Cleaning Montblancs

[virtuoso]

I own two Montblancs-- a 146 that I purchased in 1980 and a Miles Davis purchased in 2017. Both write beautifully. But both pens are the only pens I own that are horrifying to clean when I am changing inks. I use the usual cleaning methods- commercial ammonia based flushes,Dawn and distilled water. There is always ink left where the nib and feed fit in the body. The only product that really helps is a diluted mixture of distilled water and Rapido-Eze pen cleaner left in for at least thirty minutes. What am I not doing right? Thanks.

 

virtuoso aka Steve

[Padawan]

If it is not a joke:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/335690-water-trapped-in-146/?hl=%2Bpaper+%2Btowel&do=findComment&comment=4045944

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/336319-mb-149-please-advise-on-a-strange-issue/?hl=%2Bpaper+%2Btowel&do=findComment&comment=4056521

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/283075-my-first-146-are-these-issues-normal/?hl=%2Bpaper+%2Btowel

 

I use only warm (abt 30C) reverse osmosis water for cleaning between ink change. Cleaning itself is done according to the manual.

When the water is more or less clean - the pen is placed carefully and gently nib-down on a crumpled paper towel for a couple of hours.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Padawan

[thygreyt]

IF you have the proper tools (can be bought online), then you can take them apart, or at least remove the nib unit. It most certainly helps to speed up and improve quality of the wash.

 

But despite having the tools, i tend to stay with my pens on the same ink for about ~3-4 months.

[Chrissy]

You don't need to buy tools and take your Montblanc piston filling pens apart to clean them. Montblanc do not recommend this in their user instructions.

 

I clean mine just using slightly warm water and flushing it through several times until the water is clean. Then leave the pen nib down in a wad of kitchen towel for a few hours to wick out any remaining liquid, as Padawan says.

 

If there is any ink at the section a moist piece of kitchen towel will soak it up.

 

Even though I have Rapidoeze, I've never used it in any of my Montblancs. Regular pen flush containing ammonia is as strong a chemical as I've ever needed to use for a flush.

[JulieParadise]

[...] If there is any ink at the section a moist piece of kitchen towel will soak it up.

 

As I said in another thread today: If you still have the feeling your pen might not be perfectly clean you might also just fill a cartridge/converter/ink chamber in a piston filler with (lukewarm) water and soak that out into a cloth/towel. This slow method which does not even require much action on your part besides filling with water (if needed: repeatedly) to get the last bit of hidden ink out of almost any pen.

 

(An exception are Pelikan pens that have a second layer of material in their grip section, as seen in a video on the Pelikan's Perch blog.)

[meiers]

You don't need to buy tools and take your Montblanc piston filling pens apart to clean them. Montblanc do not recommend this in their user instructions.

 

I clean mine just using slightly warm water and flushing it through several times until the water is clean. Then leave the pen nib down in a wad of kitchen towel for a few hours to wick out any remaining liquid, as Padawan says.

 

If there is any ink at the section a moist piece of kitchen towel will soak it up.

 

Even though I have Rapidoeze, I've never used it in any of my Montblancs. Regular pen flush containing ammonia is as strong a chemical as I've ever needed to use for a flush.

Words of wisdom. The only pen flush I use is lukewarm water.

[meiers]

I try not to overdo it.

Edited August 6, 2018 by meiers

[Ghost Plane]

Rinse with tap water is enough for me. Maybe in another 50 years mine will need a service. But I’m not going for autoclave levels of sterilization.

[SpecTP]

it depends on the ink. Some inks like blue-black will need to get really flushed. And I have the tool to remove the feed/nib to access and flush the body. Most of the time, a couple of flush with water+dawn and then set on a paper towel will be sufficient.

Edited August 6, 2018 by SpecTP