J.b.’S Perfect Pen Flush : Review

[lbhajdu]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6528275243_f12c11c3d8_z.jpg

IMGP3480 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

This is a review of J.B.’s Perfect Pen Flush produced by the  Gate City Pen & Ink Company, which is a partnership between Richard Binder and Jim Baer. It is not an ink, however I thought this would be a good place to put this review because the product is a liquid for flushing ink out of pens that comes in an ink-like bottle. The moderators can feel free to move it if they wish. At the time of this writing this product can be obtained from:

 

Richard Binder (www.richardspens.com)

The Goulet Pen Company (www.gouletpens.com)

Art Brown International Pen Shop in N.Y.C. (www.artbrown.com)

 

My only affiliation is that I have purchased pens and pen products from all these people. It comes in a 4.0oz and a 16.0oz bottle. The 4.0oz bottle looks like the 4 sided Noodler's bottle but is a bit taller. The cost is, at the time of this writing $7USD for the 4.0oz, that comes to $1.75USD / oz or , $0.05USD / ml. In other words it's dirt cheap compared to the ink it's self. Noodler's starts at 0.14USD / ml. The bottle opening will accommodate any sanely sized pen. The solution is clear. It produces bubbles if shaken, and has a smell of Ammonia (NH3).

 

<rant>

For the most part innovation in the United States in the field of chemical products by private individuals is pretty much dead. The availability of raw materials for private individuals is highly restrained. If you're looking for new innovation to get us out of the current economic doldrums, look elsewhere, sorry. It seems that all raw inorganic chemicals are used for making explosives and all organic chemicals are precursors to methamphetamines, hence we have to be protected from them. So it is quite surprising to see a product like this come on to the market.

</rant>

 

I came by this product in a funny way, I had started using Noodler's La Reine Mauve and after a few fills the Mauve was starting to build up on the underside of the nib. The water-proofnessness (that's not a real word) of this ink is amazing, it's even more water-proof then Noodler's black which can smudge a little bit under water. After filling it with the mauve about three times, without flushing in between fills, the cartridge converter started to get sticky when twisting. So I figured it was time for a flush. I noticed that just dipping the nib in water to try to get dried ink off the top of the nib simply for aesthetic reasons was not working, however wiping/rubbing dried ink off the top of the nib was working. In contrast Noodler's Eel blue totally washes of quickly with just water. This gave me reason to suspect water was not going to work in flushing ink out of the deep in-accessible parts of the pen. I just happened to be placing a order with Richard Binder so I picked up some of this Pen Flush if a water or soapy water soak was not going to work. And if I photograph step by step systematically testing, I can get a review out of it and form a solid opinion as to weather this product is worth bothering with. So lets start with the basic line, this is my Bexley Americana fountain pen. It has been refilled by dipping the nib into the bottle about three times and has been inked with the Mauve for about a month:

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6528276051_dda29f462e_b.jpg

IMGP3456 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

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IMGP3457 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

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IMGP3458 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

I soaked the pen for at least one hour in water. The liquid (un-dried) ink (Noodler's La Reine Mauve) was flushed out of the pen, and could be seen in the water, however all the dried ink on the top and bottom did not re-dissolve. The area which was kept wet around the feed was clean. It's a little hard to see but these show up in the photos, so the inner parts of the feed that did not dry out may not be so bad. After the one hour soak in just water I replaced the water, there was still a very small thread of liquid Mauve coming out. I mixed a little dish soap into the water and let it soak for one more hour. As can be seen from the pictures the solid ink is still there. A few random chunks of Mauve broke off here and there, but the difference between water and soap is not that big. Also a stain can be seen on the converter. I am not sure if its a stain of just the silicon grease or of the plastic its self on the cartridge converter. It should be noted that Noodler's has a standard line which is very safe, however there are some exotic inks, for which some common sense should be applied. For example, don't use it in your Pelikan M1000 demonstrator. Pick a cartridge converter pen with a black section. You can get five international cartridge converters for five bucks on e-bay so if one is stained it won't feel as bad as if you stained your M1000 demonstrator. Most pens in the old days had black sections now I understand why. I am still using this ink to this day and may do a separate review later. Below are the pictures after the two soaks:

 

 

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IMGP3477 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

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IMGP3475 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

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IMGP3478 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

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IMGP3474 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

After this point I started to get nervous. I removed un-twisted the nib-feed assembly from the section, that's usually where the ink hides. I soaked a little bit more in soapy water until no more Mauve came out. At this point I was not expecting any miracles from the pen flush, and I was guessing am going to end up pulling the nib and feed apart to mechanically clean it out. Then a miracle happened, I just dipped the nib into the pen flush, and ABSOLUTELY ALL the Mauve re-dissolved on contact!!! I sucked the pen flush through the converter to make sure the insides get cleaned out. Because I was not expecting such a dramatic affect, I was not set up to photograph this. But I rushed the bottle back to the camera setup so the Mauve can be seen in the pen flush bottle:

