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Does anyone know what's happened to my TWSBI 580ALR?


R77C

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I only purchased it late last year, and finally got through a barrel of ink last week. So I did my usual flushing etc and filled it with some new ink. Afterwards I started noticing some condensation above the piston which was never there before and two rather strange anomalies. Firstly there appears to be a droopy Prussian blue stained area above the piston. This makes no sense to me as it's exactly the same colour as the pen, is a different colour to the ink I filled it with so must be linked to the pen somehow. 

 

Secondly, both seals above and below the actual head of the piston look rather strange...

 

Any help is appreciated. 

 

 

IMG_20210530_152732_2.jpg

IMG_20210530_152741_2.jpg

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Looks like some condensation behind the piston. Likely do to some vigorous piston movement during the cleaning. The droopy Prussian blue spot is probably just water trapped awkwardly.
 

I Agree with above: Get the instructions and the wrench and dry it out and apply some of the silicone lube twsbi includes. 
Should be fine.

(At least i assume they include lube and a wrench with the 580… they do with the eco…)

 

 no need to worry. Your pen Will be fine :) 

Just give me the Parker 51s and nobody needs to get hurt.

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I agree with other posters who think a bit of water has gotten behind the piston seals - which is easily fixed, if you're game to use the included wrench to remove the piston from the rear of the pen.  From there, it should be fairly easy to dry the interior of the barrel, apply some silicone to the surface (sides) of the piston seal, and reassemble.

 

My only advice in this would be to avoid tampering with the piston mechanism - the aluminium parts are coated with a different kind of lubricant (not the silicone included with the pen!), and will seize if you regrease it with the wrong stuff!

 

[Sorry I can't be more informative on that latter point: I don't possess a TWSBI 580-AL, only the standard all-plastic versions - but I've seen this warning posted in quite a few places...]

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you can learn all about it here.

Just give me the Parker 51s and nobody needs to get hurt.

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For what it's worth, I'd leave a pen in pieces to dry overnight.

 

The moisture needs to be FULLY gone before you put it back together or condensation will happen.

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7 minutes ago, sirgilbert357 said:

For what it's worth, I'd leave a pen in pieces to dry overnight.

 

The moisture needs to be FULLY gone before you put it back together or condensation will happen.

Excellent idea.

Just give me the Parker 51s and nobody needs to get hurt.

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Thanks to all for the very informative replies - I will take the pen apart and make sure it dries properly 😀

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  • 4 weeks later...

In agreement with all above, it's moisture that has made it past the piston seal due to repetitive vigorous movement over time wearing away the silicone grease that would've been put on there at the time of manufacture to keep that seal tight and the movement smooth. 

 

You need to take out your instructions, wrench, silicone grease and some cotton buds, ideally watch a video on doing a full disassembly and reassembly (the guys at Goulet do a great one!) and then go ahead with the process.

Remembering to ensure its *completely* dry before reassembling, which is where cotton buds can help, not just with getting any stubborn bits of ink but also drying quickly and thoroughly if not wanting to purely air-dry.

Plus to only clean off and reapply fresh silicone grease to the piston head. Where it is only needed around the sides and you don't need a thick layer, just light and even.

*Never* apply silicone grease to the piston mechanism/rod as this has a different type of lubricant on it.

 

The type on the piston rod/mechanism is the white bearing grease used to lubricate computer fans, keyboards and other moving components of mechanical equipment.

 

I confirmed my suspicions this was the right stuff/suitable over email with a technician from TWSBI before going ahead with my first repair on my first 580ALR in need of fixing that someone had made the mistake of using silicone grease on the rod of causing it to jam up over a short time after. Requiring me to clean off all remnants of the misplaced silicone grease, dry all these components thoroughly then re-grease the piston rod top to bottom using the bearing grease before reassembling the piston components. Alongside of course having cleaning the rest of the pen thoroughly, including applied a fresh application of silicone grease to the piston head.

 

After reassembly it was working like new! 

 

So the point of the story is that even if the mistake is made regarding silicone grease on the piston rod it can be rectified, don't panic. 

You can easily pick up a little pot of bearing grease, the same size as silicone grease comes, for a few pounds on eBay or I imagine elsewhere too. I was just lucky to have it to hand as my partner and I build/maintain our own computers.

 

I hope the OP's pen is running smoothly now thanks to all the great advice from people above and that this advice is also of help to anyone who happens to pass by in future 😊.  

 

The 580ALR was my first pen I could take apart and it sent me down the rabbit hole of getting into pen tinkering, repair and restoration fairly swiftly by giving me that first step in building my confidence around not just using a pen but maintaining it from the inside out.

It's a wonderful way to get to understand, appreciate, enjoy and love our pens that much more I find! 

 

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