily so that I could get inside the barrel to clean the rest of it out.

 

As an update on my Doyou results: I just finished the second fill, which I left in there for a long time, and flushed it to find that the Doyou has actually dulled the purple somewhat. So, at least it's not the same nearly neon purple as the marker ink that was in there and it doesn't look nearly as odd as it did before. It's a long way from being clear, to be sure, but it's an improvement that now makes the pen look a lot more normal, only without an obviously useful clear ink window. (Luckily, it's a slatted/striated window instead of solid, so there's not a huge section of purple visible, just some dark/greyish purple stripes in between the black lines.) Who knows, maybe another 5 to 10 fills of Doyou will eventually get rid of all of it? Thank goodness I have a whole bottle! 

[aurore]

The main drawback of Sailor Doyou ink (beside the pricetag) as a cleaner is it contains some pinkish dye which is impossible to clean or wash from clothes, so while this ink might clean some resin pens, it will lightly stain a Parker 51 sac with this dye. 

 

Btw I wholeheartedly recommend Rohrer & Klingner cleaning fluid, it miraculously cleans pigment inks (such as Sailor nano, De Atramentis or Rohrer & Klingner).

[finzi]

 

When I first saw this thread I immediately wondered why people would be using inks instead of nib cleaner (such as the Diamine and R&K one’s referred to elsewhere and the thread) and I was halfway down page 2 before I was reminded that demonstrators, converters and cartridges can become stained. I’ve really enjoyed reading through this thread and I have a few questions.

 

I have a vague understanding that ammonia-based cleaners should not be used to clean certain materials, but I don’t know what those materials are. Could someone let me know please? I only use my Diamine cleaning solution for nibs, I don’t flush it through the feeds or put it into piston fillers, I err on the side of caution because I know I don’t know what I’m doing. 😂 

 

On 5/18/2019 at 12:25 AM, Brianm_14 said:

Kodak Photo-Flo 200 is another great choice

 

Would the same be true of something like the Liquitex Flow Aid, White Lightning etc? Is this because the ingredients which make the ink flow more freely are behaving like solvents?

 

 

On 5/17/2019 at 9:04 PM, amberleadavis said:

The pen cleaning solutions in my limited experience with them, appear to have lots of ammonia. You want an ink that is high in detergents. I have also done really well with glycerin water.

 

Just glycerin mixed with water? What concentration please? 

I don’t like using blue or black inks, so the “cleaning inks“ which have been identified in this thread are less attractive to me than proprietary cleaning solutions, dish soap, glycerin water etc. If anyone knows of more varied colours, please let me know. Someone did say that all of the Sailor inks are extremely lubricating, but does this include the Studio inks? I ask because those (the only Sailor inks I own) don’t strike me as wet inks in any of my pens, and the Jentle range seems to be limited to blue and black these days, but perhaps the other Sailor ink ranges are considered useful for cleaning. 

[Penguincollector]

On 5/16/2025 at 9:31 AM, finzi said:

If anyone knows of more varied colours, please let me know

  I think the easiest ones for you to find in the UK would be vintage Parker Quink with Solv-x. I know for sure that it came in red and turquoise, possibly a bluish leaning green. Older MontBlanc inks with SC-21 came in lots of colours. Sailor Shikiori Doyou is a dark brown. I don’t know if other Sailor inks have the same cleaner ink reputation as Doyou. 
 

  Sailor has moved the majority of the Jentle line over to the Shikiori line. They’re the same inks, in smaller bottles. 

 

[misalignedtines]

I've been a frequent visitor to this particular thread for a few years now. 

To my understanding, the comprehensive list of verified cleaner inks are as follows. 

 

1. Sailor Doyou

2. Private Reserve Tanzanite

3. Vintage Parker with cleen -x formulation

4. Vintage Shaeffer Skrip inks

5. Noodler's Rattler Eel red.

 

I was wondering if all Noodler's line of Eel inks work as cleaner inks. Since in theory all contain the same lubricant. Had anybody had any luck with Noodlers Eel Black. 

