Noodler' s baystate blue

[raffaele]

What about it?

I cannot find it in Europe!

[Jon Szanto]

You're lucky.

[Scrawler]

You're lucky.

[migo984]

Recently a bottle of BSB was dispatched down the sink here. It's not worth the effort.

[carlos.q]

In my opinion BSB is not worth the trouble. Not only does it stain but it also feathers a lot.

[Crazyorange]

Recently a bottle of BSB was dispatched down the sink here. It's not worth the effort.

Did it stain your sink? It did mine. For two weeks my stainless steel sink has a big blue stain. I decided to pour it down the drain after it turned my orange pen blue. I'm guessing a black pen would be a benefit when using this ink.

[Neo]

My slop sink in the basement is still stained after a year....

[migo984]

Recently a bottle of BSB was dispatched down the sink here. It's not worth the effort.

Did it stain your sink? It did mine. For two weeks my stainless steel sink has a big blue stain. I decided to pour it down the drain after it turned my orange pen blue. I'm guessing a black pen would be a benefit when using this ink.

It was Murfie's sink 😊 and he was fed-up with it staining the S/S sink every time he tried to flush his BSB-dedicated pen. Evil stuff - no colour is so good that users should have to put up with staining like that.

[rgperedo]

I have never put it in anything but a Preppy, a free preppy at that. I would never put it in anything that wasn't free or super cheap. The color is quite beautiful though.

[Scrawler]

If you have a problem with BSB staining your sink, use hand sanitizer gel. Rub it in and wash it away. My problem with BSB is that it fades. This kind of ink should have a single pen reserved for it. DO not under any circumstances let BSB get anywhere near Private Reserve Hot Bubblegum, it will bring on the apocalypse. You have been warned.

[mhosea]

It doesn't stain stainless steel, at least not in any sense that the word "stainless" refers to. The word "stainless" refers to staining of ordinary steel by infiltration of water, oxidation, and corrosion. None of that is a factor here. BSB is only painted on the surface, a residue that isn't soluble in water, soapy water, ammonia, etc. And yet, you only need the right solvent to remove it. Those are just the wrong solvents. It can be bleached, but as Scrawler notes, hand sanitizer gel works--the main ingredient is alcohol.

Before BSB:


BSB:


The BSB "stain" (residue, not stain):


The solvent:


The solvent at work:


Apply the solvent wetly and rinse (scrubbing does not speed the process much):


I find it useful to load an ink syringe with alcohol and just squirt and rinse, as this uses the alcohol in a more efficient manner than pouring it, and it's less work by a long shot than trying to wet paper towels with it.

Ceramic sinks are much the same, IME.

Having said that, while I discount at the idea that cleaning it off a stainless steel or glazed ceramic sink need be a factor, I do find that difficulty in cleaning it out of pens is quite relevant, and concerning, since this residue that gets on the sink also takes hold of parts of the pen, and neither alcohol nor bleach is prudent for cleaning pens. It is therefore very difficult to justify loading BSB in a fountain pen that is not to be dedicated to it. And feathering and bleed-through make it rather difficult to justify dedicating a pen to it. Still, the color is stunning. Presently I have it in a Platinum Preppy with a felt tip. It's actually quite well-behaved in that application. I don't use it in fountain pens anymore.

[migo984]

It doesn't stain stainless steel, at least not in any sense that the word "stainless" refers to. The word "stainless" refers to staining of ordinary steel by infiltration of water, oxidation, and corrosion. None of that is a factor here. BSB is only painted on the surface, a residue that isn't soluble in water, soapy water, ammonia, etc. And yet, you only need the right solvent to remove it. Those are just the wrong solvents. It can be bleached, but as Scrawler notes, hand sanitizer gel works--the main ingredient is alcohol.

Before BSB:


BSB:


The BSB "stain" (residue, not stain):


The solvent:


The solvent at work:


Apply the solvent wetly and rinse (scrubbing does not speed the process much):


I find it useful to load an ink syringe with alcohol and just squirt and rinse, as this uses the alcohol in a more efficient manner than pouring it, and it's less work by a long shot than trying to wet paper towels with it.

Ceramic sinks are much the same, IME.

