Soak and Flusing Question

[Shane Cavitt]

I just purchased a Parker 51 Special online. When I received it, I was pleasantly surprised that it looked better in person than it did in the photos. Unfortunately the seller shipped it filled with ink so there was a mess to clean up. Cleaned it up and decided to go ahead and give it a good soak and flush.

The ink it came filled with was a standard looking blue. However, when I placed it in the container of pen flush solution everything turned a pinkish red color. I was somewhat taken aback. Is this ok/normal? Is it just a chemical reaction between the ink and pen flush? Is this something I should be concerned about? I have continued the soaking process and the coloration continues to fade to a lighter and lighter pinkish hue (not clear yet).

I would appreciate any thoughts from those much more knowledgeable than me.

[stub]

There are dyes in inks that you might not see till you clean your pen (or do a chromatography of it). Or could be left over from a previous fill. I doubt that there is any reason to be allarmed. Flush it clear as you can, fill and enjoy I say. The 51 special is a fantastic pen. I really miss mine. I love the hoop filler too.

I'd suggest to go a bit easy on the flush, or at least rinse the flush with water, That P51 collector can be stubborn and pen flush residue mixing with your fill will lead to some bleeding.

[Chrissy]

I tend to flush my pens out with water really well before they go into pen flush. That way I waste less pen flush. Therefore I've never had this sort of reaction of ink into pen flush. I can imagine many inks would have this reaction with pen flush though.

Oh and I agree you should always flush out your pen flush very well with water, so no residue mixes with the new ink that you fill your pen with.

[Shane Cavitt]

Thanks for the replies. I did a soak and complete flush with water and it turned out fine. Writing like a champ now.