Trying To Clean The Ink Off The Cap Of This Bottle...

[OcalaFlGuy]

 

Yea I'm familiar with the deadly vapors the two create...

 

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

 

If I had one of those.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Moshe ben David]

KBeezie: do you know anyone in your school's chemistry department? If so, ask them if they have what I think is trade named plasti-film (or something like that). We used to use it to seal beakers, test tubes, etc. If they have some and will give you some of it, you may be able to use it either alone or in conjunction with the corroded cap.

[yogalarva]

Shaking some water around inside seems pretty well sealed now. Guessing the lid wasn't on that good from the manufacture.

 

Edit: ... or not, seems there's quite a bit of water in the threaded area after testing.

 

My cap doesn't seem to screw on very well either - like the threads don't line up fantastically to get a smooth turn. I've been meaning to put some silicone grease on it, but haven't used the ink stored inside for quite a while so it slipped my mind. Like you, I basically got this just for the bottle (ordered an empty one from Goulet) so it's not that much of a bummer, but it is a bit disappointing to see a problem like this on such an expensive ink.

[KBeezie]

 

My cap doesn't seem to screw on very well either - like the threads don't line up fantastically to get a smooth turn. I've been meaning to put some silicone grease on it, but haven't used the ink stored inside for quite a while so it slipped my mind. Like you, I basically got this just for the bottle (ordered an empty one from Goulet) so it's not that much of a bummer, but it is a bit disappointing to see a problem like this on such an expensive ink.

 

I'm thinking my solution may be to get some corkwood that's a little thicker than the white foam that's already in the top, may help provide a stronger seal against the lip of the bottle. the Lid does go on tight, but it doesn't seem to prohibit fluid from spilling over the lip of the bottle over into the threads. Also not sure how well silicone gel would work on such wide threads with breaks (intentional) in between each half of a diameter.

 

Far as the 'salvaged' inks, they're resting in 3 and a half sample vials (lucky I had that many left over), so the bottle itself right now is empty. I would put some of the ink back in, but if it's not water tight then it's not air tight and I don't want to create a situation of the ink slowly drying out in the bottle.

[David_W]

KBeezie: do you know anyone in your school's chemistry department? If so, ask them if they have what I think is trade named plasti-film (or something like that). We used to use it to seal beakers, test tubes, etc. If they have some and will give you some of it, you may be able to use it either alone or in conjunction with the corroded cap.

The brand we used when I studied chemistry at university (and the genercised name we used) was Parafilm. It tends to be a one shot deal - you really need virgin film to reseal the bottle.

 

 

Personally, I'd toss the lot unless you're only going to use the ink in cheap pens that you don't mind hurting. Whilst it's likely that most of the lid corrosion products were in that crust, it's possible that some are now in the ink. If so, evaporation or a reaction with another ink or a cleaning fluid could lead to some equally hard to remove deposit in the pen.

 

As the bottle is poorly sealed, it seems to have little use other than as a decorative item.

 

 

I wouldn't hesitate to toss any ink or bottle I had concerns with. There again, all my pens have either sentimental (my two Parker 25s) or financial value (my two Lamy Accents and especially my Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand) that far exceeds the value of any suspect ink.

[KBeezie]

I wouldn't hesitate to toss any ink or bottle I had concerns with. There again, all my pens have either sentimental (my two Parker 25s) or financial value (my two Lamy Accents and especially my Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand) that far exceeds the value of any suspect ink.

I'm holding onto the bottle for now as Caran d'Ache seems very interested in finding out how that happened, their word for it (least on facebook is) "extremely concerned".

 

Far as ink, the only one I put it into so far is one of my 78G with a medium point (a $11 replaceable pen).

Edited April 17, 2014 by KBeezie

[Garageboy]

C'dA changed their ink packaging recently no?

The cap is probably cast zinc

[Moshe ben David]

The brand we used when I studied chemistry at university (and the genercised name we used) was Parafilm. It tends to be a one shot deal - you really need virgin film to reseal the bottle.

