Restoring old Waterman pens

[ardgedee]

I've acquired a couple old pens that I want to try bringing up to working condition, and have some questions...

1. I've seen discussions about using ultrasonic cleaners -- bad for some pens, but not others. Is it safe to use one with old vintage Watermans? The two I have are simple black bodies, a 32 and a 54.
2. Are the nibs of those two pens interchangeable? I don't actually want to make a frankenstein pen, but the 54 is working and so swapping nibs would be an easy way to test whether the 32's nib is viable.

[Vintagepens]

Please bookmark the article Pen Repair Don'ts. Key passage: "Pens are designed to hold liquid, not to be immersed in it."
You clean the nib and section assembly. Nothing else should go in water.

The 32 has a #2 nib. The 54 has a #4 nib. They are not interchangeable.

[ardgedee]

To narrow down the question, then: Is it safe to use with the nib and feed assembly on old Watermans?

Since some of your document refers to proper techniques for different materials, should I assume the advice about hard rubber bodies applies to these pens?

(And to alleviate any concern: I'm not going to apply force or chemicals (edit: or water) to anything until I have my notes ready on how to take them apart and clean them.)

[Deb]

I'm not David Nishimura and I expect he'll get back with his own comments, but I personally wouldn't put a hard rubber section into an ultrasonic cleaner. It's very likely that even with cold water it will fade the black hard rubber. I use a bulb to flush the old ink out of sections. Especially stubborn ones are disassembled on the knock-out block and the section cleaned with cotton buds and the feed with a small brush.

[Vintagepens]

Fading of hard rubber sections isn't as great a concern as it is with caps and barrels. Sections (and feeds) usually are not exposed much to light, which is what breaks down the hard rubber and allows the water to wash away its pigmentation. And if a section does end up water-faded, polishing it to remove the faded surface layer won't normally weaken imprints or chasing, as it will with most caps and barrels.

Deb's recommendation to use a squeeze-bulb is very good advice, with or without an ultrasonic.

[Brian Anderson]

Your 32 is plastic, the 54 is hard rubber. Sometimes you have to put a hard rubber section into water to get it soaking before knocking out the nib and feed. It is relatively easy to micro-mesh the section back to it's original luster. Pens to be careful about include any with imprints on the section, Swan, some Conklins, and a whole bunch I'm forgetting. Keep in mind Esterbrook used hard rubber sections for a long long time, and those go in the ultrasonic cleaner all the time.