Cleaning Solution

[Armstrong]

Up to now I have been buying pen cleaning solution from Goulet's Pens. But, I wonder if window cleaner, with ammonia, would not do just as well. Anyone have experience with this? How about home made cleaning solutions for pens?

Best Regards,
Armstrong

[Wile E Coyote]

The general rule of thumb pen cleaner is 10:1 water:ammonia (non-sudsing). John Mottishaw says to use 2:1 water:ammonia on nibs.com. Just be careful of aluminum which isn't very friendly with ammonia.

Another great cleaner for really gunked up pens is Koh-I-Noor Rapido-Eze. This stuff will remove the most dried up ink in clogged feeds. Again, it's not aluminum friendly.

I'd avoid the window cleaner.

[Fiddlermatt]

I use 10:1 ammonia/water which has always worked splendidly. Sometimes I'll add drop of Dawn if I want to flush oils. If you have a dollar type store nearby, you can probably pick up a gallon of non sudsing ammonia for a buck or so.

[Armstrong]

Thank you folks, I'll give it a try. Very good point on the aluminum Wile, ty.

Fiddlermatt - bluegrass? I once lived in a bluegrass fiddlers house for a year or two when younger in east TN. I fell in love with bluegrass and I still am.

[Fiddlermatt]

Thank you folks, I'll give it a try. Very good point on the aluminum Wile, ty.

Fiddlermatt - bluegrass? I once lived in a bluegrass fiddlers house for a year or two when younger in east TN. I fell in love with bluegrass and I still am.

Yes bluegrass! Especially classic bluegrass. Bluegrass Album Band, Kenny Baker, Country Gentlemen, Seldom Scene, Aubrey Haynie (earlier works moreso), Lonesome River Band, Doyle Lawson, James King, Russel Moore, etc.

My friends think I'm crazy when they see my playlist. It's pretty much a 75/25 split between bluegrass/gospel and various classical and baroque composers.

[Armstrong]

LOL excellent. I would have to add Ricky Scraggs to my listening list. Right with you on the classic bluegrass. "In the pines..." and Paradise or Muhlenberg County are a favorites.

[mrcharlie]

A couple years ago I looked for all the recipes I could find from "experts" (ie not us, the unwashed masses on boards). I've seen recommendations from "nibmeisters" and pen repairers that specify diluting non-scented non-colored household ammonia anywhere from 10% dilution (9:1) to 33% dilution (2:1). Some advise to add a drop of dish detergent to your mix.

I started out with a 3:1 or 4:1 solution no detergent; for the past few years I've been using a small jelly jar and a 9:1 distilled water:ammonia plus a small "drop" of dish detergent (not really a drop; more like the smallest amount I can ooze out at one time). The more dilute solution seems to get out troublesome inks as well the less dilute, and maybe it is safer for the pen parts so why not use more dilute? I make it in a jelly jar, and put about 5cc at a time into a sample vial from an ink sample for use.

Nerd Note: 10% dilution of household ammonia is not 10:1; it is 9:1. IE there are ten total parts, 1 of them is ammonia, 9 are water. But 10:1 solution probably doesn't perform much differently than 9:1, so whatever. I've been told that US household ammonia is already a 10% solution, so diluting 9:1 makes it a 1% solution. I've not fact checked this.

Important note: never use ammonia on the barrels of Wahl Eversharp pens from the 20's or 30's, or any other pen with aluminum parts. The ammonia eats aluminum quite fast! Also, do not soak the barrels of nitrocellulose pens in ammonia for any length of time. It can discolor the plastic.

[Armstrong]

mrcharlie,

Excellent write up and advice. I will give it a try. I've an empty Goulet's cleaner bottle with a dispenser cap that I can use. For cleaning I have been using baby food jars. They work quite well and my dog loves the baby food! I see no reason why this solution shouldn't work. I also tend to keep home solutions in spray bottles. For instance I often use a spray bottle of detergent followed by a spray bottle of white vinegar to clean with. But not to clean pens. It works very well and leaves things squeaky clean.

Thank you all for your advice, much appreciated.

May God Bless,
Armstrong

[mrcharlie]

I forgot to point out that when using anything like a former jelly jar or baby food jar to hold dilute ammonia pen flush, clearly label the jar as poison. Probably a good idea no matter the container, but especially when it looks like a food container.

Also, who doesn't love drawing a skull and crossbones, or using a "Mr. Yuck" sticker?