Pen Flush (Goulet)

I saw the Goulet Pen Flush solution and wondering if this is necessary or if there is a specific time you would or should use it?

I have been using distilled water and have not had any issues that I know of. I usually leave the distilled water in my pens overnight when switching inks, especially my vintage Esterbrooks because I notice that helps draw out some more of the ink. I also don't know how this flush solution might react with the sac?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

I find my pens clean out easily with water. I just use tap water and if I have a really stubborn clog or feed issue I use an ammonia solution (approx. 10%)
I always go on the conservative side as far as chemicals go, water is the world's #1 solvent.
That's a good idea about leaving water in the Estie sacs, I've done that with various pens, too.

Water has been sufficient for me, also!

flush solutions are typically water and a mix of ammonia, detergents, surfactants and maybe alcohol.

if you want to make your own, 10:1 water:ammonia is the basic, bare bones - plain ammonia, no sudsy, no lemon. clean with water first, so the chemical mix is only working on stuff that water doesn't clean, i.e., the stuff that needs the chemicals. and rinse with after afterwards.

if you want to go fancy, you can add some dishwashing detergent, e.g., dawn. and some surfactant, e.g., photoflo. You can steal dawn from the wife and if you were ever into photography and developing your own film, you probably have a bottle of photo-flo left over from the 90s (2.35 from dave' photo, 1992).

2% soap and 1/2% photo-flo are what I've used and it works well for me, when needed (not often).


for cleaning esties, i typically unscrew the nib and squirt out the sac with a plastic syringe, it's just quicker for me; and then I soak the nib and/or use the nose bulb.

Goulet has a video on their flush solution. I usually just use plain water, but sometimes that doesn't quite get vintage or neglected pens clean enough. I use original Windex on really stubborn pens, some times straight, some times diluted. Works great.

nortac said:

I use original Windex on really stubborn pens, some times straight, some times diluted. Works great.

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Don't use Windex on vintage pens, there are many horror stories out there of celluloid deterioration and other problems. Glass cleaners contain alcohol and other chemicals besides ammonia.

I keep a jar of homemade pen flush around but rarely use it. My mixture is plain water, a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid and a splash of plain household ammonia. 90% of the time, plain water will thoroughly clean my pens. Once I have a pen in my rotation, it never gets put away for an extended period with ink still in it, so a simple flushing is all that's needed.

However, when I find vintage pens that have been left filled with ink in desk drawers for years or decades(!), they'll usually take more than simple water to clean out the dried-up gunk. I do start with plain water though, and work on the pen for several days if necessary. Only then do I use the pen flush if H2O doesn't do the job. I do not let the pen soak in the solution for an extended time, and with some materials, such as hard rubber and old celluloid, I'm even hesitant to soak the pen with plain water, as it can cause discoloration.

One thing that has greatly facilitated the cleaning of vintage pens is the use of an ultrasonic cleaner. In just a few minutes, nibs, feeds, and other parts can be safely cleaned of dried-up ink and crud.

I have their pen flush, but rarely use it. It comes in handy when cleaning out my neglected pens, seeing that I have 10 inked at all times and some go months without a cleaning (I know its horrible).
Also helps when I use my 1670 rouge hematite. That stuff is great but sometimes its hard to clean, but I have a dedicated Konrad with Goulet 1.1mm in right now.
Also, bulletproof inks, my favorites, can leave a blackish hue on the pen parts.
I fully disassemble my pens at every cleaning and relube them, so its not that important to have a flush.
From time to time I still use it because when I clean my pens I use tap water. Although I don't think I have very hard water, the flush helps to prevent any kind of minerals from hanging around in there, but I mostly just soak the parts for an hour or so.
In the end it's up to you.
As others have said its fairly easy to make your own with some ammonia and dawn, but I bought it early on when I ddidnt know it was so easy to make.
Good luck and let us know what you decide and if u get it, how it worked for you.

I have an us cleaner that i use for pen nibs etc.. Really impressed at how well it cleans w water and dawn.
Was impressed in cleaning a dried out carene, lots of ink came out of that and flows nicely now.

Thanks everyone for the info!

nemo said:

Don't use Windex on vintage pens, there are many horror stories out there of celluloid deterioration and other problems. Glass cleaners contain alcohol and other chemicals besides ammonia.

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Thanks for the heads up, I will certainly cease and desist!

I've found Goulet's pen flush to help me clean mild staining from when I left some Noodler's NAV without cleaning for . . . too long.