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View Full Version : Refilling with same ink again, to flush or not to flush first ?



Bogon07
May 5th, 2012, 06:36 PM
When you refill a pen with the same colour should you flush out & clean the the converter, nib feed etc first or not worry about it ?

If the pen had been sitting around for a month or so I would flush and clean.

Sometimes I refill after a shorter time about 2-3 weeks and have just topped them up with the same ink.
Is this breaking a cardinal pen care rule ?

manoeuver
May 5th, 2012, 08:18 PM
if there's dried gunky ink in there then flush it. if no, save the trouble.

etoyoc
May 5th, 2012, 09:05 PM
Yup... if there isn't any signs of dried up ink, just refill. However, it is still good to schedule a routine flush every now and then on the pens even if you aren't changing inks.

KrazyIvan
May 5th, 2012, 09:10 PM
+1 no gunk, no flush.

JustDaveyB
May 5th, 2012, 11:47 PM
Same ink twice in a row in a pen? I don't think I have done that for years but when I did I didn't flush out my pen for more than six months - Was at uni so was refilling every other day.

Bogon07
May 6th, 2012, 06:26 PM
Thanks guys, You've confirmed what I was thinking.


Same ink twice in a row in a pen? I don't think I have done that for years but when I did I didn't flush out my pen for more than six months - Was at uni so was refilling every other day.

JustDaveyB, I don't have as big an ink selection as you and have tried to keep approximately similar numbers of FPs verses inks.
All my pen are Lamys except for the one Parker so I could just swap nibs if need be.

KI, your pens must outnumber your inks by a fair margin now ?

KrazyIvan
May 6th, 2012, 08:40 PM
Yes, very easily a 1:5 ratio.

etoyoc
May 6th, 2012, 08:47 PM
LOL.. probably close to that as well if I ignore all of the inkdrop bottles that I haven't touched.

Chi Town
May 10th, 2012, 01:12 AM
same ink twice in a row, I would flush it just to be safe. Like washing your car. But that's just me.

Bogon07
May 10th, 2012, 05:13 PM
same ink twice in a row, I would flush it just to be safe. Like washing your car. But that's just me.

Our new car is 8 months old and still hasn't been washed. Although I occassional wipe off any bird poo or plant sap.

inky
May 10th, 2012, 05:43 PM
If I'm using the same ink I usually don't flush the pen but I do tend to rinse off the nib and dry it well before re-filling. I guess I'm just paranoid that I'll pollute my ink bottle somehow. If I only have a small amount in a sample tube or something then I usually don't bother with the nib wash at all. I could probably transfer some ink over to a vial but never seem to get around to it.

etoyoc
May 10th, 2012, 07:27 PM
Our new car is 8 months old and still hasn't been washed. Although I occassional wipe off any bird poo or plant sap.

My car is about 6 and wifes car is 4, I can't recall the last time either truly got washed. Probably last summer when temps were ridiculously high


If I'm using the same ink I usually don't flush the pen but I do tend to rinse off the nib and dry it well before re-filling. I guess I'm just paranoid that I'll pollute my ink bottle somehow. If I only have a small amount in a sample tube or something then I usually don't bother with the nib wash at all. I could probably transfer some ink over to a vial but never seem to get around to it.

It isn't too hard to do once you get in the habit. I fill the pen from a vial and every few fills have to refill the vial. It takes a little more work, but I am not worried about contaminating my ink bottles which may outlast me.

fountainpenkid
May 11th, 2012, 05:40 PM
HOW could you possibly have no ink left in the pen? If you didn't flush, you'd simply be risking a color change, especially in a brighter ink....If you have the same ink again, then flush it if there is gunk, as everybody has said.


Will

KrazyIvan
May 11th, 2012, 08:29 PM
I forgot the one exception is Baystate Blue. Rinse after every use. In ammonia water. Scrub with a toothbrush. Completely take the pen apart.

goldiesdad
May 18th, 2012, 08:20 AM
I flush and clean mine every other inking ...

dripdrop
May 18th, 2012, 08:41 AM
My car is about 6 and wifes car is 4, I can't recall the last time either truly got washed. Probably last summer when temps were ridiculously high


Our new car is 8 months old and still hasn't been washed. Although I occassional wipe off any bird poo or plant sap.

When we bought our current car(used), I remember asking my wife one weekend about a year after we bought it if she had washed the car since we had it. She looked at me with a stunned look and said she thought I was taking care of it that whole time. Needless to say, it was still another 6 months(18mo total) before that poor girl had a bath. :lazy:

For some reason, I've never cared a lot about the exterior cleanliness of my car. The interior, on the other hand, has to be immaculate or it really bothers me. :)

As for flushing. I only flush when changing inks or there is gunk. Otherwise, I just keep on trucking.