Having said that, while I discount at the idea that cleaning it off a stainless steel or glazed ceramic sink need be a factor, I do find that difficulty in cleaning it out of pens is quite relevant, and concerning, since this residue that gets on the sink also takes hold of parts of the pen, and neither alcohol nor bleach is prudent for cleaning pens. It is therefore very difficult to justify loading BSB in a fountain pen that is not to be dedicated to it. And feathering and bleed-through make it rather difficult to justify dedicating a pen to it. Still, the color is stunning. Presently I have it in a Platinum Preppy with a felt tip. It's actually quite well-behaved in that application. I don't use it in fountain pens anymore.

Well all that might be the case, and thanks for the science lesson, but for me as a lay person, the requirement to use such specific cleaning agents/solvents is precisely the point. I call it staining and that's just what it does, from my non-scientific viewpoint. If one has to avoid using it in all but the most disposable of fountain pens, then it shouldn't be sold as suitable for FP use. However much people rave about its colour, I was glad to see it glug down the drain.

[oldstoat]

To be fair, alcohol dissoves most things- memory, inhibitions.....

[Crazyorange]

To be fair, alcohol dissoves most things- memory, inhibitions.....

That's the kind of alcohol I like keeping in the house. Not the stuff to scrub the kitchen sink.

[Scrawler]

The reason I suggest hand sanitizer, is because it is gel that holds the alcohol to the surface while you work it. It does not matter if it is ethyl, or isopropyl.

[naimitsu]

If you have a problem with BSB staining your sink, use hand sanitizer gel. Rub it in and wash it away. My problem with BSB is that it fades. This kind of ink should have a single pen reserved for it. DO not under any circumstances let BSB get anywhere near Private Reserve Hot Bubblegum, it will bring on the apocalypse. You have been warned.

Now I am curious to see what the apocalypse looks like! I wonder if we could find a brave soul willing to take on this experiment and share with the class the result

The sample of BSB I had I poured down the sink. It left residue on the porcelain of the sink, the brass drain is now blueish (which IMO is an improvement!), and the vial it had come in is still blueish, even after having flushing fluid in there for months now.

I even tried using isopropyl alcohol on the porcelain and it removed about 75% of the pigment from the surface.

This is not an ink I would recommend for any reason... unless you really hate someone or simply like that shade of blue enough to stain a demonstrator on purpose.

I am actually not a big fan of Noodler's inks. Every single one of them that I have tried exhibits odd behavior.
Some oxidizes to a different shade. Others take FOREVER to dry (I had a couple words written on Tomoe River with an Ahab Flex that took well over 2 weeks to dry... actually, the count is almost to 4 weeks now and last time I checked, there were a still a few bits of the word still wet!). Some look questionable to use in FPs as the ink seems to stick like oil to the walls of the vial that contains it. Many feather like crazy, though X-Feather and Bulletproof are fairly named.

Which really is a shame as they have a number of really nice colors.

[Laura N]

forget it it was a joke

[mhosea]

Well all that might be the case, and thanks for the science lesson, but for me as a lay person, the requirement to use such specific cleaning agents/solvents is precisely the point. I call it staining and that's just what it does, from my non-scientific viewpoint. If one has to avoid using it in all but the most disposable of fountain pens, then it shouldn't be sold as suitable for FP use. However much people rave about its colour, I was glad to see it glug down the drain.

My concern with the terminology is that "staining" has a connotation of permanence that is not applicable in this case, this being especially true in the context of steel. People who do want to use the ink might like to set their minds set at ease that no permanent harm is being done to their sink, and they might also appreciate a strategy for coping with it more easily than they may have thought possible. I like the hand sanitizer solution, BTW, but I personally don't have that handy, whereas rubbing alcohol is at hand for a variety of purposes.

[Scrawler]

I work as an elections official for Provincial and Federal elections. The governments give me large quantities of hand sanitizer gel, far more than I actually use during elections, so I always have some available. I always use HoD (bulletproof black) to fill in and sign forms and ballots. It is then very easy to detect fraud, and prove that I personally signed the documents. This has paid off during the last Federal election when there was a miscount of 5 ballots, due to someone trying to stuff poll.

[naimitsu]

forget it it was a joke

Oh boo
I was hoping that at least something interesting would come out of the mix.