My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
I've got a bottle of Aurora Blue (NOT Platinum's Aurora Blue) that has gone into lots of different pens. Never had a problem with staining at all.
I also have a bottle of BSB that has also gone into a lot of different pens. Yes, it can stain pens (and fingers, and clothes...), but I've never had an issue with it eating a pen (Lamy Safari, 2 Preppys, Pilot Vanishing Point, and TWSBI 540). I have decided to dedicate my TWSBI 540 to the ink on the recommendation from Philip Wang at TWSBI that he uses BSB in a 540, and hasn't had staining issues.
I personally love BSB. It's my favorite color by far. If you are willing to deal with its issues, it's a good ink, but if you don't want to take the time it requires, i suggest staying away. There are hundreds of colors out there.
I'd had a sample of BSB for a long time but trepidation had kept me from using it 'til a couple of days ago. I had a Reform 1745 whose piston was already stuck—please don't tell me to try silicone grease, I promise that I already have—and had already bought a replacement, plus the ink windows on those are already blue, so I thought, "What the heck?" and inked it up. So far I am loving it. It's only been a couple days, though, so probably too early for any problems to manifest.
I second that! Plus it's an Ahab not a Montblac, just buy another if having a crystal clear window matters so much.
I ordered a sample of the dreaded BSB from Goulet strictly because of the controversial properties of the ink. I only own inexpensive pens, but they are all still precious to me.
I first inked a Noodler's Konrad with BSB. Using a 1.1 Goulet nib, I found, as previously mentioned, too much violet and not enough shading for my taste. The pen was utilized for three days, cleaned thoroughly and then filled with PR Chocolat. I have had no problems at all with the pen during, or after. In fact, I had more problems with this pen and nib combination using Liberty's Elysium...to be fair, the problem was my own. I hadn't properly adjusted the feed and nib.
I also BSB'd my Pilot Metropolitan. Used the Con50 converter and an italic nib from a Plumix...again...no tears. The Met found its way back to Noodler's Black, with nary a tinge of blue anywhere. A weak bleach solution proved to be the trick.
I did, as ever, read almost every review of BSB prior to ordering the sample. I had seen all the videos and read how toxic this ink was to be. As such, I thoroughly cleaned both pens before inking with BSB. Ink hides everywhere in and around the feed, at the section joint, at the back of the piston, etc. I suspect, though I make no accusations, that some of us are not as thorough as we think we are in our research or our preparatory cleaning.
Both pens still perform flawlessly, and find their way to my shirt pocket several days each week...coordinating with my shoes, of course. (Is that ridiculous?)
Correspondence achieved through the Apple-brand, wireless, telecommunication device belonging to yours truly.
This is what a brief section-soaking in BSB did to my BSB pen. Never before had this happened; I always pop the section in water for an hour, or even overnight. Shown with a Normal Peli Jr. to compare.
Baystate Blue! Yer soakin' innit.
Sort of resembles a custom paint job.
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
BSB is known to stain, and is tricky to handle. Not worth my effort, especially since the color is so bright that I don't want to read more than a signature.
When I returned to using fountain pens, I asked for Sheaffer Blue in the "topwell" bottle. A clerk looked sad, explained that Sheaffer had moved production, changed the ink formula, and changed the bottle.
"OK", I said. "Everybody says that Noodlers Baystate Blue is like magic. A must have".
Clerk shrugged, said "Ink is ink".
Mags or Rob Maguire MB 149, 147, 146,144, Mozart, Boehme, Sailor Realo, Aurora Optima, Churchmen Prescriptor and Parson's Essential, Parker 51 1.3 mm stub, Parker Vacumatic 1939 OB Can, TWSBI's (540,580, Mini and Vac 700), Pelikan M 1000/800 Demonstrator 600/200 demoM/200 OBB, Visconti Rembrandts (2), Lamy, Cross, Watermans, Pilots, Sheaffer's, Omas 360 LE 84/360, GvFC, Esterbrooks J and SJ, Bexley Jitterbug, Taccia, Eversharp 1952 flex, Edison Herald, Franklin Christoph Piper.
I didn't even try...partly because I kinda sorta almost like how the stain looks, lol.
