Strange white deposit in my Sheaffer Taranis

[DomInkIk]

Hello,

I have a strange problem with my Sheaffer Taranis pen. When I first got the pen, I inked it with Parker Quink Blue and wrote with it for a while, but I was not planning on using it for some time, so I washed the pen and stored it wet and with converter in it   (now I know this is not the very best idea). Some white stuff grew inside the pen, see the attached photos. I was not able to simply wash it off and it also destroyed my converter - see the third photo. As the inside of the pen was metal and I read some thread about the converter "growing in" the Taranis and then breaking in half while being removed, I thought "it seems like galvanic corrosion, shouldn't have stored it wet I guess" and used the pen without with ink cartridges only (to be on the safe side). But another problems began to promote.

 

First, the pen was clogged. I left it in a glass of water overnight and it helped - a tiny amount of blue ink came out and the white patterns inside the pen seemed to change a bit, but they still did not wash off. But at least the pen was writing.

 

Then another problem: if I insert a cartridge in it uninked - no matter how long I let the pen nib down in a glass or how violently I shake with the pen, it simply refuses to start writing. The only solution is to squeeze the cartridge so that ink drop appears on the nib and the pen writes without problems.

 

But the biggest problem follows: when flushing the pen with the included converter, part of the water just flows out around the converter out of the section and the converter is VERY hard to move - as if something was preventing the flow and part of the water tried to escape through some other way.

 

Now that I have recently read about mold in pens, I was scared my heart almost stopped for a minute. Because the Parker Quink Blue I filled the Sheaffer with (even after this grew inside) was my test ink and each of my pens was inked with it at least once. It was also my ink for signatures and more formal documents, so some pens were filled with it quite often. I was not able to examine the original bottle as I have already used up all the ink, but I was afraid I have spread the mold across all of my pens and inks.

 

I have skimmed through my pens and inks - I will add my observations below not to dilute this post.

 

I would like to ask you if you have any tips on how to put the pen in a good shape again and also whether this is of organic origin or not (should I be afraid to infect my other pens?).

 

Anyway, thank you for any help and I wish you a nice day.

 

[DomInkIk]

Below I add my observations about my other pens and inks. First the inks.

 

I have checked the surface of my inks for any floating particles – except for a few dust particles and a hair here and there, I did not see anything strange inside the bottles – I could clearly see the reflection of my flashlight.

 

I couldn’t spot any sediments in the inks except for the Diamine Rustic Brown – I could not see it clear through the reflection, but it seemed as some sort of “orange lemonade” sediments which you can often see in sweet fizzy drinks when you let them in a shelf for several weeks and the sediment disappeared quite quick when I was trying to study it through the bottom of the bottle. The ink seems fluid.

 

Regarding the smell of the inks – I think it is just a common “chemical” smell, Sailor Shikiori Chushu was a bit more smelly – it seemed to me a bit leather-like. Diamine Sapphire Blue had some stronger chemical smell – I don’t know what to compare it to.

 

Now the pens – I did not check them very thoroughly, but I did have a quick look at the nib and visible part of the feed, also the post part of the feed with surrounding section part where possible, on the “open” part of the converters where possible and on what I could see from the piston (most of the pens were fully inked, so I could see only sides of the piston). I could not see anything strange except for some deposit on my Safari – see the first photo – but I think it was just some crystalised ink as I was able to wipe it off with some wet paper towels and q-tips.

 

I have also noticed some mess in the threads of my Pelikan – see the second picture – but I think it is just common dust with some sweat collected through the use of the pen. There is also some discoloration of the nib – see the third and fourth picture. This has a long origin. First it was some nib creep from Sailor Shikiori Chushu ink. I did not clean it off completely and a bit of grey stuff stayed on the nib and probably “grew in”. Then I had several other inks in the pen and they always formed nib creep over the exact same spot. The spots seemed to turn more white over the time and with washing, but still had some structure. In the end I tried to clean the nib with a toothbrush and jewellery polishing cloth with very little success. The stains were in the end diluted by Diamine Sapphire Blue ink and only a slight discoloration stayed on the nib – it seems it does not have any spatial structure anymore. I had the nib unit unscrewed from the pen and could not spot any other strange behaviour.

 

There is also some super tiny discoloration to the tip of the nib of my another Safari, but this seems as some remnant of welding in the factory.

 

I hope my darlings are all in a good shape (I am very afraid of the possible mold spreading) – thank you for your opinions.

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by eskimo-kidnap

[DomInkIk]

Hello, below I will add some information and photos, hoping that this will start some discussion.

I have examined the internals of the pen more thoroughly.

Inside the cap there seems to be some white film, but only in the deeper parts of the cap:

 

I think that this is some sort of oxidation of the metal, where the darker part closer to the opening is wiped off when pen is inserted into the cap.

Now the section. The white stuff inside cannot be wiped with dry q-tip and can be scratched with toothpick - but it comes off more in a form of dust. Overall it looks as some deposit which was left over after water evaporated:

 

I have also noticed some more organic-like patterns need the feed:

 

see the Y pattern near where the ink cartridge is penetrated? Is it mold, or is it some sort of glue?