 

 

Personally, I'd toss the lot unless you're only going to use the ink in cheap pens that you don't mind hurting. Whilst it's likely that most of the lid corrosion products were in that crust, it's possible that some are now in the ink. If so, evaporation or a reaction with another ink or a cleaning fluid could lead to some equally hard to remove deposit in the pen.

 

As the bottle is poorly sealed, it seems to have little use other than as a decorative item.

 

 

I wouldn't hesitate to toss any ink or bottle I had concerns with. There again, all my pens have either sentimental (my two Parker 25s) or financial value (my two Lamy Accents and especially my Yard-O-Led Viceroy Grand) that far exceeds the value of any suspect ink.

 

YES! Parafilm! That is what I was trying to remember. I last used it when dinosaurs walked the earth you see....

[KBeezie]

C'dA changed their ink packaging recently no?

The cap is probably cast zinc

 

They changed *something* since Goulet Staff wouldn't have asked this otherwise:

 

Quick question: was crusty bottle the one we just shipped to Daniel this April or an older bottle from the prior formulation?

 

 

(course to answer that, it's the one he received last week, though whether or not newer or older is for 03.2013 date on the bottom, I don't know, but it was received last week)

[Garageboy]

Sorry, I thought this was a Colors of the Earth bottle, not a current C'dA bottle

[KBeezie]

Got this reply back from Caran d'Ache

 

Dear Karl,

As all fountain pen inks, the Caran d'Ache ink has no neutral PH. In the case of Chromatics "Electric orange" the ink is alkaline (PH > 7). This high PH protects the ink from the contaminations and prevents the mold. This chemical property alters certain metals. In your case the metal of the lid is not correctly protected by the outer layer and it has deteriorated.

The fountain pen nibs are made in massif gold or stainless steel, they are noble metals which do not deteriorate even during long contact with ink. There is no problem in the use of this ink for the Caran d’Ache fountain pens.

On the other hand, the plating of the lid on the photo is insufficient, we apologize for that. We have transferred your case to our After Sales Service, for guarantee replacement. To avoid future problems and to improve the product, we developed a new lid for the Chromatic ink bottles.

Indeed, the new versions of the bottle have got a lid with a resin insert, that improves the waterproofness, and the protection of the metallic lid. This also gives it a more smoothly and comfortable screwing.

We thank you for your interest in our products and hope that they will continue to give you full satisfaction.

The Caran d'Ache Team

 

[David_W]

It sounds like Caran d'Ache have been sensible in their continuous product development. It is clear, in practice, that the plating on the lid is insufficient to prevent the ink from attacking the lid, especially if the plating is damaged through use of the threading.

 

A polymer inert, which does not react to contact with the ink, seems the best solution.

[inotrym]

Admitting the problem and fixing it.

Straight up and professional.

 

Good for them!

[KBeezie]

Admitting the problem and fixing it.

Straight up and professional.

 

Good for them!

 

Quite so, though I did find their first sentence to be rather bold.

 

"As all fountain pen inks, the Caran d'Ache ink has no neutral PH."

 

I'm looking at a bottle of Noodler's Black Eel on my desk with the phrase on the bottom of the label "Always pH Neutral".

[MyriamV]

The fountain pen nibs are made in massif gold or stainless steel, they are noble metals which do not deteriorate even during long contact with ink.

Stainless steel a noble metal? I'm not sure, but I don't think so.

[David_W]

Gold nibs are not pure gold. The non-gold components of the alloy are likely to be more reactive metals. If you try hard enough, you can make gold react, as in this famous case (click to link).

 

Stainless steel is stainless - not inert. Under the right circumstances, you can corrode stainless steel. Prolonged contact with salt water certainly corrodes stainless steel.

[dneal]

I have two CdA bottles - Magnetic and Idyllic Blue. One has no evidence of pitting. One has two small pits, but with no ink residue in or near the pits. It could be casting defects, which seems odd since there also appear to be machining marks in the rest of the cap. I don't know why there are no machining marks on the threads.

 

The other issue is that we don't know what compounds were used for the colors. Perhaps something in the orange is more corrosive than the blues?