How To Repair Deep Scratch On Black 1945 Parker 51?

[Aeliascent]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. So I just recieved a Parker 51 that I'm in thenprocess of restoring. The first thing I did was to make it fulky functional, and now it works great. However, there is a gauge in the seam between the barrel and the blind cap. It's not that deep, and it blends in but it still bugs me.

 

Anyone have any ideas on how I can fix it? Preferably using common household items? Would black nail polish, then a layer of car wax work?

 

 

Thanks folks! This is my first vintage pen and I love it! It's almost sentient compared to my Lamy 2000.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Aeliascent

[Ron Z]

The problem most likely is that you have not removed all of the old diaphragm from the seat ring in the barrel. Because the old diaphragm and the barrel are black you may not be able to see it easily That is just enough to prevent the thread bushing from screwing far enough into the barrel, resulting in a gap between the blind cap and the barrel.

 

It is important to remove all of the old seat and all remains of the old diaphragm below the seat as well. Folks sometimes try to force the thread bushing down by turning it harder. This can cause the barrel to crack, and at the least can lead to stress marks in the Lucite which can not be removed.

 

Remove the filler, and scraping around the seat, not across it, remove all of the old diaphragm, then reassemble. Sometimes a little lighter fluid helps to get it to let go and chip off more easily. If you can't see the remains, put the end of the barrel in some warm (not hot) water - this often causes the old and how hardened rubber to discolor enough that you can see it.

[Aeliascent]

@Ron Z Thanks for your nice and detailed response. I think it's difficult to tell from the photo, but the blind cap is in fact closing completely. That's an image of a deep scratch between the barrel and the blind cap, a negative space, not positive space. I'm looking for something that can fill in that crevice.

 

Will automotive wax or black nail polish work for that?

[Ron Z]

It doesn't look like a scratch to me. Are you SURE that the end of the thread bushing is below the end of the barrel?

 

 

Nail polish will attach the plastic. No, you don't want to use that.

[Aeliascent]

@Ron Z Thanks for taking the time to help me with this issue. I brushed the pen with talcum powder so you can see it a little better. The scratch is only on 1/3 of the circumference of the pen. The other 2/3 is unscratched so the fit of the cap is pretty tight.

 

See the scratch? "Tis but a scratch!"

 

No scratch here.

 

Maybe I can unscrew the cap, and just work on the barrel with nail polish since the damage is only on the barrel.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Aeliascent

[Ron Z]

It doesn't look all that deep. I would sand it down, rotating the pen instead of creating a flat spot, and then polish or buff. Filling gets into blending, which means..... sanding and polishing. Buffing is faster, but not everyone has the right equipment. A buffing wheel on a Dremel is decidedly not the right equipment. Great way to burn a hole in your pen.

 

Start with 400 wet/dry sandpaper, 1500, and then micromesh, then a polishing compound.

[Aeliascent]

@Ron Z Thanks man. I'll post the results when I'm done.

[Erik Dalton]

I am always amazed at how connected we get to these 50 year old pens, myself included. We go crazy searching for ways to make our P 51's write better and look like new. I just love it.

Be sure to put up pix when you are done.

[Aeliascent]

Alright. I just finished. I took Ron Z's advice and removed material as opposed to adding it. I sanded using 1500 grit sandpaper underwater to prevent the acrylic particles from flying everywhere. Of course, I constantly rotated the pen. Once I finished, the pen had a really cool matte black finish, but I decided against keeping it like that. By then, the seam was as invisible as the seam between a Lamy 2000 barrel and the piston cap thingy. Then I buffered and buffered and buffered using Colgate toothpaste and a nylon stocking. Not bad?

 

And hopefully, this isn't sacrilege, but I used blue nail polish to repaint the diamond. It was completely faded by the time I got it. Then I used acetone on a qtip to get rid of the stray marks, then toothpaste to polish cap. lol you guys know how much I love toothpaste.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Aeliascent

[FarmBoy]

You have a nice looking pen but I'm partial to such pens. It looks minty fresh.

 

The joint can be made almost invisible by sanding and polishing but this can come at a price. Unless the joint is polished down in a concentric manner making the joint disappear next time will be all but impossible with out more aggressive sanding as the joint will take on a cam effect if it is not aligned exactly as it was before. If sanding and polishing is done perfectly centered on a lathe you are usually ok. However, a well trained eye can almost always spot the slight changes in profile that comes with removal of material.

Testors 1110 or 1111 are relatively easy to get enamel colors that are very close matches to the original color.

[Aeliascent]

Thanks! I rolled the sandpaper into a cone and used an up and down, twisting motion (head out of gutter!), to make sure it maintains a uniform profile.

 

Also, I never plan to sell this pen. It's my first vintage pen, and I restored it myself so it has some sentimental value. Not only that, this is the first fountain pen that "fit." Think of Harry Potter getting his phoenix feather wand in The Sorcerer's Stone. And it's strange, I can almost feel it breathing. Compared to my other pens, it's almost a living creature. So maybe there's that.

[pen lady]

Well done. Now you just have to make sure you take good care of your "precioussssssss". Different generation, you Harry Potter, me, Lord of the Rings.

[Erik Dalton]

Well done. I'm impressed with your creativity. I'm afraid that you are truly one of us pen nuts now. There is no hope for you...lol.. Glad to have you among us that like to tinker.

Btw: I understand the wand thing, and agree.

[Aeliascent]

@Pen Lady LOL it is indeed "my precioussssss." I wonder if using it for too long will turn me evil.

 

@Old Salt Thanks! I already have my eyes set on a Schaefer Snorkel, and perhaps one day, even a Pilot Myu. But the Snorkel wont be for a few more months. Must exercise self control! I like that it can shoot ink 6 feet away. Maybe it can be weaponized... Mix ghost pepper juice into a vivid red...

 

Someone attacks you, squirt them, their eyes burn, and they think they're bleeding to death LOL Idk how it would write though... hmmm... not a bad idea...

 

Looks like that P51 is already turning me evil...

Edited September 17, 2016 by Aeliascent

[pen lady]

When you find people who not only tolerate your quirks,

but celebrate them with cries of "Me too!" be sure to cherish

them because these weirdos are your tribe.

 

Welcome in Aeliascent.

[Erik Dalton]

Oh, you're going to fit in here just fine...lol