pen nibs tarnished

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owlelope

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Joined
Jan 23, 2009
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Location
Findlay, Ohio
I haven't done any craft shows since last March and I pulled out my pens to take a look at them to see what I had and 15 or 16 of them had tarnish on their nibs. I tried using some brasso to clean them but that didn't work. I buffed them lightly and all that did was to take the plating off. Is there anyway I can salvage them before next Saturday's show or do I need to get new nibs?

I just made some bullet pens and used automotive clear lacquer on them and the nibs to protect them. Will this work in the future to keep the nibs from tarnishing?

If I need new nibs, does anyone have gold nibs and rings at a reasonable price that I can buy to replace them?

Rod
 
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Rod,

The term "nib" is pretty all-encompassing around here, unfortunately.

Take a pic of the "nib" in question and the pen style, so we know what you are asking.

Thanks
 
Once you have removed the plating, unless you know how to re-plate them, I think you are at a point of having to replace them. I will defer to anyone with more knowledge, but from my years in sales of engraved items (and doing the engraving) once the plating flaked the item was toast.

Linda
 
not tarnish

owlelope said:
I haven't done any craft shows since last March and I pulled out my pens to take a look at them to see what I had and 15 or 16 of them had tarnish on their nibs. I tried using some brasso to clean them but that didn't work. I buffed them lightly and all that did was to take the plating off. Is there anyway I can salvage them before next Saturday's show or do I need to get new nibs?

I just made some bullet pens and used automotive clear lacquer on them and the nibs to protect them. Will this work in the future to keep the nibs from tarnishing?

If I need new nibs, does anyone have gold nibs and rings at a reasonable price that I can buy to replace them?

Rod
Click to expand...

Whatever your problem is..it ain't tarnish or they ain't gold. Gold does not tarnish.
 
I know gold does not tarnish either. I wish I could see the nibs in question. Certainly if they were stored in a damp environment, they could rust out from the inside and get under the plating, being that they are nickel inside.

For purchasing gold nibs and rings for slimlines..it is probably cheaper to just buy the kits and pull out the parts you want. Toss the parts you don't want into a box for future use...they can come in handy down the road.
 
I don't know

workinforwood said:
I know gold does not tarnish either. I wish I could see the nibs in question. Certainly if they were stored in a damp environment, they could rust out from the inside and get under the plating, being that they are nickel inside.

For purchasing gold nibs and rings for slimlines..it is probably cheaper to just buy the kits and pull out the parts you want. Toss the parts you don't want into a box for future use...they can come in handy down the road.
Click to expand...
If the base material in nickel, it is pretty resistant to oxidation (tarnish) itself...I think they also use brass or bronze sometimes and both of those are subject to tarnish. Much of the gold is clear coated with epoxy...I wonder if it could be the clear coat.
 
I found one of my old slims in the basement pantry. It was on the concrete..probably been there a long time. The nib, centerband, clip, whole thing was rusted right out. It was a chrome plated slim..I assume the inside was nickel..but who even could know.
 
Nickel don't rust . The pen kit parts are made from brass or white metal which is a zinc alloy . They are plated with nickel as a barrier coat for the top layer plating of gold or whatever plating is used .
I would guess that either the epoxy coating went bad or the plating was damaged by CA out gassing from either CA that was used for gluing in the nibs or even from a CA finish if the pens were kept in a sealed case or pen storage tubes . CA damage is consistent with a tarnished looking finish .
 
if memory serves, 24k gold won't tarnish, but the other alloys can due to the other metals involved in the alloy.

Think .999 Silver and Sterling Silver (.925) pure silver is a noble metal and doesn't tarnish, but the copper content in Sterling allows it to tarnish.
 
Silver

Russianwolf said:
if memory serves, 24k gold won't tarnish, but the other alloys can due to the other metals involved in the alloy.

Think .999 Silver and Sterling Silver (.925) pure silver is a noble metal and doesn't tarnish, but the copper content in Sterling allows it to tarnish.
Click to expand...

Pure silver will tarnish if exposed to sulfer. Tarnish on pure silver is silver sulfide.
 
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