What Inks Stain A Lot?

[Bo Bo Olson]

What inks stain a lot.

 

I'd been interested in Apache Sunset, until I read it stains a lot and windows. I have mostly piston pens, and would not want to put it in a piston pen by accident if it is a problem.

 

I had read Ghost Plane mentioned it had a problem.

 

On the same old 2006? thread Iraqi Indigo was mentioned as a staining ink.

 

Have they re-formulated apache sunset so one can use it in other than a c/c pen?

 

I did read the reviews; dry seemed to be 'the problem'. I have glycerin, so dry is not a problem.

To me staining is a problem.

Edited December 18, 2011 by Bo Bo Olson

[The Good Captain]

I've read on here somewhere that Diamine Imperial Purple stains. Now I've no experience of that but the Imperial Blue I use quite a lot,has left a very pale lilac stain to the converter that I use in a Conway Stewart. It's one of theirs and is made from a very transparent material. However, I'd rather have the converter staining situation than the ink window in one of my Pelikans but in the long run, it doesn't matter to me anyway, as I don't plan to sell the pens.

I've not come across any other staining in CS converters yet but I don't use any red inks and I've heard that red is a particularly staining colour.

No doubt I'll be corrected if I'm wrong!!!!!

[PJohnP]

My experience has been that red and brown inks, especially the more strongly saturated ones, are the most likely to stain. This has been followed by the purples. Interestingly enough, I've rarely had any issues with black inks.

 

The other issue, and I'm treading very lightly here without mentioning any brand-names, have been some of the more "permanent" inks, where they seem to deposit on pen's surfaces, and need specific cleaning regimens to remove the coatings. These aren't per se "staining", but are vexing to clear sometimes. I've found that some quick internet research on those inks has allowed me to efficiently clean pens using those inks.

 

I've said before, and I'll mention again, that thorough and consistent "pen hygiene" solves most issues with inks. If I do suspect that an ink would have potential for significant staining or plugging, I have a "test-bed" Pelikan M250 that I bring into play for a period of several weeks with an ink in question. I've only had a couple of inks that I couldn't easily clear from that pen with application of some research and thought. Once I've established the behaviour of a "suspect" ink in the test-bed pen, normal pen hygiene practices, occasionally more rigorous in frequency, have generally sufficed.

 

 

 

John P.

[Uncle Red]

I'll say it. I had trouble cleaning Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher out of a pen. I had more trouble cleaning PR Invincible Aqua Blue out of a pen. Your theory that the more permanent inks can be a problem seems to be born out. Bad Blue Heron wasn't as bad but Platinum Mix Free Aurora blue was very hard to clean (and is also water resistant). Diamine Raw Sienna stained a sack on one of my chinese pens.

 

ymmv

[someonesdad]

I just dealt with a sink stain yesterday with Bay State Blue and it also stained the converter. It has also stained the sacs of some pens I have. Staining doesn't bother me because I don't see the sacs or converters when I'm writing, but I can understand about not wanting a piston or eyedropper getting stained when you want to see the ink amount in the pen. So I definitely recommend staying away from BSB; it's possible the other inks of that series also do similar staining (see the reviews).

 

I have a converter in a custom pen that was stained by Parker Emerald Green. Well, it might not have been staining, but there is a definite green band near the mouth of the converter. This surprised me a bit (it happened a few years ago), as I didn't expect it with that ink.

[cikavac]

What inks stain a lot.

 

I'd been interested in Apache Sunset, until I read it stains a lot and windows. I have mostly piston pens, and would not want to put it in a piston pen by accident if it is a problem.

 

I have not experienced Apache Sunset staining anything.

 

I think my most staining ink is Nooder's Kung Te-Cheng, which doesn't exactly stain, but it leaves a bluish deposit that is very difficult to remove.

[PJohnP]

I think my most staining ink is Nooder's Kung Te-Cheng, which doesn't exactly stain, but it leaves a bluish deposit that is very difficult to remove.

 

Dilute ammonia will remove K-T-C deposits handily from fountain pens, and will even remove spots on non-cellulotic material carpeting. Obviously, one doesn't leave ammonia solutions in pens for extended periods, but it's (relatively) benign for short periods.

 

 

 

John P.

