Mold in my new pen?

I recently bought a Parker 45 Flighter with a fine 14k gold nib. It was in its original case in almost mint status, and included an original converter probably unused. It looked quite clean, but I cleaned then nib, feeder and section to remove any rest of ink.

Attachment 53840
Attachment 53841

Since I wanted to check if the squeeze converter was in working order after all this years (I was aware that the sac would be damaged because of the age) I filled it plunging it directly into the ink bottle.

After a few minutes, I checked the writing which seemed ok. But, when I was about to finish my testing, I discovered that inside of the cap was a thin white layer that looked pretty much as mold.

Attachment 53839

I cleaned the cap and put it into a dilution of vinegar at 50% for 20 minutes. After that, I cleaned it again with hydrogen peroxide.

Now, I have a few worries:

1) The cap seems clean now but I can see very little white dots inside. It well might be dust, or any rest of the cotton swabs that I used for the cleaning but, in the case that they are mold residues, is the vinegar enough to kill it forever?

2) I've quarantined my Diamine ASA Blue, even if I'm convinced that the converter is clean. How long should I wait to use that ink with my other pens? Should I better buy another bottle?

3) I've read that some inks, specifically Japanese brands, includes phenol in their composition to prevent mold. Is safe to put phenol in my Diamine, Waterman and Herbin inks? If so, which proportion would be used?


Thanks in advance.

Hi. I am a lover of Parker 45 pens, too, and have gotten quite a few of them over the years (mostly from ebay).

Instead of your dilution of vinegar or hydrogen peroxide (which might actually leave the foamy stuff you see), you might try a dilution of one part ammonia and two parts distilled water.

As far as your question about inks, I doubt the problem was the ink unless you see some particles or notice an odd smell. But if you are suspicious, I recommend buying another bottle.

Others will have to weigh in on the question of phenol.

Best wishes to you.

IMHO: Transferring mold spores into other fountain pens isn't worth the price of a bottle of ink.

See the cleaner at: https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread...readed-S-I-T-B

If you can get some Phenol then it won't do any harm to add some to your ink. I have some and always add two or three sprays to one particular ink brand. This is a good thread to read concerning Phenol

As you've filled this pen/converter from the bottle then just keep the bottle tightly closed without filling any other pens from it and see if anything happens after a while. If it does then that's the time to replace the bottle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lady Onogaro

As far as your question about inks, I doubt the problem was the ink unless you see some particles or notice an odd smell. But if you are suspicious, I recommend buying another bottle.

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Many thanks for the tip. Definitely, is not the ink, I noticed the mold just after filling the pen. Besides, none of my other pen neither the ink seems infected. I'll clean it with ammonia diluted, just to make sure that it's clean. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chrissy

If you can get some Phenol then it won't do any harm to add some to your ink. I have some and always add two or three sprays to one particular ink brand. This is a good thread to read concerning Phenol

As you've filled this pen/converter from the bottle then just keep the bottle tightly closed without filling any other pens from it and see if anything happens after a while. If it does then that's the time to replace the bottle.

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Many thanks for the tips and for the link. I've decided to keep this bottle just for this pen and buy another one for the other pens that I use for blue (I really love this ink!). ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FredRydr

IMHO: Transferring mold spores into other fountain pens isn't worth the price of a bottle of ink.

See the cleaner at: https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread...readed-S-I-T-B

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Many thans for the link and for the tip. I'll keep this bottle for this pen and I'll dispose it in case of doubt.

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