Easiest Non Invasive Way To Remove Sac And Shellac Remnants?

[Spartcom5]

I am very new to restoring pens and am only starting on lever fills. I have removed the section from the barrel of the pen and ran into this situation. Much of the sac with shellac is still on the section. I saw a video where a guy scraped at is with a razor to remove the large chunks and then got some very fine emery cloth and cleaned up the small amount remaining. Well, I scraped at it and honestly it isn't budging. What should I do to remove this going forward? The blade worked nicely on another pen but inevitably left marks on the plastic underneath.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Spartcom5

[praxim]

You need a clean edge but not a fine blade to chip that off; a scraper, not a cutter. A dental pick or similar can help start the process. Scrape and chip patiently, finish with fine grit. It is often preferable to clamp or wedge-support either the pen or the tool, so you have fine control of angle, movement and pressure.

[Greenie]

I use a dental tool called a Beale carver - really cheap on ebay. The point end is good for chipping away at the hard sac to chip most of it off the section. I have several, and some I have bent the end a bit and use them to chip at sac stuck to the inside of the barrel as well. The other end is rounded, which I more commonly use inside the barrel. Once it is mostly gone, I use the flat file from a needle file set which does more to flake off the remaining stubborn bits.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Greenie

[Spartcom5]

Is it okay if I scrape the plastic a little in the process? Would it be advantageous to heat it up with a hairdryer before? Or is that dangerous for some pens?

Edited July 12, 2019 by Spartcom5

[Greenie]

It is not a problem to scrape the hard rubber underneath. No one will see it and it won't cause any problems.

[peterg]

I use a fairly sharp penknife for rubber on the section, scraping across rather then cutting into.

 

For the barrel I use a variety of tools - dental pick, long screw and rod. The pick and screw draw most of an intact sac out while the rod crunches it to powder to pour out. The real challenger is decomposed, semi liquified sac which sticks inside the barrel

[pen lady]

I use the same methods and tools that Peterg describes + for those lovely gummy gooey sacs, a long fine crochet hook works wonders.

[praxim]

Is it okay if I scrape the plastic a little in the process? Would it be advantageous to heat it up with a hairdryer before? Or is that dangerous for some pens?

 

Is it plastic rather than hard rubber? Unfortunately, the answer lies somewhat uninformatively as "it is up to you to apply the right pressure with the right implement at the right angle." As others have also commented, you are basically trying to scrape off or break up a crud layer rather than cut it away so I reiterate that you want a clean edge rather than a sharp blade, if you see the distinction. The dried sac will separate from the layer below, which should be hard rubber. I am not aware that heat would help. I have never tried it for that purpose.

[Spartcom5]

Thank you guys, I will try again later on and see how I fare!

[siamackz]

I keep that part standing in a shallow bowl of water for a few hours and then scrape easily with a dental pick or pen knife. Be careful when doing the final cleaning with micromesh or emery cloth, you want to just clean the surface and not take off too much material by mistake. Finally, some of those section nipples where the sac goes on are delicate and can break - so be careful no to dig too deep or crack it.

 

All the best!

[Paul80]

I suppose you could soak the nipple in denatured alcohol/mathylated Spirit to soften the old shellac or just scrape it of as said above.

 

Paul

[PaulS]

quote from reply No. 10 ........................ "Finally, some of those section nipples where the sac goes on are delicate and can break - so be careful no to dig too deep or crack it."

Very true - I've broken at least one in recent times - make sure you leave the feed in place within the section, as it helps support the nipple whilst you remove the sac remnants. Most old sac remains have turned into a sort of vitrified state, and I agree chipping off the remains from the nipple is usually the best way - but as with most things common sense should help to decide which method best. I'd be wary of using a knife, but with care shouldn't be a problem.

[Spartcom5]

Well guys I got it. Cleaned up very well! Once it started chipping it went smoothly! Just had to get it started with a sharp point. Thanks for the advice. The J bar put up one hell of a fight but that's a different story...

[PenFisher]

I'm late to the party ... glad OP was successful. FWIW here's a tool that I got years ago (from Richard Binder's site) that has been perfect for removing sac remnants in such cases.

 

[Honeybadgers]

I've just been very careful with a razor blade and stopped short of the section and finished going down to the section with 800 grit sandpaper.

[Seele]

If the sac has gone really brittle, I can chip it off bit by bit with my thumb nail until there's very little left, then I would proceed to use tools and emery paper/nail buffing sticks to finish the job.

[tmenyc]

I always start with an old Swiss army knife's small blade, which is well leveraged but not particularly sharp, to get under an edge of the dried shellac and pull the chip off. Then, to the greatest possible extent, I use my thumbnail. It's quite strong and chips each piece away really well, and of course you can feel what you're doing. Then I scrape it clean with the same knife blade. Never a sharp blade, never with pushing force. Always pull, not push. If you pull you won't go through the sac nipple wall.

 

Tim