Why Are You Adding Bleach To Fountain Pen Inks? What Is It All About?

[Old_Inkyhand]

Please stay! I absolutely love your artwork and creativity - such a unique approach, and very well done!

 

I'll definitely buy one of your masterpieces as soon as I'll finish the renovation works in my flat. They are gorgeous. What can be better than a fusion of two passions?

 

The landscapes are my favourites.

[Gofixmix]

Looks great. IMPORTANT! I don't recommend filling fountain pens with bleach. Firstly, the bleach will destroy the pen. Secondly the flow of bleach through the nib is unpredictable often resulting in a prolapse and a puddle of bleach on your artwork. Thirdly and most importantly - if it goes wrong you could damage your skin and lungs! When using bleach please use a dip pen only in a ventilated room and use small quantities of diluted bleach kept ideally in a lass vessel - an old ink bottle is ideal. Take care. N

Naturally, I meant £1 Chinese pen and flush it after use.

 

But yea, it's quite unpredictable even with the dip pen, so cleanliness of your techniques is all the more admirable.

 

In PURE THEORY though, what effect would diluted bleach have on the gold nibbed plastic pen with plastic feed?

 

I'm not filling up MY gold nibbed pens with bleach any time soon, that's for sure

[NickiStew]

 

 

Does bleach corrode steel dip pen nibs?

 

Yes. To limit corrosion wash pens thoroughly in water after using bleach. And the same with brushes - use only man made fibre brushes. I use nylon. Never use animal hair brushes - they melt in bleach. Always wash brushes thoroughly in water after using bleach.

[jmccarty3]

I wanted to add my appreciation for your work to those of all the others. Everything you do is beautiful, inspiring, and instructive.

[Vintagepens]

Bleach, even in very dilute form, will attack gold alloys. The effects are cumulative, and will not be visible until the gold object starts to crack. You don't want to wear gold jewelry into a swimming pool for this same reason. You can read more about it here: http://vintagepensblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/ammonia-stress-corrosion-cracking-and.html

 

In PURE THEORY though, what effect would diluted bleach have on the gold nibbed plastic pen with plastic feed?

I'm not filling up MY gold nibbed pens with bleach any time soon, that's for sure

 

Also, rinsing alone is not a very effective way of neutralizing bleach. Use hydrogen peroxide instead.

[Gofixmix]

Bleach, even in very dilute form, will attack gold alloys. The effects are cumulative, and will not be visible until the gold object starts to crack. You don't want to wear gold jewelry into a swimming pool for this same reason. You can read more about it here: http://vintagepensblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/ammonia-stress-corrosion-cracking-and.html

 

 

 

Also, rinsing alone is not a very effective way of neutralizing bleach. Use hydrogen peroxide instead.

Thank you! That's very helpful.

 

I only recently got some really old pens, Pelikan, Mabie Todd - and seeing those nibs immaculate condition made me wonder if that stuff survives everything...

[Runnin_Ute]

Stick around, Nick - I think your work is downright gorgeous. Keep up the good work.

[Rach31]

I love that you post your work here. (The colors that are brought out with the bleach reminds me of coloring paper with crayons then covering it with a black crayon and drawing your design into it. The rainbow below appears.)

Your art makes me happy - it's nice to see ink being used in a variety of ways. Please continue to post, many people are very appreciative of your work.

[IrishEyes]

NikiStew--don't you DARE even think about leaving! Got it?

[Pensei]

One more vote for keep them coming. No doubt. That said, I do think it was helpful to see your comments on using the bleach. I was curious about it, also.

[sirgilbert357]

So what does one do with a lot of inspiration and zero talent? LOL... that's where I am currently...loving this stuff and would LOVE to try it myself, but I've got zero artistic ability and I don't have a clue how to apply the bleach to "wash out" the ink...I guess I'd need a dip pen too. Maybe I'll just favorite the album links, LOL...

[NickiStew]

So what does one do with a lot of inspiration and zero talent? LOL... that's where I am currently...loving this stuff and would LOVE to try it myself, but I've got zero artistic ability and I don't have a clue how to apply the bleach to "wash out" the ink...I guess I'd need a dip pen too. Maybe I'll just favorite the album links, LOL...

 

Go on! Give it a try - it's not difficult. My test process is very simple. I saturate an area of heavy rough textured water colour paper, usually a Bockingford 200lb, and then add a drop of ink into that wet area. The ink blends with the water and reduces in concentration as is spreads away from the point of entry. As the ink comes out of solution the dyes that make up the ink can be observed in different areas as the paper dries.

And once dry, I can write, draw or paint on top with bleach which reacts at a different intensity depending upon the density of the ink underneath. The reactions can vary from a dull gold over dense ink areas to a vibrant neon effect over less dense areas. But what is of key importance is that it is only with fountain pen inks that this bizarre reaction happens. When writing or drawing with bleach I use a dip pen with a Zebra G Nib.

This process is very much serendipity led and the beauty of the final outcomes are invariably dictated by this. I’m also a firm believer in the concept of ‘less is more’ and also love the whole idea of alchemy or in this case changing fountain pen inks into gold!

Edited May 27, 2016 by NickiStew

[sirgilbert357]

In many of the pics of your work, it looks like you've got a pretty big canvas. I know size can be misleading, but how do you apply the ink to the larger areas?

 

In this one, for example:

https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/de-atramentis-ebony/

 

It looks like the ink was evenly brushed on or something? And then to create the lighter portions in the background of the picture...uh, the "marbeling", I guess I'll call it...how is that done? Water? It looks very controlled...(i don't mean the actual drawing of the ink bottle, etc, I mean the stuff that appears "behind" it in the background).

Edited May 27, 2016 by sirgilbert357

[NickiStew]

In many of the pics of your work, it looks like you've got a pretty big canvas. I know size can be misleading, but how do you apply the ink to the larger areas?

 

In this one, for example:

https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/de-atramentis-ebony/

 

It looks like the ink was evenly brushed on or something? And then to create the lighter portions in the background of the picture...uh, the "marbeling", I guess I'll call it...how is that done? Water? It looks very controlled...(i don't mean the actual drawing of the ink bottle, etc, I mean the stuff that appears "behind" it in the background).

 

My art is actually very tight. The sample vials I buy are 3-6ml so after a test swatch I don't have much left. The test artworks measure 140mm x 140mm.

 

My test process is very simple. I saturate an area of heavy rough textured water colour paper, usually a Bockingford 200lb, and then add a drop of ink into that wet area. The ink blends with the water and reduces in concentration as is spreads away from the point of entry. As the ink comes out of solution the dyes that make up the ink can be observed in different areas as the paper dries.

 

And once dry, I can write, draw or paint on top with bleach which reacts at a different intensity depending upon the density of the ink underneath. The reactions can vary from a dull gold over dense ink areas to a vibrant neon effect over less dense areas. But what is of key importance is that it is only with fountain pen inks that this bizarre reaction happens. When writing or drawing with bleach I use a dip pen with a Zebra G Nib.

This process is very much serendipity led and the beauty of the final outcomes are invariably dictated by this. I’m also a firm believer in the concept of ‘less is more’ and also love the whole idea of alchemy or in this case changing fountain pen inks into gold!

[amberleadavis]

Nicki, to answer one of your questions, the correct forum for your Ink Comparisons (which used to have a different name). The forum is for: "You have commercially available inks. You like to compare them, and to test them in (semi)scientific ways. This is the place to share the results of your endeavours...."