PR Electric DC Blue and Cleaning

[wangminze]

Hello guys,

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy this color. The sheen is just incredible !
When it comes to cleaning, I normally flush after I use up the pen's capacity as I like to change colors almost every time. However, I've noticed that a flush is not enough for Electric DC. I found today, on the underside of my Pro-Gear nib, a pink makeover. I'm guessing that this is caused by the ink. And after a run in the ultrasonic, the feed let off blue flakes. Have any of you seen this?
Also, is it safe for me to scrub at the stuff stuck on the nib with a wet paper towel?

Thanks.

[mhosea]

Been using PR EDC Blue for awhile and not seen it. My bottles are a couple of years old, so I may not have the current formulation if it has changed. Also, I always flush with plain water before exposing the pen to any sort of pen flush.

[wangminze]

Been using PR EDC Blue for awhile and not seen it. My bottles are a couple of years old, so I may not have the current formulation if it has changed. Also, I always flush with plain water before exposing the pen to any sort of pen flush.

I actually have not tried any pen flush yet.

[mhosea]

Could it be build-up from hard water just colored/stained by the ink? If you use an ultrasonic, I assume it's not precipitate from reaction to a previous ink. Grasping at straws here...

[wangminze]

Could it be build-up from hard water just colored/stained by the ink? If you use an ultrasonic, I assume it's not precipitate from reaction to a previous ink. Grasping at straws here...

Thanks for your thoughts. I must mention that I don't always use an ultrasonic. I was cleaning the pen after using up a fill of Liberty's Elysium (and before that, PR DC). I simply done a 'thorough' water flush after the PR. I have a water softener installed (sigh, Arizona) so that shouldn't be the problem.
Could you please suggest some cleaning methods? Like I mentioned before, would I damage the nib if I rub it with a wet paper towel?

Thanks a lot.

[mhosea]

Could it be build-up from hard water just colored/stained by the ink? If you use an ultrasonic, I assume it's not precipitate from reaction to a previous ink. Grasping at straws here...

Thanks for your thoughts. I must mention that I don't always use an ultrasonic. I was cleaning the pen after using up a fill of Liberty's Elysium (and before that, PR DC). I simply done a 'thorough' water flush after the PR. I have a water softener installed (sigh, Arizona) so that shouldn't be the problem.
Could you please suggest some cleaning methods? Like I mentioned before, would I damage the nib if I rub it with a wet paper towel?

Thanks a lot.

Oh, that explains it. Pretty confident those deposits came from Liberty's Elysium, not from PR EDC Blue. Cellulose reactive inks often leave a film of some kind, and I myself have observed Noodler's Liberty's Elysium to leave deposits like that. I remember having what looked like a blue "scale" left on an ebonite feed. It comes off eventually, but it can be hard to clean. The ultrasonic is a great tool for it, so if you have one, I'd suggest using it after any cellulose-reactive ink. I think it helps to add a splash of clear ammonia to the water in the tank. The clear ammonia that we have here has a surfactant added as well, which helps the water in the tank get to the nooks and crannies of the feed.

[mhosea]

Like I mentioned before, would I damage the nib if I rub it with a wet paper towel?

Not sure. Probably depends on the fiber content of the paper towels in question. I'd prefer a soft cloth like they sometimes give you with a new pair of eyeglasses.

Oh, and one more thing. Here's a pro-tip for flushing the Pro Gear. The section design allows water under the grip if it is forced under pressure from behind. You can't see it, but it might be there, and who wants it? So I cut off the end of a spent Sailor cartridge and use it as an adapter when I flush the nib with a bulb syringe. This keeps the water under pressure confined to the path through the feed rather than around the feed cup into the space under the grip.

[wangminze]

I never thought that Liberty's Elysium would be a trouble maker. I always thought that the pink mess had something to do with the stuff that creates the sheen in the PR.
About the water going under the grip, I guess one could only see that with the demo version of the pen. But I have not noticed that. Thank you for the advice!
I don't think this is the same thing, but there is another crevice between the nib slot and the outside edge of the pen. I'm sure that that place traps ink as well. I see the same on my Pilot 92 Demo. I don't know if this is just a thing with many pens or I just happen to have two that have this annoyance.
Possibly due to PR Electric, I have pink-purple sheen that I see in my Pilot due to ink getting sucked into that crevice. But I figure that this could be avoided if I was able to use a cartridge and syringe to limit the water flow during a flush.
I only see this after I fill with PR that's what led me to think it was that ink that also caused trouble in the Sailor. But your reasoning makes much more sense.
Thanks again.

[mhosea]

I always thought that the pink mess had something to do with the stuff that creates the sheen in the PR.

I think the sheen is not caused by any red or pink dye in the ink, rather as a purely optical effect. Otherwise, you'd see the color no matter what the angle of viewing.

IIRC, Liberty's Elysium has a significant pink dye component. It's not the only bright blue with that. The brighter Sailor blue inks I've tried have also had pink dye components. I spilled some Sailor Nagasawa Kobe #50 Kyomachi Legend Blue on a pair of white leather tennis shoes. Guess what the color of the stain was.

[wangminze]

Thank you so much for filling me in on this information! I do hope that you were able to still wear those tennis shoes...