Re-blackening hard rubber.
I have seen repairers offer a service whereby they re-blacken faded and oxidised ebonite on vintage pens. Is this purely a cosmetic repair, or does it confer any actual benefits to the condition of the pen? I have just bid on (and am unlikely to win) a 20's Waterman 52 which is quite brown, and I quite like the effect. Is the restoring of the colour something I should do, or only an aesthetic consideration?
"What are moon-letters?" asked the hobbit full of excitement. He loved maps, as I have told you before; and he also loved runes and letters, and cunning handwriting, though when he wrote himself it was a bit thin and spidery.
To blacken or not to blacken, that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler ...
There are two main ways to reblacken hard rubber, buff the oxidized layer off or use chemicals to dye the layer. And, as with silver, brass and copper patina there are two camps, the leave it alone camp and the make it purty camp.
It's totally up to you which way you go.
Last edited by jar; October 14th, 2012 at 11:44 AM.
In that case I'd leave it: the oxidation seems to have acted more on some parts of the chased pattern than others, giving a stripy effect that is purty. I jst wanted to know if reducing the oxide back to black would make the pen stronger.
"What are moon-letters?" asked the hobbit full of excitement. He loved maps, as I have told you before; and he also loved runes and letters, and cunning handwriting, though when he wrote himself it was a bit thin and spidery.
this is the topic to see: http://fountainpenboard.com/forum/in.../page__st__100
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