Issue with TWSBI Vac Mini

[Musicfan1007]

Hi everyone! I bought this TWSBI Vac Mini back in November of 2021 (so almost exactly a year ago). Its had 3 different inks in it (Monteverde California Teal, Noodler’s Black Eel, and Noodler’s Cactus Fruit Eel) and every single ink has leaked into the end cap knob at the end of the pen (I don’t know the official name for this piece). The Monteverde ink was the first ink I ever used and that’s when the whole issue started. Is this normal? If so how can I clean the old ink out and prevent this in the future? Any help or guidance would be appreciated. I’ve looked online for help and can’t seem to find anything for this specific issue. I have used silicone grease to help seal up any threads and lubricant the o-rings but that doesn’t seem like it helped. I contacted the company where I bought it from and they said it seemed like a manufacturer issue and to email TWSBI but then I emailed TWSBI and they said this was normal. For a $65 pen, this is really irritating to me because aesthetically it looks horrible and I’m afraid it could damage the metal inside the piece as well in the long run. If I can get ideas how to fix this or a potential solution I would be elated. I really do like this pen and love the 2 Ecos I have as well. I was wanting the TWSBI Vac Iris but I sure don’t want to pay $80-$85 for a pen and it do the same thing this one is doing. This doesn’t affect the performance of the pen, but I’m particular about keeping my pens clean and this drives me insane! 😅 I have 2 other vacuum fillers but the end cap knobs are opaque so I don’t know if this is just a common issue with vac fillers. 

Thanks in advance!

[jchch1950]

Normal to have ink in the finial ?

[Musicfan1007]

9 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

Normal to have ink in the finial ?

That’s what TWSBI told me in the email. I sent pictures so they had to have seen the issue I was having. 🤷🏻‍♀️ This was their response: “It is normal for a little ink to get in the end cap every now and then.  You dont need to worry about that.  Just remember to grease the rubber piston and the metal rod every now and then.  That will prevent anything from being damaged overtime by old ink and keep the mechanism running smoothly.”

[inkstainedruth]

That doesn't sound "normal" to me.  That sounds like a design flaw....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Azulado]

Put the piece in a pair of socks and use the spin cycle of the washing machine. It may sound crazy, but I did it a few days ago on a Platinum Preppy and it works. The piece is safe inside the socks.

Probably not all the ink will come out, but a lot of it will. If you put the piece in a glass of water will it dilute the ink? After several cycles, maybe the ink residue will be quite diluted. At that point, leave the piece for a few days until the liquid evaporates.
I needed 48 hours for the diluted ink to disappear from the Platinum Preppy feed.
Once you get the ink out, consider how to prevent ink from getting back in. Probably by applying silicone grease in the right place.