I have noticed more traces of probably some glue, see this photo:
 

 

Now to the cleaning process.
I think that both mineral deposits and funghi should be removed/killed by vinegar.

So I think I could use the following approach:

1. soak in 50:50 mixture of white vinegar and water with a few drops of dish detergent (to accelerate penetration) for 20 minutes

2. trying to remove as much mess as I can with q-tips

3. drop the whole section in ultrasound cleaner with disth detergent

4. another soak in vinegar mixture for 20 minutes (as desinfection of the cleansed area)

5. another ultrasound

6. flush with water

7. let air dry for a few days

 

What do you think? Would it be safe with the materials?

Thank you for your reply,

Dominik

[DomInkIk]

OK, so I have managed to remove most of the deposit by soaking in vinegar and scrubbing with q-tips, paintbrush and interdental brush + USG cleaner

However, some of the deposit seems to have come back after the pen dried (basically overnight).

It seems that when it is wet, it is not visible.

I am not sure if there is any mold with such traits, but I haven't heard of such corrosion either...

[inkstainedruth]

Were you using tap water?  Because I'm wondering now if some of the deposits were not mold so much as mineral deposits.  

What is the water like where you live?  Is it hard (lots of minerals) or soft (no deposits, and feels a little soapy when you rinse stuff)?  You can easily tell if it's hard water because you will get stuff build up around your sink taps.

This is why I get so annoyed with people who tell me that I'm blowing stuff out of proportion and that they have flushed their pens for years just with tap water.  Me?  I *know* I live where the water is hard -- and DON'T want those mineral deposits clogging up a nib slit or feed.  So I flush with distilled water.  I can get it at my local grocery store for about the same price as regular bottled water (I can even get cases of three 1 gallon jugs of the stuff).  Takes a long time to go through a gallon, even when mixing up flushing solution (roughly 1 part of either dilute clear ammonia or dilute white vinegar -- depending on whether the ink is pH neutral/alkaline, or acidic (iron gall inks are low pH) to about 9 parts distilled water, plus a drop of Dawn dish detergent (the British equivalent to Dawn is apparently a brand called Fairy -- don't know about for other places).

I'm thinking that your issue might be mineral deposits because the photos people have posted about SITB (slime in the bottle, aka mold) tends to be more of a goo).  

Unfortunately if it IS mineral deposits, I'm not sure of what the best remedy would be (and I don't own an ultrasonic cleaner).  Hopefully someone who's more skilled with pen repair will chime in and give you better advice on how to proceed.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DomInkIk]

Thank you Ruth for your reply! No, we don't have many problems with hard water - of course there are some deposits in the shower, but I guess that is quite common. I've checked local water treatment company for info, they have an interactive map and it says that hardness of water in my area should be 1.17 mmol/l, which is considered as "moderately hard" water.

 

But I am glad that I have a second opinion on the origin of the stains. I am also inclined more to the mineral deposit variant, but I was not sure and I definitely did not want to risk infecting other pens.

In this photo you can clearly see a "path" made by some sort of flow in the stain (near the bottom of the picture), which I think mold should not do.

 

I am really suspecting galvanic corrosion here. The area around the post part of the feed seems as some yellowish metal - probably brass, whereas the most stained part of the section is made of some silver material. If this material is aluminium, then galvanic corrosion is definitely an option. I guess that the flow pattern in the deposit would fit it too. But I am wondering why there aren't more users complaining about the issue - if it was a common issue, it would probably be known on the internet by now... Maybe is only my pen somehow defective?

 

When I was cleaning the pen, some sort of transparent and blue colored (probably from the ink) paint or plastic peeled off from the inside. Maybe the metals were protected with some transparent coating to prevent this issue, but the coating failed in my case?

 

I am seriously thinking of covering the inner metal with some sort of transparent acrylic paint, but I am afraid I would ruin the pain. I keep this option as last resort.

 

P.S: how do you keep the distilled water from going bad? Can it last in the fridge for a few months?

Edited August 4, 2021 by eskimo-kidnap
added P.S.

[inkstainedruth]

I just leave the open (but capped) jug in the bathroom next to the sink, and don't really worry about it beyond that.  I'm only using a small amount at a time, pouring it into the container I use for soaking and flushing pens (a cheap, straight-sided votive candle holder), then recapping the jug immediately.  And the un-opened jugs in the hallway outside the bathroom.  It's not like it's sterilized water (which we have some of for changing the dressings on my husband's sutures when he had major reconstructive surgery this past spring, including repairing two hernias (those wounds have been taking a long time to heal, and having the sutures come open early didn't help).  

I wouldn't have room in my fridge for a gallon jug of distilled water anyway -- where would all the yogurt containers go?  (I buy yogurt either by the case at Sam's Club, or in bulk at the grocery store when it's on sale, and with my husband working from home, we tend to go through at least a couple dozen containers a week of the 150 gram size containers; and we don't necessarily like the same flavors, either -- so I have to have Mango for him so he doesn't eat up all the Coconut or pineapple flavors and he won't touch Peach or Strawberry Banana...).  

No Burn Notice jokes from anyone, okay?  We've probably already thought of them....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DomInkIk]

Thank you - I was really afraid of the water going bad like in a week when opened. And constant disputes for space in the fridge kept me of buying some