 

[misalignedtines]

On 1/2/2017 at 9:04 AM, ErrantSmudge said:

Earlier in this thread it was said Noodler's Red Rattler Eel is a good cleaner ink.

 

Does it have to be Red Rattler, or will any color from the Noodler's Eel family work just as well?

This is my same question. I was wondering if you had used Noodler's Eel Black to remove stains 

[misalignedtines]

On 1/2/2017 at 9:04 AM, ErrantSmudge said:

Earlier in this thread it was said Noodler's Red Rattler Eel is a good cleaner ink.

 

Does it have to be Red Rattler, or will any color from the Noodler's Eel family work just as well?

This is my same question. I was wondering if you had used Noodler's Eel Black to remove stains 

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, misalignedtines said:

cleen -x

 Bless you. 😂 

 

1 hour ago, misalignedtines said:

I was wondering if all Noodler's line of Eel inks work as cleaner inks. Since in theory all contain the same lubricant. Had anybody had any luck with Noodlers Eel Black. 

  The red in particular is the only one I’ve seen mentioned as having cleaning properties. I hope that someone who knows these inks well (the horror stories have put me off this brand) will chime in. 
 

Also, don’t forget MontBlanc with SuperCleaner (the number on the end varies by vintage)! 

[misalignedtines]

57 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

Bless you. 😂

Solv-x !! 😂😂

 

But in my defence, there's another ink called Chelpark that's an amalgamation of Parker and another indian company that added a solvent called Cleen-X back in the 90s.

[Penguincollector]

5 hours ago, misalignedtines said:

Solv-x !! 😂😂

 

But in my defence, there's another ink called Chelpark that's an amalgamation of Parker and another indian company that added a solvent called Cleen-X back in the 90s.

    I thought that looked familiar.

[TSherbs]

10 hours ago, misalignedtines said:

This is my same question. I was wondering if you had used Noodler's Eel Black to remove stains 

I have used N's Eel Rattler Red quite successfully, also to clean out the grit left behind by Noodler's black. I don't imagine that any Noodler's black ink would serve well as a cleaner (they tend to be among the "dirtiest" inks I have used).

 

But what do I know.

[RJS]

I don't own any cleaning solution, but haven't had problems with cleaning pens. It's not that I use it as a cleaner ink, but I return to Pilot Blue Black so frequently, and it seems to have some use in that role.

[Lou Erickson]

Fascinating discussion.  I've got a pen I like very much that's got blue ink staining it.  I wish I remembered what blue it was. 

 

It's a Kullock Parker 51, and the ink has stained the inside of the translucent hood all blue, so it looks blue compared to the rest of the pen.  I took the hood off and cleaned with a q-tip and an ultrasonic cleaner so I'm sure it's not just finnicky ink but an actual stain.

 

People's choices when picking a "cleaning" ink are interesting and varied.  I recalled the use of Noodler's Rattler Red (but had forgotten the Eel desngiation) from earlier posts here on FPN, but seeing there's a Sailor ink out and that old Parker with Solv-X works wonders gave me plenty of things to consider.

 

I, having had good luck with vintage Parker inks in the past, ordered a bottle of blue-black with Solv-X from eBay, and I will give it a try when it comes.  Naturally, my first choice was the "no longer for sale" vintage ink.

 

If that fails, I'll try some Rattler Red Eel, and if that fails, maybe the Sailor.  I don't use much red or brown ink so don't find either of those colors very appealing, but I love a solid blue-black so will have no trouble using the vintage Parker, presuming it's still vaguely blue-black.  Sometimes they fade to other interesting things; I have a vintage black that's faded to a lovely grey full of shading.

 

We shall see when it comes.

 

If anybody cares, I can try and take pictures of my poor stained pen for before and after.  The hood being blue doesn't ruin the pen; it's still a beautiful irridescent white swirl, and writes like a fountain - a huge broad nib that pours ink generously.  Writes like a Sharpie.  Lovely pen, but I'm fond of 51's and of the Kullock work.