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
I'm guilty of not reading reviews of inks before I try them. I typically do this with things I want to try out because I don't want the opinions of others to color my judgement.
However, because of BSB, I'm going to start reading reviews before I stick them in one of my pens.
I had the ink in my 1.5mm Pilot Parallel pen for about 48 hours and it stained the converter and the barrel around the feed. While cleaning them out, watery BSB splashed around the sink and stained it. When I heard it stains, I thought it wouldn't be as instantaneous as a splash. Oh well. Live and Learn, and avoid BSB like the plague! (at least for me)
On non-porous surfaces (like your sink), think of it more like paint. You need the right "thinner". That "thinner" is isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Moisten a paper towel with isopropyl alcohol, and much of it will wipe off easily. I once tested this on a laminate countertop. Worked perfectly. BSB isn't very tough, really. It just stands up to soap and water (and ammonia) quite well. It will also wear off in a matter of days. In other words, there's nothing permanent about BSB on non-porous surfaces.
Unfortunately, plastic can be permeable to some substances. Permanent tinting is possible (not just with BSB--some Diamine Blues can also stain certain plastics). Many, many pens, BTW, are NOT alcohol-safe (the pens will dissolve, or at least things will start coming apart), so alcohol should not be used to clean pens, generally. Having said that, I have used isopropyl alcohol to purge a Hero or Jinhao pen of BSB that I knew to be safe for alcohol. It's amazing the way you can clean a pens as thoroughly as you want, even in an ultrasonic cleaner, and think that what's left is a permanent stain, but if it is an alcohol-safe pen, see it just let go and wash away. This is one thing that bothers me a lot about BSB, not that it "stains sinks", but that once I use it in a pen, it will be very hard to eradicate it completely, to the point that there can be no interaction with the next ink I want to use in that pen. The advice to dedicate a pen to BSB is good advice for that reason at least.
--
Mike
naimitsu (February 20th, 2015)
Use bleach. The staining is minimal if you clean with 50% water and 50% bleach.
Mags or Rob Maguire MB 149, 147, 146,144, Mozart, Boehme, Sailor Realo, Aurora Optima, Churchmen Prescriptor and Parson's Essential, Parker 51 1.3 mm stub, Parker Vacumatic 1939 OB Can, TWSBI's (540,580, Mini and Vac 700), Pelikan M 1000/800 Demonstrator 600/200 demoM/200 OBB, Visconti Rembrandts (2), Lamy, Cross, Watermans, Pilots, Sheaffer's, Omas 360 LE 84/360, GvFC, Esterbrooks J and SJ, Bexley Jitterbug, Taccia, Eversharp 1952 flex, Edison Herald, Franklin Christoph Piper.
As someone who has used textile dyes for decades, I often wonder which dye was used in BSB, because I think I recognize both its color and its staining properties (which actually aren't ususual for textile dyes) as one of the dyes I use frequently.
Idle curiosity aside, if you don't want to use chlorine bleach to clean up a pen or work area, an oxygen bleach like Oxyclean or household cleaner "with bleach" will do the job quickly. Or the "Chlorox II" types of laundry bleaches. A solution of any of them should remove the color near instantly, at minimal risk of damaging plastic pen parts.
Last suggestion is hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly found in first aid kits. It's another oxygen bleach, but quite dilute. Theoretically it should work, but I don't know if its dilution is strong enough to affect the dye in BSB.
naimitsu (February 23rd, 2015), sharmon202 (February 21st, 2015)
Ethyl alcohol works well too. In recent years people have become rather paranoid about cleaning their hands, to the point that there is now available large quantities of hand sanitizer, which is alcohol in gel. It could be isopropyl, or ethanol, depending on where you are. The gel holds the alcohol to the stain and virtually no rubbing is needed. I just apply a drop to the stain, leave for a couple seconds and wipe off. This method means that you use less alcohol, because it is not instantly evaporating.
This is a problem with many violets and pinks as well.
I agree on the dedicated pen idea. I have one single Regal pen that I use only BSB in. There are inks much worse than BSB for not playing well with others. Private Reserve Hot Bubble Gum is the single most staining, high maintenance, non-friendly ink I have used. On the instructions they tell you to dedicate a pen to it.
naimitsu (February 23rd, 2015)
Bookmarks