 

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6528275561_fa7971dfc7_b.jpg

IMGP3484 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

After the dip in the pen flush the nib gleamed. Then I flushed the pen (at least the insides of it) in water. The stain in the converter got a bit lighter but not very much so. Here are some pictures of the cleaned nib so you can see it for yourself, absolutely no mechanical cleaning was done, just a few second dip in the pen flush:

 

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6528276799_f61017c189_b.jpg

IMGP3488 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6528276991_46b32ac599_b.jpg

IMGP3489 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

 

 

Naturally this may sound a bit incredible but the results are reproducible and I have documented everything here.

 

Because with this particular ink so much of the dyed ink remains in the pen, in future I will try transferring a small amount of the pen flush to a smaller container and using that to flush the pen so the contents of the bottle do not get discolored.

 

If all you ever use are gentle non-water-proof inks like the "standard" Noodler's line, the "Eel" Noodler's line, Diamine, J. Herbin and Waterman and you never let them dry out, then you probably don't really need this product, just plain water will work just fine. If you're restoring vintage pens encrusted in old ink it's worth a try. If you are using some of the more exotic Noodler's inks, Baystate, Warden's (usually has bad in the name), and V-mail (plains on the label), or other water-proof inks or particle based inks it's a good idea to flush with pen flush. I would go so far as to say if you're using Noodler's La Reine Mauve, or Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng it's really mandatory you should buy it with the ink. It can't really undo staining but it can work wonders on dried on water proof inks.

 

 

B.T.W.

I don't think this cross-linking between flickr and FPN is a good idea. Changes will lead to missing pictures.

 

Leve

[GreenVelvet]

Wow. Thank you SO much for this thorough review!

 

 

I'd seen this product but had figured it was just kind of silly. I had no idea Richard Binder was one of the ones behind it, and I am so intrigued by your review. I do use a lot of the fancy exotic inks, and am really thinking I need to pick up a bottle of this stuff now.

 

Thanks again!!

[Lloyd]

Have you tried an approximately 1:9 ammonia/water mix to clean you pen?

[John Cullen]

Thank you so much for taking the time to photograph and write up your experiences. I have been planning on buying some of this but had not gotten around to it yet. I will do so now.

 

I really enjoyed reading this and looking at the photos. I am sure I will go through this one again. The pictures kind of make me feel like I am there. I guess I am a little weird.

 

 

thanks, j

[avlisyar]

I have been using J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush

for the last three (3) months with very good

results.

[InkyWinky]

I have also been using it for the last 4 months with excellent results. As the specific method involves ejecting the fluid back into the bottle (back and forth) until the fluid is rather nasty and dirty, my cleaning method is a slight modification as follows:

 

• Flush pen with plain cool water until reasonably clean.
• From my 16 OZ bottle of JB Flush I pour a 1.5 OZ portion into a 2.0 OZ nalgene bottle.
• I use the smaller isolated sample as directed, doing a "final flush" with the "in and out, in and out" process on perhaps 10-12 pens before the fluid is dirty enough to toss.
• Final rinse twice in cool water to clean out the fluid and also make sure that the cleaning agent is 100% gone so as not to break all surface tension on the next ink fill or the ink will quite run out of the pen. Made that error just once...

My pens are sparkling clean inside and out, all the way around (pistons, levers and cc alike) and I don't contaminate the "big bottle" by using a smaller sample for the "in and out" flush process. This has been very helpful on my CS lever fillers as getting them shiny clean inside so the next ink fill won't have a shade of the last is no easy task with plain water, IMO. Same on a getting a good clean on my many demonstrators - Pelikan M800's, Pilot 823's, Stipula's and TWSBI's all get well flushed with ink gone from nook and cranny alike.

 

I guess I could "make my own" and play with the formula but in this one bottle I have at least 120 perfect pen final flushes and if I am diligent on the cool water probably twice as many.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Powerbroker

[tenney]

Thanks. Something to remember to buy the next time I buy anything from these folks.

[JefferyS]

Thanks for the review. I have way too many pens currently in my rotation, and tomorrow I plan to clean out about 12 of them. I have a large bottle of the pen flush as well as a lot of little glass bottles. I'm going to use the information in this thread (thanks to the OP and PowerBroker) for the info.

