Corrosion inside the Cap (and dent on outside)

[Linkdeath]

I'm in the very beginning of the restoration of my grandfather's Sheaffer Touchdown Tuckaway. My grandfather died 32 years ago, and wrote with the pen until the day he died. It's been sitting in my mom's desk drawer since then, fully loaded with a beautiful blue ink (which I shall identify someday). One thing I've noticed is that the inside of the cap has a very little bit of greenish corrosion inside of it. Does anyone have any recommendations of good ways of cleaning that up?

In addition, there's a small dent in the cap that doesn't affect the utility of the cap. It's about halfway up the cap, far enough to not affect the threads on the cap, but a ways from the end. Is it worth it trying to smooth the dent out? Or should I just leave well enough alone?

Mainly, though, I'd like some suggestions about the corrosion!

[elaineb]

I know you're not supposed to soak metal pen caps in water, because there's a plastic inner cap near the top, and water can get trapped between the two layers and do some damage. Personally I twist up damp paper towels or strips of cloth and feed them into the cap until it's rather densely packed, and then twist the cloth around so that it's wiping the inner surface. You'll need to change the towel frequently if there's a lot of ink coming out. Once it wipes clean, then do the same thing with dry towels/cloth until you're satisfied it's all dry in there.

If there's actual metal corrosion under the ink deposits, then that's another question. If it's not interfering with the cap's function, I'd probably leave it alone since the pen has sentimental value. If it's weakened the cap to the point of brittleness, or interferes with opening/closing, then you may need to replace the cap. But I hope some of the other more expert restorers will chime in here to help.

Similarly, the dent I would also leave because it's a sign of your grandfathers life and usage of the pen before you. It's probably possible to burnish it smooth from the inside, but if you're not going to be selling the pen as a collectible, I don't think it's necessary.

[Hawk]

The green corrosion should come out, for the most part, by wiping with paper towels. One could try a little metal polish on a paper towel also.

[mhosea]

A lot of the Sheaffer metal caps have some corrosion, unless they were never used. I don't know if the pros try to make the inside of the cap look new or not. I just clean it without taking any special measures to remove it. I don't know if it's a great idea or not, but this is one of the few things I use Renaissance Wax for now--the insides caps.

[gweddig]

I use an appropriately sized, plastic bristled bottle brush, dipped in water with a bit of dish soap for most caps. Hard rubber I baby a bit more.
You can find ones that are shown towards the bottom of this page at most hardware stores:
http://www.pentooling.com/files.html

--greg