Restoring A Casein Conway Stewart 550

[TeoJ]

Here I am with a question about restoring casein.

 

I already cleaned the body, removed the old petrified sac, and ordered a new one (I'm waiting for it, I should receive it within days)

 

The cap of the pen has some "corrosion" marks, see in the attached image the red circled spots. There is a way to fill that marks and then sand them?

I've also practiced static modelling in the past (tanks, airplanes, ships...) so I'm quite used to work with plastic materials and resins.

I'm wondering if there is any safe material to use to fill that marks, maybe a transparent paint or some resin?

 

Thank you in advance for any suggestion.

 

Matteo

[tmenyc]

I've not tried to add fill to casein, but have in a range of other applications. And, I'm also a scale modeler, so know where you're coming from. Casein is really porous stuff that of course can't be allowed to get wet with water or anything water-based. I don't know its resistance to other kinds of solutions, would be worth experimenting. I would not try a solvent-based filler wthout prior knowledge that it won't destroy the pen, since the fumes would seep right through the casein. Perhaps a cool CA? Good query!

Tim

[TeoJ]

I've started to work on it.

 

Placed a new ink sac and a little overall polishing.

 

I've made some experiments to fill the corrosion marks, I've put in the inside of the cap two little drops of clear acrylic and enamel paints, but both started to corrode the casein, so I've cleaned everything very fast.
I'll need to search for another option...

 

[tmenyc]

The acrylic is water-based...it looks like a really attractive pen. I'd leave it alone and use it as is,

 

Tim

[TeoJ]

Yes I know about the acrylic paints, I tried if, applying very thin layers, they would have dried before beginning to corrode the surface.

 

[gweimer1]

Since casein is milk-protein based, you probably need something that has that as a base. I just had to fix (and somewhat crudely) a CS 12 cap that had split in half. Nothing I tried worked, and I finally have it secured by using wood glue (Elmer's glue is essentially a casein glue - if you've ever wondered why Borden has both dairy and glue products, there's an answer). I don't know if a casein glue exists in clear, but I wonder if it would be possible to dye a usable product.

 

The really difficult part of your question lies in the fact that you don't have anything to experiment on other than the actual pen. Your margin for error, as you've stated, is pretty close to zero.

[TeoJ]

Thank you for your suggestion gweimer1. Unfortunately I'm in Italy and I don't think I can easily find Elmer's Glue. I'll try to find something equivalent or, as a final resort, I'll order it online (I've found it from on ebay from UK, even if shipping will triple the cost). What type have you used: glue-all, scool glue, wood glue? When it hardens is it hard enough to be sanded and/or polished?

 

I've also found the recipe to make casein glue at home, maybe I'll try also this one

 

[edit] And, most important question about elmer's, it is transparend when hardened?

Edited May 19, 2017 by TeoJ

[gweimer1]

Thank you for your suggestion gweimer1. Unfortunately I'm in Italy and I don't think I can easily find Elmer's Glue. I'll try to find something equivalent or, as a final resort, I'll order it online (I've found it from on ebay from UK, even if shipping will triple the cost). What type have you used: glue-all, scool glue, wood glue? When it hardens is it hard enough to be sanded and/or polished?

 

I've also found the recipe to make casein glue at home, maybe I'll try also this one

 

[edit] And, most important question about elmer's, it is transparend when hardened?

 

Elmer's glue is generally white when it dries. I used a wood glue to make two pieces of cap into a single cap again. I'm still trying to figure out the polishing part, so my cap is very noticeably repaired. My first goal was simply to get it back together. Now, I have the same quest as you - how to make it look nice again.

 

I've done the homemade casein glue thing, too. It's not hard to do, but I think there's a learning curve on making a good, usable glue.

[TeoJ]

Meantime I've also tried to contact the owners of http://jonathandonahaye.conwaystewart.info and http://www.old-pens.co.uk/

They seem to have good knowledge of CS pens.

 

I hope some of them can give me some hint...

 

 

[TeoJ]

I've not had suggestions about restore the "corrosion" marks, so I closed it as is... and now it is working wonderfully

 

 

And I've already found another one in marbled green color to restore, with casein in very good conditions