 

I may have to start recording better what I'm inking what pen with, just so I can make notes on how they clean.  I had some blue ink in a Snorkel that I was afraid would be a devil to get out, and it flushed right clean.  I had some ordinary black ink in a Vacumatic that's been just terrible to clean out.  Who's black ink?  Pilot?  Aurora?  Diamine?  I don't remember.  (It's not Noodler's, I don't have any Noodler's Black.)

 

Thanks again for the helpful list of things to try to unstain a pen!

 

[Misfit]

@Lou Erickson before and after photos would be helpful to all of us. So yes please to the photo of the blue ink staining. 

[USG]

This is after multiple week long soaks with Koh-I-Noor Rapido-Eze.  Oct/23

 

 

 

I tried a few fills of Quink with Solv-X and Sailor Doyou. 

 I've lost count of how many fills with water, trying to get all the Doyou out of the feed.  It starts off clear and after a few days lit looks like this....

 

 Doesn't it look like the Quink and Doyou have stained the piston?  

 

I haven't had ink in this pen for 2 years.

 

I'm going to go back to Rapido-Eze and see if it cleans the piston...

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, USG said:

This is after multiple week long soaks with Koh-I-Noor Rapido-Eze.  Oct/23

Thanks for this report.  I was pondering buying Rapido-Eze.  I've just ordered R&K Reiniger because I'm tired of using my Penmanship and don't want to stain my Prera...   No testing yet (Reiniger hasn't even arrived yet).  I'll be interested to know whether the Rapido-Eze unstains your piston.

 

Have you used an ultrasonic cleaner for any of this?  Also, what ink left the blue stain?

[Lou Erickson]

On 9/5/2025 at 5:56 PM, Misfit said:

@Lou Erickson before and after photos would be helpful to all of us. So yes please to the photo of the blue ink staining. 

As requested, here's a before: No after yet!

Here's the whole pen; you can see the body is the unstained color where the hood is blue.

 

Here's a close up of the hood.

 

And the ink that will hopefully magically clean it!

[USG]

On 9/6/2025 at 1:31 AM, LizEF said:

Thanks for this report.  I was pondering buying Rapido-Eze.  I've just ordered R&K Reiniger because I'm tired of using my Penmanship and don't want to stain my Prera...   No testing yet (Reiniger hasn't even arrived yet).  I'll be interested to know whether the Rapido-Eze unstains your piston.

 

Have you used an ultrasonic cleaner for any of this?  Also, what ink left the blue stain?

 

Rapido Eze is a very effective cleaner but unfortunately not for the stains in my OMAS 360 demonstrator.

 

To recap: This was the initial condition.

 

 

After initial soakings with Rapido Eze , I tried a few fills with Quink with Solv-X and then a few fills with Sailor DoYou.

 

The result was a heavily stained piston. 

 

Here it is with a fill of Rapido Eze to clean out the stains from the cleaning inks.

 

 

Now: the pen after 2 Rapido Eze soaks, & with a 3rd Rapido Eze fill in place.  The top of the piston is fairly clean but the initial stain remains.

 

 

[LizEF]

10 hours ago, USG said:

Now: the pen after 2 Rapido Eze soaks, & with a 3rd Rapido Eze fill in place.  The top of the piston is fairly clean but the initial stain remains.

Wow!  That is some serious stain!  Hope something manages to get it out for you.  (Thanks for the detailed report.)

[Lou Erickson]

Well, I've loaded that P51 with Quink with Solv-X, and written it try; took about three days of my usual journaling because it's a broad nib and uses a lot of ink.  Is that enough time to clean it or should I re-ink it and let it rest for a week or two?

 

The other suggestions for ink happened by on Gouletpens.com and pushed me over $100 for free shipping, so I now have all three of the inks commonly suggested by folks around here.

 

Despite being made 80-odd years apart, the Quink bottle and the Sailor bottle are exactly the same height.