[kp288908]

Thanks for the excellent review! I have been using this product for almost 6 months, and have had very good results also. It's also been instrumental in cleaning the old, dried ink out of a pen purchased from eBay.

 

@Powerbroker: I like your method and I'm going to try it. Thanks for the share.

[Horseknitter]

Had my eye on this product for a while. Your review pictures as well as your thorough review has sold me. Thanks.

 

And Thanks to Powerbroker for the process. FPN is a great aid to a hobby that few know anything about. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[geoduc]

Excellent review of this product, thanks! I've been using it for about six months and find that I don't need it for cleaning pens that have been used regularly with normal inks, but it definitely helps to provide an extra cleaning boost on more difficult jobs.

 

Thanks also to Powerbroker. I didn't know that PPF was available in larger bottles; I'll have to pick one up.

[lbhajdu]

Thank you all,

I'm pleased everyone likes the review. In some cases I think fliker has higher resolution images of some of my pics.

 

Lloyd,

No I have not tried 1:9 ammonia/water mix. I suspect the results may be similar, but I was lazy, I would have to find the stuff at the super market. Then I would have to figure out how to get it from whatever water/ammonia ratio it's currently in to 1:9 (though I suspect the ratio is not super critical). I'll have to think about the math formula for that a little bit.

 

One more interesting note I forgot to share. The pic below shows the two bottles of pen flush I have. The one on the left comes from Richard the one on the right comes from Brian. The label on the one from the right looks a bit more distressed then the one on the left. I know Brian does an excellent job at packaging. Mine was double wrapped in that plastic with the air pockets and some blue material so I know it did not get that way in shipping. Not that it makes any real difference in functionality.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6528277509_36ec953553_b.jpg

IMGP3498 by lbhajdu, on Flickr

[JefferyS]

The one on the right looks like roaches have been nibbling on the label. Adds to the "vintage" look.

[Rhincodon]

Thank you so much for this great review! I actually bought a bottle of Pen Flush a while ago, but haven't used it yet. But I will finally clean some of my nibs tomorrow!

 

Converter stains don't bother me, honestly. I had a bit of blue from BSB in a converter once, but it had vanished the next time I emptied a pen and I didn't notice any changes in the new ink.

[Jadie]

Very nice! When I saw this on Gouletpens, I was hesitant to buy it because I wasn't sure how long 4oz could last. But now there's instructions and options for a 16oz bottle too, so things are looking up. =D

 

(Which is perfect because my Kaweco Sport is currently a Kung Te-Cheng fossil, and I'm debating between buying a giant bottle of ammonia or this thing.)

[specialk0449]

Thank you very much for doing such an excellent review. i will be purchasing bottle of PPF in the near future.

[tanalasta]

Nice stuff... many thanks for doing a review and brilliant photos!

 

I was meaning to do a review but don't have much to add to yours.

 

The ingredients on the packaging are ammonia, water, surfactants (detergent) and a small amount of ethanol. When I emailed Richard enquiring if the ethanol was safe for resin pens, he replied sayin the amount was very, very small and he had been using it for years without damage. However, he did not recommend leaving anything inside the pen to soak overnight or for a period of time.

 

I now regularly use the pen flush whenever I change colours or put away a pen for storage. It really does help reach under the nib and flush out that dried residue that accumulates with time. Lovely stuff! And I imagine the bottle lasting quite a long time as I use it only as a final flush.

 

The instructions also say to rinse the pen out in water after use as the leftover surfactants could cause excessive flow if not flushed out.

The bottle can be used until it is no longer 'clear and see through' ... I've only done a half dozen flushes and see it lasting a very, very long time if you use it as a final flush.

[JamieWG]

Thanks so much for a fabulous review! Putting some of this into my shopping cart for my next ink binge!

 

And:

 

(Which is perfect because my Kaweco Sport is currently a Kung Te-Cheng fossil, and I'm debating between buying a giant bottle of ammonia or this thing.)[/font]

 

LOL about the Kung Te-Cheng fossil! :ltcapd:

[SamCapote]

Well done review.

 

Now I wonder how it would have compared to the water/ammonia/soap mixture, or my current favorite, Koh-I-Noor Rapido-Eze Pen Cleaner. I have all three, and can see another experiment on the horizon.

 

I can already tell you that none of them did squat for my BSB stained Pelikano feed and converter....which is why it is dedicated to that ink. Have not tried bleach.

Edited December 30, 2011 by SamCapote

[lapis]

Bleach worked for me. Plain ol' ordinary 'chlorine bleach', actually hypochlorite. Includes < 5% non-ionic tensides. I start off small, like a 1:20 dilution, then 1:10, 1:5 and so. Of course finally rinsing out with tons of water.

 

 

Mike