My new Montblanc 138 repaired and straight to the collection

[piscov]

Good Morning!

This is the latest addition to my collection and one I am very please to add and that was a pleasure to do all the repair work.

The pen had a few problems, the biggest ones being a burn mark in the body and the lack of Casein star. The lack of the star is very common because as casein swells when in contact with liquids and tends to force his way out of the hard rubber " star hole"

It also had a gold nib of a 146 and a feeder of the late 50s so not original to the pen. Fortunately I had a steel nib and flat feed that are correct to this 148.

This are the before shots:











List of repairs:

1) Cap - Polishing all the scratches and polish the metal ring- Easy
2) re-blacking the top of the cap (hard-rubber) that was completely brown
3) Fitting a new of new star in casein -

I used an original MB star that I had at home from an old 136 cap. First I had to re-profile the base of the star to fit the new cap hole, I used patience, files and sandpaper
Isolated of the base star with epoxy resin so that the star doesen't contact with the ink in the future.
Fix the star in place by heating the hard-ruber so it adapts to the new star shape and locks the star in place.
reduce the height of the star by sanding to be perfectly "smooth" and framed in the " new hole"



4) Repair of the body - Sanding the burn and polishing the barrel. Luckily it was not necessary to do any filling. Sanding and polishing the rest of the body to be risk free.

5) Disguise pliers marks in the filling mechanism. Not gone completely, but are heavily mitigated. I did not want to risk removing the knurled that are really good in the process,.

6) Make a new cork and fitting it.

7) Installation of the palladium nib and flat feed so that they are historically correct with the pen unlike the feed that came with it.

Now I'm hesitant to paint the body inside black to cover some transparency. It is possible and easy to do and looks good, but I'll probably leave it like like it is now : "Demonstrator stlyle".


Today I'll ink it and try it, before putting it a honourable position of my collection.

Still missing the 139 to end the 13X series....

It feels great to bring some pens to "active life" again!!

After pictures:

















Cheers,

Vasco

[Sevenof9]

Lovely pen Vasco. 7

[carlos.q]

Bravo Vasco! That is a beautiful pen and an amazing rescue.

[Jeph]

Yes, that is an impressive job bringing that pen back!

[Quantum Sailor]

Wow thats a great restoration

[tandaina]

What a beautiful job! I've got a couple old piston fillers that have become demonstrators and I love them that way, glad you didn't repaint it.

[orfew]

fantastic job amd a great looking pen. congrats on adding yet another stunning piece to your collection.

[Tony Rex]

Great ingenuity and nerves of steel to pull a stunt like this. Good on ya mate.

[piscov]

Thank you all!! I was a bit concerned with the condition the pen was when I bought it but now after the complete "overhaul" I am really happy

[earthdawn]

Its amazing... and what you did to bring it back is even more amazing.

So when can i stop over and pick it up

[CS388]

That's a class job, Vasco. Well done. Respect!
And what a wonderful pen you now have, as a result of your labours.

You mention that you had thought about re-blacking the inside of the barrel.
What would you have used to do this?
(I have a replacement 144 celluloid barrel coming over. The threads at the piston end have become transparent amber and I would like to black them in before fitting)

Thanks - and well done again. CS

[piscov]

@ earthdawn - In May I will be visiting NY city, I can take it with me for a test drive

@ CS - Sorry for the late reply. Check this link -

The thread is the most difficult part to paint, and probably only from inside it will not completely cover the transparency. Probably the best option for you will be, as you will only need to color the thread, using a acetate permanent marker and paint the thread. It may not cover all but it will make it a bit better.
I use this

Choose one with a hard tip and another with a soft tip so you can reach every where, sometimes taking the felt charge that is inside the pen and use it directly in the surface to paint is the best option.

[CS388]

@ CS - Sorry for the late reply. Check this link -

The thread is the most difficult part to paint, and probably only from inside it will not completely cover the transparency. Probably the best option for you will be, as you will only need to color the thread, using a acetate permanent marker and paint the thread. It may not cover all but it will make it a bit better.
I use this

Choose one with a hard tip and another with a soft tip so you can reach every where, sometimes taking the felt charge that is inside the pen and use it directly in the surface to paint is the best option.

Ah. Thanks, Vasco. That's excellent

[piscov]

CS, just to clarify, use the permanent markers in the inside of the barrel, where the threaded part is not on the exterior of the barrel.

[CS388]

CS, just to clarify, use the permanent markers in the inside of the barrel, where the threaded part is not on the exterior of the barrel.

Yeah, I got that. I remember reading an old thread by Maxpens about the interior painting of the barrels. (He even had a diagram of equipment to re-stripe an ink window!) This was years ago, on FPN (I think). Tried looking for it, but no joy.

I also have some black Lumocolour pens. Still waiting for the new (old) barrel to arrive, then I can get started.

Thanks again, Vasco. You've been a big help.

Best, CS

[Athanas]

Impressive work on a beautiful pen!

[j19hnd]

Great job looks wow.I would be very proud of all your great work . Looks great and keeps its age.