Jump to content

Parker '51' Clear Vac: Will Staining Be An Issue?


PhilProf

Recommended Posts

Recently I lucked upon a Parker '51' vacumatic clear (4th quarter '48) in a junktique store. I use all my pens and assumed I would use this one as well, but after a thorough cleaning, diaphragm replacement and hood re-shellacing (with clear shellac) I am looking at a very clean pen. WHile it shows its age, I'm not sure I can bring myself to stain it.

 

Granted, the pen had clearly been used--I cleaned green ink out of the collector fins--and shows little signs of discoloration, so my first thought was I should be fine with a 'safe' ink, as its original user hadn't harmed it. But is that really the case? Would the acrylic have aged in a way that makes it more prone to stain now?

 

Does anyone have firsthand experience of the cleanability of such a pen? Any tips or advice? Whether I ink it or not, I want to make an informed decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 12
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • PhilProf

    4

  • CheapSkate

    3

  • PAKMAN

    1

  • SoulSamurai

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Interesting I have a Parker 51 special in very dark green verging on Black.

If your confident that ultrasonic cleaner will not damage a pen in question- they are great for shifting grime and ink with a little dish soap.

 

I found this with Sheaffer permanent ink that wouldn’t flush out- ultrasonic cleaner and a little dish soap.

 

Flushed with clean water after

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CheapSkate, no ultrasonic on this one (yet). Just a lot of soaking and wiping down the ink chamber. But it is good to know that may be an option should I stain it.

Edited by PhilProf
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the show to accompany the tell.

Possibly see what inks people are using with demonstrators, as long as non permanent Water based should be okay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CheapSkate, no ultrasonic on this one (yet). Just a lot of soaking and wiping down the ink chamber. But it is good to know that may be an option should I stain it.

I found it as my partner has jewellery, its a cheap model- nothing fancy, however it does highlight how poor a bulb flush can be.

 

To give an example 10 minutes soaking a pen and flushing- ultrasonic cleaner looks looks plume of ink out of the nib.

 

I had particularly difficult time on a Taga 1001 that I thought was clean and left brown stains occasionally prior to ultrasonic cleaning.

 

Ps. Nice pen you have there

Edited by CheapSkate
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stick with super easy inks on that. Waterman. Stick with Waterman.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blue Quink or most Waterman inks should do well. DON'T put Waterman purple in there it stains badly in my experience.

PAKMAN

minibanner.gif                                    Vanness-world-final.png.c1b120b90855ce70a8fd70dd342ebc00.png

                         My Favorite Pen Restorer                                             My Favorite Pen Store

                                                                                                                                Vanness Pens - Selling Online!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovely pen, thanks for the photos. Consider Noodler's Blue Ghost. Even if it stains, the stain will be invisible under normal light!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pelikan, MB, Herbin, old classic inks....no red, nor purples.

More than likely old Parker and Sheaffer inks also.

 

I wouldn't put any supersaturated inks in it....including Parker Penmann inks, much less Noodlers.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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
      33644
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26857
    5. jar
      jar
      26125
  • 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...