Need Help To Fix Cracked Grip Section And Barrel !

[PandaPen]

Hello, so one of my fountain pens has a big problem. The grip section near the nib and the threads on the barrel are cracked. It is a Sailor 1911 standard black resin pen. After some research I concluded the material is standard acrylic plastic(PMMA resin). Under the name of "precious resin", this is also what most Montblanc's are made of. So, any information on how to fix cracks on a Montblanc will be equally as helpful. I have not looked into other resin pens but, I suspect they may be all the same material.

 

I would greatly appreciate the answer to these three questions:

 

How do I remove the nib and feed from the grip section?

What should I use to repair the cracks?

Is there any special procedure I need to do in order to successfully repair my pen?

 

I am thinking about using 2-ply epoxy resin to fill in the cracks but I am sure there are better longer lasting and more aestheticly pleasing ways to repair them.

Any advice? :hmm1:

[Ron Z]

I haven't found any solvents that play well with the MB resins in the black pens to produce reliable repairs. You can try epoxy, but why not contact Sailor?

[AltecGreen]

That's an interesting comment Ron since the MB resin is proprietary and is suspected to have a certain amount of an undisclosed filler. The Sailor resin is stated by Sailor to be PMMA. It should be easier to find a solvent for the PMMA resin although the solvent might be hard for the general public to obtain. e.g. chloroform.

[orangepenguin]

I haven't found any solvents that play well with the MB resins in the black pens to produce reliable repairs. You can try epoxy, but why not contact Sailor?

 

Absolutely. I would not mess with such a lovely pen. Whilst I am all for tinkering and making good where one can, I think the above advice is spot on. Even if you have to miss out on the joy of fixing the pen for yourself I would trust Sailor to be the expert on how best to make your pen good. I do not wish to be negative, only to be cautious.

[PandaPen]

I haven't found any solvents that play well with the MB resins in the black pens to produce reliable repairs. You can try epoxy, but why not contact Sailor?

 

I want to know all my options before using epoxy because I know epoxy cannot be polished to a shine. The crack would still be somewhat visible after it's sealed. The reason why I don't want to send it to Sailor to repair is because I bought this pen online and there isn't really any kind of receipt, so they will probably charge a hefty fee plus I would also need to pay shipping and handling fees.

 

That's an interesting comment Ron since the MB resin is proprietary and is suspected to have a certain amount of an undisclosed filler. The Sailor resin is stated by Sailor to be PMMA. It should be easier to find a solvent for the PMMA resin although the solvent might be hard for the general public to obtain. e.g. chloroform.

 

I have read dichloromethane is used commonly as a solvent for acrylics and it should be available at hardware stores. Do you happen to know if dichloromethane would work to repair the cracks? Or would it dissolve the area around the crack and cause irreparable damage. Since it is used industrially, I would imagine it to be quite strong.

 

I haven't found any solvents that play well with the MB resins in the black pens to produce reliable repairs. You can try epoxy, but why not contact Sailor?

 

Absolutely. I would not mess with such a lovely pen. Whilst I am all for tinkering and making good where one can, I think the above advice is spot on. Even if you have to miss out on the joy of fixing the pen for yourself I would trust Sailor to be the expert on how best to make your pen good. I do not wish to be negative, only to be cautious.

 

Actually, I am quite confident in my ability to repair the pen myself. As mentioned in my reply to Ron, sending it to Sailor for repair is not really practical. If someone can give me some good advice which leads me to fixing my pen, I'll post the results.

[Ron Z]

Any repair that you do will have to be blended into the surrounding area. It's like body repair, but on a pen instead of a car. The tough part is the work after the crack itself is fused or glued.

[PandaPen]

Any repair that you do will have to be blended into the surrounding area. It's like body repair, but on a pen instead of a car. The tough part is the work after the crack itself is fused or glued.

 

What would need to be done if it was fused together by solvent? If it is just sanding and polishing then that isn't a problem. I've found this material is extremely easy to sand and polish. I've sanded/polished a deep scratch from this pen and from a Montblanc before without any problems. The scratches just basically disappeared.

[PandaPen]

Really? Don't tell me no one in the repair section of the largest fountain pen forum know how to repair a basic crack on the barrel of a fountain pen? Come on, I know that can't be true. Where are all the repairmen hiding?

[AltecGreen]

Really? Don't tell me no one in the repair section of the largest fountain pen forum know how to repair a basic crack on the barrel of a fountain pen? Come on, I know that can't be true. Where are all the repairmen hiding?

 

 

You might want to post a picture. Crack repair is non trivial and the degree of difficulty depends on where the crack is and what is the material. You seem to be asking for more than just crack repair. You want to do a full restoration such that the crack is not longer visible. It might not be possible

 

I don't think anyone is hiding. There are people out there that know how. If they are not responding, then they are not responding. Also, some of the best at this repair are not on FPN.

 

 

At some point, if you really want to do it, then you just have to bite the bullet and try.

[PandaPen]

Really? Don't tell me no one in the repair section of the largest fountain pen forum know how to repair a basic crack on the barrel of a fountain pen? Come on, I know that can't be true. Where are all the repairmen hiding?

 

 

You might want to post a picture. Crack repair is non trivial and the degree of difficulty depends on where the crack is and what is the material. You seem to be asking for more than just crack repair. You want to do a full restoration such that the crack is not longer visible. It might not be possible

 

I don't think anyone is hiding. There are people out there that know how. If they are not responding, then they are not responding. Also, some of the best at this repair are not on FPN.

 

 

At some point, if you really want to do it, then you just have to bite the bullet and try.

Obviously when I said, "hiding" I don't literally mean they are hiding. I know the crack can be easily repaired by epoxy. I just don't have the time right now, but I also know a solvent would give it a better and longer lasting repair, so why not ask you guys and see what would be appropriate to use. Dichloromethane is a general solvent for acrylic, but I don't know if that would work for the job. Do you know if dichloromethane would work, or if you or someone could suggest a better solvent. And, how do I remove the nib and feed from the grip section? That would make the job much easier.

 

Here is the crack on the grip section, the crack on the barrel is invisible to the naked eye so taking a picture would be useless.

[AltecGreen]

That's a bad place for the crack. I think it's a slim chance that a crack repair will work. The Sailor nibs and feed are friction fit. That means the section sees a lot of hoop stress. On a vintage pen, you would be looking for a new section at this point.

 

The nib and feed are friction fit so it just pulls out. You might have to soak the section for a while. Some gentle dry heat can't hurt. You'll have to slowly wiggle it out. It's hard to knock these feeds out from the back because of the nipple for the cartridge.

[Kelly G]

That's a bad place for the crack. I think it's a slim chance that a crack repair will work. The Sailor nibs and feed are friction fit. That means the section sees a lot of hoop stress. On a vintage pen, you would be looking for a new section at this point.

 

+1 on this advice - repairing a crack in a section with a friction fit nib/feed is fraught with problems and often not successful in the long term - too much stress on the plastic.

[Ron Z]

It's not a repair that I could do, and one of my specialties is plastic repair.

 

You would be surprised at the amount of stress put on a pen's section when you write. The first stress is the fit of the nib in the section. A nib is a wedge, and a wedge can produce a tremendous amount of outward force. A nib has to be a snug fit to keep it from shifting so there's some pressure there. The second force is the pressure of the nib on the wall of the section as you press down and write. It's greater than you think!

 

I've tried epoxy, and have tried solvent welding, and section repairs rarely if ever hold. I would want some kind of sleeve inside to distribute the stress, which involves lathe work, at which point you may as well go back to Sailor for the correct part.