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View Full Version : Parker 45 section got wrinkled after a soak



Avastgard
August 8th, 2013, 07:01 AM
I have a vintage Parker 45 that was inked up with black Compactor ink. I don't think any of you know Compactor inks, but this one is terrible. It's highly saturated, has no shading at all, bleeds like hell and feathers like there's no tomorrow. The only reason I use it is because it was the first ink I got for my fountain pens (before I knew which inks were good and stuff).

Since I still have some of this ink left, I am trying to get rid of it with the only pen I have in which it flows reasonably well, which is my vintage Parker 45. This pen was left inked up for a long time with just a little bit of ink left, until I decided to flush it. As I said, the Compactor black ink is highly saturated and it clogs really bad to the pens. Because of that, I had to leave the nib, the section and the cartridge in a 3 day soak in tap water, regularly changing the water at least twice a day.

The thing is that when the ink finally seemed to be dissolved, I got the pieces out and found out that the section's plastic (or resin, I'm not sure what it is made of) surface was deformed (wrinkled). Luckily it didn't affect the pen's functionality, as it can still be capped normally, but I am really upset, because this pen has great sentimental value to me. Not only it was my first vintage pen, but it also belonged to my grandfather. The engraving says that someone gave it to him as a birthday gift in 1967.

I would like to know what caused these wrinkles. If it had anything to do with the ink or if it's because of the type of plastic/resin that is used in the pen.

4513
4514
4515
4516

Sorry for the bad quality. My phone camera is horrible.

tandaina
August 8th, 2013, 07:54 AM
Pictures? I'm curious as well!

Avastgard
August 8th, 2013, 08:40 AM
I added the pictures on the first post. You probably can't see anything wrong because of the horrible quality of the images, but if you look closely to the second and third ones, you can compare the light reflection on the barrel (smooth and straight) and on the section (wavy because of the wrinkles).

Paul-H
August 8th, 2013, 08:41 AM
Was it hot water or cold. Cant think of any reason just plain old cold tap water would do this to Plastic which is what the 45 is made of.

Paul

KrazyIvan
August 8th, 2013, 08:45 AM
Unless there was an ink reaction.

Avastgard
August 8th, 2013, 08:57 AM
It was cold (room temperature) tap water. The weird thing is that the plastic on the nib didn't suffer any alterations.

Upon closer inspection, I can now see that it looks like there is some kind of film over the plastic of the section, and it is as if this film was starting to somehow loosen, forming blists/bubbles. When I press the wrinkles, they kind of move. Can you understand what I mean?

KrazyIvan
August 8th, 2013, 09:59 AM
almost as if it had cellophane over it with water trapped underneath?

Avastgard
August 8th, 2013, 10:27 AM
Yes, but without water trapped under it. Just a moving cellophane thing.

Actually, now that some time has passed after I removed it from the water, it seems that the section has hardened again. There's nothing moving anymore, but the wrinkles remained. A mistery indeed...

cedargirl
August 9th, 2013, 01:15 AM
I'm not sure what causes it, but it is not uncommon to find Parker 45s with signs of plastic shrinkage in the bottom part of the section.

Avastgard
August 9th, 2013, 08:25 AM
By 'bottom' do you mean closer to the nib or closer to the barrel?

cedargirl
August 9th, 2013, 05:39 PM
Sorry - bottom as you write - closer to the nib. If you do a search on the forums you will see it mentioned quite a bit. Of my six, one came to me with wrinkles. As I say, I don't know what causes it. I didn't think that type of plastic was affected by water.

Avastgard
August 10th, 2013, 03:58 PM
Update: by now most of the wrinkles are gone (and I did nothing, just let the pen sit with the cap on), but there still are some stains in a lighter shade of blue on the bottom of the section (near the nib). I suspect these will never go away.

Annie
August 14th, 2013, 04:18 PM
Can you post a repeat photograph now things have dried out a bit? Also, I wouldn't leave it with the cap on for the moment. Maybe leave it without the cap and stand it nib down in a cup with scrunched up kitchen paper in the bottom.

Avastgard
August 14th, 2013, 08:09 PM
You people and your pictures... Just kidding. I'll post them later (if by some miracle I manage to take some in which you can actually see the section). For now I'm gonna follow your advice about the kitchen paper. Let's see how that works out.

79spitfire
August 14th, 2013, 08:32 PM
You people and your pictures... Just kidding. I'll post them later (if by some miracle I manage to take some in which you can actually see the section). For now I'm gonna follow your advice about the kitchen paper. Let's see how that works out.

I've heard that placing cell phones that have gotten wet in a bowl of dry rice will get all the water out, and let the phone start working again. Perhaps you could try it with this pen, what could you possibly loose??

ac12
August 15th, 2013, 12:23 AM
I understand that a problem with the P45s in general is that the cap applies pressure to the section when the pen is capped. And over a LONG period of time, this can distort the plastic. I have a P45 where the section is distorted. I now store all my P45s with the cap loose on the pen.

On your pictures, I could not see the pen clear enough to see anything.

As for that ink, THROW IT AWAY.
Do NOT use an ink that is NOT fountain pen friendly in a fountain pen.

A pen that has sentimental value should be treated with care, or it could be damaged even further.

