Parker 75 Won’t Write

[bajajoaquin]

I bought a Parker 75 Cisele a little while back and took it gently apart to soak for 36 hours. The layers of ink colors were fascinating. It seemed like you could see the different uses the pen had been put to. 
 

However, I waited to ink it until Christmas and now I find it won’t write after the ink from dipping the nib in the inkwell has been used up. Not sure if the terminology is correct but it seems that it won’t feed. 
 

The pen had the converter, section, and nib/feed apart and soaked in water for a day and a half with frequent water changes. I didn’t want to remove the nib from the feed as I’m not familiar with the details of them. 
 

Any suggestions about what steps I can take to troubleshoot?

[bsenn]

Is it a squeeze converter? Does the converter, by itself, suck up and expel water? Attached to the section will it suck up and expel water?

[Beechwood]

Find yourself a rubber bulb and really work the water through the pen until there is no trace of any old ink.

 

As Bsenn says, check that the converter works properly, does it pull ink through the nib?

 

If it does, then go back to cleaning and flushing. Can you buy ammonia solution where you are, or do you have access to an ultra sonic cleaner?

 

It sounds as if the pen is still gummed up with old ink.

 

[Carrau]

Another vote for soaking and flushing.  Changing nib units is not difficult, however, if I remember correctly, removing the nib from the unit to clean it and the feed in a 75 may require a special tool. Be patient with the soaking and be of good cheer-many on FPN have ended up with good results with this remedy, and so may you.  

[bajajoaquin]

Thanks. 
 

Yes, the bulb sucks ink up into itself when I put it in the inkwell. I’m using Waterman Serenity Blue, rather than something exotic so I limit issues due to ink. 
 

I’ll clean out the ink in it and go back to soaking it. I confess that the nib/feed seemed to clean out faster than the section, so I didn’t soak it as long. I’ll return it to clean for longer. I’ll probably order some pen flush as well. 
 

Thanks again for the suggestions. 

[pajaro]

Check nib alignment?  Other nib issues?

[Kalessin]

Because of the design, it's hard to actually have a blocked passage for the ink.  When you fill the converter with ink (and squirt a few drops out through the nib/section unit afterward) and then try to "write" on a paper towel, does nothing happen?

 

Because of the many fins in the ink collector, squirting out a little ink through the nib/feed/section unit may be needed.

[Beechwood]

Agreed, although the OP reported a history of old ink within the pen.

 

My suggestion remains a good flush until the water runs clear and then fitting a new Parker cartridge with washable blue.

 

My tired old logic is to do the easy stuff first and try to eliminate as many of the potential problem zones before going any further.

[senzen]

A drop of dishwashing liquid in a cup of water can do wonders, I also second bulb syringes; a further trick is to run a thin piece of paper that won't tear or leave fibers between the nib and feed, neither of my two 75s needed it but works great for Rouge Hématite, which gunks up its Muji in a matter of hours.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Thanks.  I’ve been busy with work in the new year and haven’t had a chance to regroup on this. I thought about getting a sonic cleaner but can’t find the post I saw before about recommended options. Can someone direct me to the thread or otherwise make a recommendation?

[bajajoaquin]

On 12/28/2020 at 11:48 AM, Kalessin said:

Because of the design, it's hard to actually have a blocked passage for the ink.  When you fill the converter with ink (and squirt a few drops out through the nib/section unit afterward) and then try to "write" on a paper towel, does nothing happen?

 

Because of the many fins in the ink collector, squirting out a little ink through the nib/feed/section unit may be needed.

I should have read more thoroughly. 

 

when I fill the converter with ink, it writes a bit and then goes dry. It’s like the ink that has filled in the space between the nib and the feed gets used up then nothing else. 
 

I just emptied the ink and flushed it again. I don’t have bulbs yet, but I used a syringe to squirt water at the feed once It was removed from the section. I’ll reassemble and try to get water in there with the feed in the section as well then let it dry and try again before a long soak while the bulbs get here. 

[alexwi]

3 hours ago, bajajoaquin said:

Thanks.  I’ve been busy with work in the new year and haven’t had a chance to regroup on this. I thought about getting a sonic cleaner but can’t find the post I saw before about recommended options. Can someone direct me to the thread or otherwise make a recommendation?

 

Hola Joaquin,

 

For occasional use, pretty much any ultrasonic cleaner in the $30-40 range will do. I got a used one from ebay that's probably 40 years old and works great.

 

Something else that's worth having is a bottle of rapidoeze, which will dissolve any solidified ink in the feed. It helped with an extremely stubborn 75 a couple of years ago.

 

Alex

[bajajoaquin]

Based on some searches here, I found a suggestion for Rapido-EZE, and bought some. While I was waiting for that to arrive, I let the nib and feed soak in water. There was no appreciable ink dissolving out. However, after a day in RE, there’s a lot of ink being dissolved. So progress!

 

I decided against the ultrasonic cleaner for now as some of the threads about them suggested that they can be a bit hard on pen components. I’ll wait to see if I need to do more before going that route. 

[bajajoaquin]

After a full day, I flushed out the pen with water and filled it with Parker Quink (blue black). I don’t care for it that much but I figured I’d go as straight original as I could. Writes great now! Thank you for the help.