Inkograph repair help

[BowlingBallBaby]

Does anyone know of good resources - videos/pix/instructions - for repair/restoration of Inkograph stylo pens? A friend asked me to help get his old Inko back in working order. Section came out of the feed easily enough. Nib unscrews easily enough, revealing the internal wire. But the inside of the section/feed is all gunked up and clogged. I have soaked it and gently brushed away at it from the back, but I'm not sure if I am on the right track. Haven't worked on one of these before and am not quite sure what to do next.

[BowlingBallBaby]

I wouldn't mind some help with the ID on the model, too, if anyone knows.

https://i.imgur.com/VoOohqLl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vCd7OvQl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XL7UrJDl.jpg

[Ron Z]

Use Rapidi-Eze to clean the nib unit, and a bulb to flush the tube. An ultrasonic cleaner really helps with these. Everything else on the pen is basic lever filler.

When you reassemble the nib unit, drop the weighted wire down into the tube, don't push it. That will allow the wire to line up with the tube without risk of it being damaged. Then screw the front end into the section.

[BowlingBallBaby]

Thanks Ron. I have the threaded nozzle off and the wire doesn't come out. So delicate, I don't want to tug on it. Do I need to push from the back end of the nib unit? That's where it seems to be "all gunked up." That's my technical description - "all gunked up". I'm new to this kind of pen, and while I think I'm starting to "get it," I'm not 100% sure. Still hoping someone can point me in the direction of a video on this. All the lever-fill parts make sense to me, and I can restore all that. It's this nib unit/wire/weight that I'm unfamiliar with.

[Ron Z]

Look for a video on cleaning a Rapidograph. Don't push. Cleaning in the Rapido-eze will soften the ink. This is where an ultrasonic really helps, even a cheap one. What you don't want to do is bend the wire. They can be straightened, but then you get into a different level of repair. Don't break it - its essential to the operation of the pen.

[BowlingBallBaby]

OK. I ordered some Rapido-Eze. That's next. I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner though, so if the Rapido-Eze doesn't do the trick, I may be sending you a pen!

[BowlingBallBaby]

Well...after much, much soaking, the needle came out. It is straight as an arrow, but it is not connected to the weight. The weight was dead stuck. I did some digging into the history of this actual pen, and it spent decades in a hot attic. The weight was in some kind of plastic/resin/mystery-material sheath, and that had basically melted and hardened, probably over and over again, for years. I was able to fashion a knock out block and clear it out. The section is now clean and clear, but the guts inside of it are done for. Is is possible to find a new section with parts, or a new weighted needle that would fit in this section, or even just a weight that I might be able to attach the salvaged needle to? Where are the Inkograph collectors who might have these parts? I know you're out there, guys and gals!

[Ron Z]

Ebay is your friend. There's one listed now for $20.