Drying A Preppy Out In A Hurry

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I've gotten more than one Platinum Preppy fountain pen lately. I am cleaning and flushing them all. A problem I'm running into is that they take so long to dry out.

 

All in all, a Preppy will take about three or four days to completely dry out once I've gotten done with cleaning it. I really would like to have the drying process take a lot less time. I also don't like a pen with enclosed parts to be wet and exposed to the atmosphere for that length of time because it increases the possibility that something will start to grow in the water in that part.

 

The problem is the collector, or whatever it may be called, in the section. That's the thing with all of the fins on it that fits in the section and into which the nib and feed fit.

 

I have been able to remove the nib/feed unit from the Preppy, but that collector thing, which is the same color plastic as the cap, is giving me trouble.

 

Has anyone ever been able to remove that piece of plastic? If so how did you do it? I can't find anything that will even get a grip on the thing.

 

Thanks for any help with this.

[Randal6393]

Might do the "shake, shake, shake" over the sink to get out as much water as possible, then put in a small baggy with a handful of uncooked rice. That should wick out the moisture in about 4 to 5 hours. Have not removed the collector on a Preppy, wouldn't know where to start on that one.

 

I'm not sure why you want your pens to be bone dry. Are you refilling them right away? If so, clean is fine and wet won't hurt anything. At most, may lighten your ink colour for a day or so. If you are storing them, then bone dry is correct.

 

Best of luck,

[AAAndrew]

Look up "fountain pen salad spinner"

[ac12]

 

Look up "fountain pen salad spinner"

 

 

+1

 

works GREAT

[Sasha Royale]

Cotton T-shirts and under-draws are absorbent. Cut some old ones into rags.

After forcing out the rinse water, wrap the nib and section in a cotton rag or paper towel. Hold securely and shake the pen like a medical thermometer. A dozen shakes should do. Put the nib in contact with a dry spot and leave the pen standing nib down for a half hour. (Have a bowl of ice cream.) The dry rag/paper will "wick" out residual water from the feed. Store the pen or re-ink it.

 

If your pen is still a bit damp, It won't get athlete's foot. Traces of water won't hurt the ink, which is mostly water.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Sasha Royale

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Look up "fountain pen salad spinner"

 

No need to look it up, I've known about it for years.

 

The problem here is that the collector has the fins at right angles to the opening. Some good swings, and some blasts from an ear syringe, have gotten some of the water out, but the very tiny bits of water that cling to the fins of the collector are what I'm trying to get rid of.

 

A cotton swab inserted down the central core of the collector has wicked out some of the water, but enough remains that I am concerned about spores getting in there and taking up residence. In addition, I would really like to be able to dry these things out in an hour or so, not in three or four days, as is currently the case.

 

That's why I'm looking to see if anyone has ever gotten one of those collectors out of the section of a Platinum Preppy.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

If your pen is still a bit damp, It won't get athlete's foot. Traces of water won't hurt the ink, which is mostly water.

 

Actually, Athletes Foot shares rather a similar cause with what I'm concerned about. Both are caused by fungal spores getting onto something the fungus can use. It's no fun finding that a fountain pen has what looks like a gossamer patch in the ink channel that's causing all sorts of problems.

 

An ounce of precaution is worth kilograms of disinfection.