Flushing pens

As I play with various inks, I find myself flushing my pens more than I had originally hoped. As a result, I've been looking for a better solution to this task. I recently came across, and decided to order (although it hasn't arrived yet), some J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush (http://www.richardspens.com/?page=accessories/penflush.htm). Has anyone tried this or have any experience? I searched FPN and found very little practical advice/opinion; it was mostly Richard Binder touting it...

Thanks for your assistance

I think it would be a good idea, since you've ordered it, to be Our Man In Virginia and report back on the performance of said product. Obviously, there is some controversy about pen cleaning, as I've been told my customer service reps to use nothing but water, other who advise a mix of IPA and water, and some in on-line forums who think straight white vinegar is best. Personally, I flush with water and soak with a bit of water and alcohol if the pen is sluggish to feed or fill. So, you tell us what you think of this, and maybe you can get a handle on what's in it.

EDIT: I don't use old pens so alcohol is likely not a a problem; in 15+ years of pen ownership I've not had any issues with finishes (lacquer as well as celluloid and plastic/acrylic). Since I keep most of my pens empty, anyway, flushing is rare, and the concentration of alcohol is low. I have used ammonia occasionally, as well - I just think the alcohol works better. YMMV.

Yikes! No alcohol, no vinegar. Really. Bad advice there. You want alkaline if anything, never acid! Alcohol will discolor many pen finishes.

Use a solution of ammonia and water (1:10) if you have a problem, straight water for flushing.

If you have some super stubborn ink or some fool put art ink (India ink) into a fountain pen then use Koh-I-Noor Rapido-Eze Pen Cleaner and follow the directions.

Haven't tried the product in the OP post.

I will certainly let the other members of the "team" know how this turns out. I'm hopeful that the Pen Flush is all it's cracked up to be...

I thought this was a thread about pens for sale in Flushing, and I'd have an excuse to have lunch with Jim. Darn.

I just did my first flush of my Pilot Vanishing Point. I wanted to put some Private Reserve Midnight Blues ink into the converter. I ran cold water and after emptying out most of the ink into a paper towel I ran the nib under the water while I rotated the converter back and forth until the water ran clear. I'm not sure how I did getting all the water out but the ink seems to be ok so I'll consider it a success.

nemo said:

Yikes! No alcohol, no vinegar. Really. Bad advice there. You want alkaline if anything, never acid! Alcohol will discolor many pen finishes.

Use a solution of ammonia and water (1:10) if you have a problem, straight water for flushing.

If you have some super stubborn ink or some fool put art ink (India ink) into a fountain pen then use Koh-I-Noor Rapido-Eze Pen Cleaner and follow the directions.

Haven't tried the product in the OP post.

Click to expand...

This is basically what I do. I havent used anything more special than that. I should try to pick something up for things like Baystate Blue. That can be a bit stubborn to get rid of.

Here's a method for flushing cartridge converter pens that I picked up from none other than Brian Goulet.

http://www.inknouveau.com/2010/04/ink-nouveau-22-flushing-fountain-pen.html
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/03/shake-that-converter.html

Those were helpful links, Matt! Thanks!

I started to use my pen but had left too much water inside and was getting puddles when I used it. I went ahead and dumped what was in the converter and even though I don't have a bulb, yet, I was able to do a much better job of flushing AND drying the nib and the inside before I added some more ink.

Much better!

orchestrion said:

Here's a method for flushing cartridge converter pens that I picked up from none other than Brian Goulet.

http://www.inknouveau.com/2010/04/ink-nouveau-22-flushing-fountain-pen.html
http://www.inknouveau.com/2011/03/shake-that-converter.html

Click to expand...

I was going to point out the same Goulet technique re the rubber bulb. I went out and immediately bought one as soon as I came across Brian's video on using one to flush. Excellent idea. The bulb is nice in part because since the whole thing is a fairly soft rubber you can get a decent seal of the tip against the inside of the pen and you do not have to worry about harming any delicate pen part with the tip.

I usually use a little ammonia in the water I flush any pen with, although I also rinse everthing out thoroughly with pure water after running the ammonia solution through.

It has always amazed me just how much water it takes to thoroughly flush a pen out, and some pens seem to hold a larger reservoir of ink internally than others do. In particular, some of these inexpensive, heavy Chinese pens I have and like quite a bit really seem to retain a lot of ink down stream of the converter. Using a rubber bulb is a tremendous help in getting the water to finally run clear!

Lukewarm water is all I've ever used. I usually remover the converter and hold the remainder under a running stream, or occasionally unscrew the nib to flush it out. Definitely will try the bulb syringe method.

I do not use my pens often enough but when I flush them, I use water. I wonder what the special blend of surfactants is....

Al raz.

For some pens, especially the chinese pens the nib & feed assembly is friction fit. This means that they can be pulled out and pushed back into place. Now you need to ensure alignment on reassembly, but cleaning is a breeze disassembled. Make sure you look closely at it to start for how far back the nib is on the feed. The other issue is that the feed has a channel on top of it that needs to be lined up with the nib slit. When I do a thorough cleaning I remove the nibs & feeds for the friction fit assemblies. It saves a lot of work.

Rick

Thanks everyone!!!

strop said:

Lukewarm water is all I've ever used. I usually remover the converter and hold the remainder under a running stream, or occasionally unscrew the nib to flush it out. Definitely will try the bulb syringe method.

Click to expand...

+1

I use luke warm water as well for my flushings. If I want to "store the pen" so to speak, I use the Ammonia/Water solution of 1:10 and then follow that up with warm water. THEN, i let the pen dry nib down in a bowl of toilet paper to wick away all the moisture.