Ink leaked into barrel

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WriteON

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PSI 30 cal bolt. Blank is acrylic. Owner wants to know what solvent can use be used to clean inside the barrel with without harming any finishes. I'd gladly mail him a replacement. It was a gift. Thanks
 
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bmachin

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What kind of ink? If fountain or rollerball, water should do the trick. If ballpoint, you're going to need some sort of organic solvent which leaves me in the dark.

Bill
 

monophoto

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The problem is that this pen uses 'Parker style' refills - which means that they are made in a Brand X factory in China, and there is no way to know the actual chemical nature of the ink. But I would also suspect that the ink contains some kind of oil which means that water alone won't be very effective.

The best approach might be to offer a replacement, but if you want, you could also test various solvents to see how the ink reacts. Obviously, acetone is out because it will dissolve the acrylic. But you might test things like ordinary household bleach or DNA to see if they will lift the ink without attacking the plastic. Another option might be one of the D-limonene citrus-oil solvents - they are supposed to be fairly innocuous. The approach I would suggest is to make marks on either heavy paper or fabric, allow the ink to dry to a few days, and then soak in the solvent to see how the ink reacts.

If you choose to go the testing route, be sure to post your results - eventually, someone else will encounter this problem.
 

bmachin

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The best alternative might be to just start mopping it out with paper towels and/or cotton swabs. You'll get enough out that what remains shouldn't be a problem. Just keep at it until the swabs come out clean or nearly clean.

Bill
 

WriteON

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Refill came with kit. I'm going to keep it simply and make a replacement. Also only going to use Schmidt refills. I would feel horrible and responsible if the ink damaged any property.
 
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DrD

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As I stated when I joined IAP several weeks back, I had been away from turning pens for several years. All my equipment and finished pens were packed away. As I began unpacking, I noticed every pen which contained an off-shore Parker-type refill had "exploded" - not literally but figuratively - within the pen, filling the barrel with what was now a tar-like ink mess. As it turns out, the black plastic cap joined to the refill tube, opposite from ball, had totally or partially separated from the metal refill tube, spilling ink out all over the place. Paper towels, q-tips, rags, all soaked in 91% iso-propyl alcohol eventually did the job. I'm not too sure of the shelf life of these cheap refill. I would offer to clean it out and replace with a quality Parker or Schmidt refill - but that's just me.
 

Gary Beasley

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Yeah, alcohol or naptha does a good job. You will get it on your fingers, best way to clean up is to put dish soap on it without water and scrub it in. When you see the ink lifted then use water to get the soap off. Might take more than one cycle of scrub.
 

WriteON

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Am I over reacting if I never want to use the cheap kit supplied refill again. I realize things happen. This is the second leaker in 4 years,
 

DrD

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Most of my kits/finished pens are 6+ years old, and based upon some recent experiences, I'm throwing away all ball point refills, roller ball refills, and ink cartridges. Since I don't know the life expectancy of any of the refills - premium or cheapo - I'll not be in any rush to purchase either. What is considered premium today may not be so desirable tomorrow . As to ink, no more cartridges, just converters with the strong suggestion for buyers/recipiants to use only premium ink.
 

LouCee

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As I stated when I joined IAP several weeks back, I had been away from turning pens for several years. All my equipment and finished pens were packed away. As I began unpacking, I noticed every pen which contained an off-shore Parker-type refill had "exploded" - not literally but figuratively - within the pen, filling the barrel with what was now a tar-like ink mess. As it turns out, the black plastic cap joined to the refill tube, opposite from ball, had totally or partially separated from the metal refill tube, spilling ink out all over the place. Paper towels, q-tips, rags, all soaked in 91% iso-propyl alcohol eventually did the job. I'm not too sure of the shelf life of these cheap refill.

That's good to know. I have several pens from a few years ago that are put away, I better take a look at them. I'm guessing about half of them have the cheap kit supplied refill.
 
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