Montblanc Midnight Blue Greying over time?

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

Is it just my bottle doing this, or is it a characteristic of this ink? The blueness of the ink goes away within a day or two, and leaves behind a grey-black line. It has happened on all the papers I use. Also, I have checked, it's the non-IG version of the ink ( goes pink when exposed to a basic solution of bleach, then turns yellow, instead of looking like rust on the page)

[rickap]

Hi,

 

Same here. The current formula goes down a dark purplish blue then turns a drab gray. It is almost identical to Pelikan 4001 Blue Black in color and behavior. It does clean very easily from my pens and is a nice flowing ink but I doubt I'll buy another bottle.

 

   Rick

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

If only it went black instead of grey like the old ink...

[amberleadavis]

I was at the MB store and filled from an old bottle of MB Midnight Blue.  It wasn't blue, it was GREY and not an exciting gray either.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

I guess even the dye-based version of the ink reacts with air or cellulose. Montblanc probably succeeded a little too well in preserving the properties of their old, IG version of the ink.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

Huh- it seems the colour of this particular ink changes on adding a base.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

Take a bit of chalk and rub it on the greying words, then wet the area slightly. The grey should turn to something like a burgundy. Adding a mild water-soluble base to the fluid ink ought to also shift the colour, at least until it gets wet again.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

It would be interesting if somebody adds some bases to bits of Oyster Grey and the other Montblanc greys. I suspect they and Midnight blue share a grey component.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

Unfortunately it will not last long.

[amberleadavis]

@IlikeInksandIcannotlieThat is an interesting experiment. Any pictures?

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

It's quite reddish when seen on the page, I don't have a camera capable of representing the colour accurately. It's easy to do, if you're interested, a little bit of baking soda or washing soda in water splashed onto the ink ought to change its colour.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

[amberleadavis]

That looks like a blue gray to me.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

On 7/31/2021 at 1:39 PM, IlikeInksandIcannotlie said:

I apologise for the poor picture, but the left swab has hints of red in it. My camera cannot capture it well. It is most evident at the bottom of the left swatch. The right swatch is fresh midnight blue.