Based on what you said about that ink, I would not be surprised if the feed channels are not clogged up with that ink.
I would remove the feed/nib assembly and clean the feed.

Jon Szanto
August 15th, 2013, 01:10 AM
As for that ink, THROW IT AWAY.
Do NOT use an ink that is NOT fountain pen friendly in a fountain pen.
This.

Avastgard
August 16th, 2013, 07:51 AM
You people and your pictures... Just kidding. I'll post them later (if by some miracle I manage to take some in which you can actually see the section). For now I'm gonna follow your advice about the kitchen paper. Let's see how that works out.

I've heard that placing cell phones that have gotten wet in a bowl of dry rice will get all the water out, and let the phone start working again. Perhaps you could try it with this pen, what could you possibly loose??

I don't believe that'll do any good now, since the kitchen paper isn't helping either. Moisture or humidity doesn't seem to be the problem now. I just think that the section will remain with those stains permanently now (which isn't that bad, considering how wrinkled it was before).


I understand that a problem with the P45s in general is that the cap applies pressure to the section when the pen is capped. And over a LONG period of time, this can distort the plastic. I have a P45 where the section is distorted. I now store all my P45s with the cap loose on the pen.

On your pictures, I could not see the pen clear enough to see anything.

How long does that usually take to happen? My P45 has been stored capped for 45 years and that hasn't happened so far.


As for that ink, THROW IT AWAY.
Do NOT use an ink that is NOT fountain pen friendly in a fountain pen.

A pen that has sentimental value should be treated with care, or it could be damaged even further.

I agree with you, I will not use this ink on this pen anymore. I have a Parker IM in which it flows reasonably well (on a more absorbant paper) that'll do the job now. Although this is not a well behaved ink, I wouldn't say this it is not FP friendly, as my P45 has been inked up with it continuously for the last 2 years or so and no problems have occurred untill I decided to soak it.


Based on what you said about that ink, I would not be surprised if the feed channels are not clogged up with that ink.
I would remove the feed/nib assembly and clean the feed.

That's what I did, but apparently soaking the section too wasn't a good ideia (still not sure if just the water caused the wrinkles or the water + bad ink).

Annie
August 16th, 2013, 10:20 AM
Have you tried polishing the stained bits with semichrome? Failing that, I do have a blue 45 section I could let you have. I suppose though, you would rather keep the original if it has sentimental value.

Avastgard
August 16th, 2013, 11:03 AM
No, I haven't (I don't have access to it). But I don't think It'll make any difference, because the stains I mentioned seem to actually be the same blisters from before, only not as deformed as they were.

But, if you really have a spare section in the same shade of blue that you are willing to go, I would really appreciate that! Check you inbox, please.

ac12
August 16th, 2013, 01:56 PM
I understand that a problem with the P45s in general is that the cap applies pressure to the section when the pen is capped. And over a LONG period of time, this can distort the plastic. I have a P45 where the section is distorted. I now store all my P45s with the cap loose on the pen.

On your pictures, I could not see the pen clear enough to see anything.

How long does that usually take to happen? My P45 has been stored capped for 45 years and that hasn't happened so far.

> I do not know, but I have a P45 that has that distortion. So you take your chances if it will or will not distort the plastic.
I now store my P45s with the cap loose.



As for that ink, THROW IT AWAY.
Do NOT use an ink that is NOT fountain pen friendly in a fountain pen.

A pen that has sentimental value should be treated with care, or it could be damaged even further.

I agree with you, I will not use this ink on this pen anymore. I have a Parker IM in which it flows reasonably well (on a more absorbant paper) that'll do the job now. Although this is not a well behaved ink, I wouldn't say this it is not FP friendly, as my P45 has been inked up with it continuously for the last 2 years or so and no problems have occurred untill I decided to soak it.

> If as you said it is a troublesome ink, the fact that you used it for 2 years does not mean that it is good. It just means that you got away with it. If you IM likes that ink, go for it, just keep it out of the P45. Since the P45 is a "special" pen to you, the only ink that you should put in you P45 are known FP friendly inks (Waterman, Parker, Sheaffer, etc.). You do not want to go through this again, and the next time the pen may be damaged.



Based on what you said about that ink, I would not be surprised if the feed channels are not clogged up with that ink.
I would remove the feed/nib assembly and clean the feed.

That's what I did, but apparently soaking the section too wasn't a good ideia (still not sure if just the water caused the wrinkles or the water + bad ink).[/QUOTE]

> Soaking is not cleaning the feed channels. To do that you need to:
1 - Flush clean the section, so you can do #2
2 - Remove the feed/nib assembly (unscrews from the front of the section)
3 - The disassemble the feed/nib assembly
4 - Clean the feed channel, which are VERY TINY groves in the feed.
You need to use a piece of 0.001 inch thick brass sheet to scrape the feed channels clean. You can find the brass sheet at a hobby shop, it is made/packaged by K&S. You must be VERY careful when you clean the feed channel. You do NOT want to scrape it wider than it is, so do not use a knife or anything thick, that will damage the feed channel. And you will likely need to use a magnifying glass to see the feed channels to clean it.

Avastgard
August 16th, 2013, 05:07 PM
Thanks for the tips. I disassembled the nib and feed, and fortunately they were not clogged. Still scrapped them to make sure.