[raging.dragon]

I've had Diamine Maroon stain an ink window. Montblanc Toffee Brown left what I believe is a deposit not a stain on a frosted/matt finish ink window. Montblanc Lavender Purple leaves a haze behind on my TWSBI, but I believe that's ink in the silicone grease instead of a real stain. Noodler's Polar Black leaves hard to clean gunk on nibs my nibs, but there's no indication of stains or deposits on plastic parts. No issues (yet) with Diamine Imperial Purple, Red Dragon or Jade Green, Montblanc Irish Green, Noodler's #41 Brown or BSIAR, Private Reserve DC Super Violet or Spearmint Green, or Waterman Havana Brown.

[JLT]

A decent rule of thumb - anything containing red dyes is more prone to staining. That includes many brown and purple ink formulations. That is not to say that nothing else will stain . . .

[Grendel]

My experience w/ staining is that it's the silicone grease that gets stained. There is one notable exception -- Whalemans Sepia did stain the vegetal resin of a Noodler's demonstrator FP yellow(ish). Haven't tried to clean it up more aggressivly yet tho.

[jgrasty]

I have over a 100 inks at last count, and not one has permanently stained any of my pens, including good ol' Baystate Blue (a little chlorine bleach goes a long way on any BSB stains). I also have Noodler's Apache Sunset and Kung Te-Cheng, and haven't had issues with those inks, either. A few required more agressive cleaning (a little ammonia solution does the trick normally) but I've found that good pen maintenance cures most ink ills. It is certainly correct that silicone grease will pick up ink colors, so beware in clear demonstrators, of this fact.

[leod]

Herbin 1670, it even left stains on the nib markings.

[KCat]

the only thing that I have that is stained is a Pelikan M150 ink view window. It has a smudge of BSB in it that I have not been able to get out. I have not tried anything other than regular soap and water and a cotton swab. I did not use the ink in it so do not know if it had other ink in it before the BSB was used.

 

Well, there was a Waterman converter of mine that was stained with Waterman Violet. That's all I ever used in the converter so it was no surprise to me that it was permanently purple. Probably, if I could have taken it apart and cleaned it, I could have taken care of the ink residue inside it. But converters being so small, that wasn't possible so I just left it with the purple remnants.

[inkobsessed]

Waterman Havanna Brown, Herbin Café des Iles, a very dry brown) and MB blue-black, (not the Midnight-blue which I haven't tried yet), did stain but could be cleaned. The worst ink was Parker Penman Sapphire. It distroyed my Pelikan M200 fillingsystem. My penshop had to send it away to repair and when it came back I had to promise never to use any Penman ink but Pelikan ink.

 

Joop

[Bo Bo Olson]

Waterman Havanna Brown, Herbin Café des Iles, a very dry brown) and MB blue-black, (not the Midnight-blue which I haven't tried yet), did stain but could be cleaned. The worst ink was Parker Penman Sapphire. It distroyed my Pelikan M200 fillingsystem. My penshop had to send it away to repair and when it came back I had to promise never to use any Penman ink but Pelikan ink.

 

Joop

""Toffee Brown left what I believe is a deposit not a stain on a frosted/matt finish ink window.""

Of course I have Herbin Café des Iles and Toffee.

 

I was just about to do a small test of one cartridge (of 8) of Penman Sapphire. Suck it up into a piston pen and some DC Supershow blue. Both were gifts.

That test will have to be much more controlled and extensive than I thought so I can use up all the ink, then clean the pen.

 

 

I knew about red..so have only one red, a Bordeaux, and a red with a brown name Collodi.

.....""A decent rule of thumb - anything containing red dyes is more prone to staining. That includes many brown and purple ink formulations.""

 

That was new to me.

[PJohnP]

The worst ink was Parker Penman Sapphire. It distroyed my Pelikan M200 filling system. My penshop had to send it away to repair and when it came back I had to promise never to use any Penman ink but Pelikan ink.

 

In counterpoint, although not in any way denying that person's experience, I've had PPS in an M405 for several months without any issues. I will say that the pen was cleaned pretty thoroughly, and the piston treated with a fresh (thin) coat of high purity silicone before the changeover. I'm pretty careful with pen hygiene with any deeply saturated ink, regardless of the maker/brand.

 

 

 

John P.

Edited December 20, 2011 by PJohnP

[Bo Bo Olson]

Great info John.

 

I spent so much time in Germany looking for silicon and not finding any pure stuff.

A very nice poster from Spain sent me a tiny bottle that I've been using for a couple of years.

 

Last week I found out German pharmacies carry pure silicon grease. That's where I get my ammonia and glycerin and paraffin that I'll be mixing with beeswax for sealing cork. I got my long fat needle and syringe there too, and rubber ear syringes too.

So odd to have a one stop pen repair shop.