Stubborn Dried Ink On Nib Slit - How To Remove

[kavanagh]

Dear Colleagues,

 

I purchased this vintage fountain pen from flea-bay and it looked as though the nib was never soaked in soapy water to clean it of ink. I have done this already to remove as much ink as possible from the feed and then soaked it in 1:10 ammonia / water ratio ( the picture of the nib is prior to my cleaning, the nib is now cleaner but the dried ink in the slit is still there )

 

Does anyone know how I can remove this dried ink without harming the tines or feed ?.

Will aluminium foil do the trick ? ( as I don't want to use brass sheets which are harsher ).

Shall I use a stronger Ammonia / water mix or floss the tines ? - I don't have any knowledge about what floss to use or technique.

Thank you.

 

Edited June 17, 2019 by kavanagh

[silverlifter]

Is that just ink, or corrosion?

[sansenri]

try some sodium bicarbonate, rub it in with an old toothbrush, the dried ink seems very stubborn...

 

I use a piece of old photographic film for the flossing, very mild on the nibs

Edited June 17, 2019 by sansenri

[Honeybadgers]

a 10% ammonia solution followed by a LOT of flushing with water will remove all that remains as easily soluble.

 

Follow that with a jewelry polishing cloth. Yes, it's going to take a tiny amount of the surface of the plating off, but if you only do it once, it should be perfectly fine. I've done it to quite a few plated nibs (even ones actively losing their plating) and never had a problem.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[ac12]

If it is HARD dried ink.

Just soak it overnight in PLAIN water, no ammonia. It will gradually dissolve.

It may need repeated soaking.

 

I would use an Ultrasonic Cleaner.

 

If it is a plated nib, as @silver said, it could be corrosion.

Look at it carefully with a 10x loupe.

 

Caution: Ammonia attacks many metals, including gold alloys, so should not be left in for very long.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Caution: Ammonia attacks many metals, including gold alloys, so should not be left in for very long.

 

 

And rinse the bejesus out of it afterwards.

 

That said, 10% household ammonia solution (mixing 10% of household ammonia in 90% water) is not going to attack gold in any hurry though. Household ammonia is about 5%, or 0.7 molar, concentrated is 14-15 molar.

 

Dilute that again by a 1/10 solution and you have a 0.07 molar solution, which is darn near nothing and you're not going to touch the nib with it. Your bigger risk is that it will be more harmful to plastic and ebonite.

Edited June 18, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[sansenri]

If it is HARD dried ink.

Just soak it overnight in PLAIN water, no ammonia. It will gradually dissolve.

It may need repeated soaking.

 

I would use an Ultrasonic Cleaner.

 

If it is a plated nib, as @silver said, it could be corrosion.

Look at it carefully with a 10x loupe.

 

Caution: Ammonia attacks many metals, including gold alloys, so should not be left in for very long.

 

That's why I suggested sodium bicarbonate, it's slightly alcaline but not enough to attack the metal. It's an old remedy for cleaning metal pots and pans, including steel, copper, aluminium, silver, it needs to be made into a paste with a touch of water (housewifes used to add lemon juice to enhance the cleaning power - my grandmother would add sand for very dirty pans - but don't do that with a pen...) and scrub lightly with a brush. Use sparingly then wash, go gradually until you see results. It brings back the shine.

[kavanagh]

Thank you guys for the advice - will try Sodium Bicarbonate

[kavanagh]

a 10% ammonia solution followed by a LOT of flushing with water will remove all that remains as easily soluble.

 

Follow that with a jewelry polishing cloth. Yes, it's going to take a tiny amount of the surface of the plating off, but if you only do it once, it should be perfectly fine. I've done it to quite a few plated nibs (even ones actively losing their plating) and never had a problem.

 

Instead of using jewellery polishing cloth, would it be okay to use a toothbrush and gently apply / scrub the slit with sodium bicarbonate ?.

[welch]

After all this flushing, does the pen write well? If it does, then stop and be happy.

[Bo Bo Olson]

After all this flushing, does the pen write well? If it does, then stop and be happy.

Some old used pens, have old used nibs.....if so and it writes well...don't keep going OCD on it.......

By now, you have taken a toothbrush to it, gold polish cloth and what ever. If it is still there, it will be there. The start of corrosion......no big deal should be able to keep writing with the nib for the next 20-25 years.

 

.....If you go OCD.........the next thing you will find you will be buying new cheap nibs that look good but don't write as good as what you have.

Edited June 22, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[Honeybadgers]

 

Instead of using jewellery polishing cloth, would it be okay to use a toothbrush and gently apply / scrub the slit with sodium bicarbonate ?.

 

No. The bicarb will act like a bit more of an uneven abrasive and could leave scratches, plus the annoying hassle of trying to flush out the particles afterwards that get everywhere in the feed. Just invest a few bucks in a sunshine cloth. It's worth having anyways.

 

I wouldn't go with baking soda when futzing with pens. A toothbrush and the aforementioned 1:10 diluted household ammonia will be safe though.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[rwilsonedn]

The previously mentioned ultrasonic cleaner might be helpful here. But it could also cause further deterioration of whatever is going on in the metal at the end of the section.

ron

[Honeybadgers]

The previously mentioned ultrasonic cleaner might be helpful here. But it could also cause further deterioration of whatever is going on in the metal at the end of the section.

ron

 

 

Probably not. A mild ultrasonic is not going to flake off electroplating that is not already corroded from underneath and about to flake off anyways.