Removing Scratches From A 51 Lustraloy Cap And Barrel

[Beechwood]

Yes, I know he has no access to western (pen) repair materials in India. Neither do we have that access here in Pakistan. In fact there esist no pen repairer/restorer in whole of South Asia.

 

 

Sounds like an opportunity there Mr Mitto

[Wahl]

Let the cap remain as it is. It is at least a 50-60 years old pen. It should tell it is a vintage pen cap.

 

Fully agree with Mitto, I have several P51´s and I am not concerned about their scratches.

[mitto]

Sounds like an opportunity there Mr Mitto

You are welcome if in case you intend to move in to fill the gap.

Edited June 24, 2017 by mitto

[welch]

Let the cap remain as it is. It is at least a 50-60 years old pen. It should tell it is a vintage pen cap.

 

Agree with Mitto and Maximan. The cap has collected 65 or 70 years of tiny scratches, which show that it has lived a useful life. Parker 51s are ready for another 60 or 70 years, at least.

 

Enjoy writing with it!

[tamiya]

Yes, I know he has no access to western (pen) repair materials in India.

Beg to differ, perhaps you've been misguided & looking in the wrong places! These supplies aren't made only for FPnutters, they're used in many different industries.

 

You want fine sandpaper? Go ask a car panelbeater who does high end vehicles & can repaint black to a mirror/piano shine - he'll have super fine grit wet&dry of 2400-3000grit.

 

Mylar abrasives are widely used for proper honing of knives & instruments (ok not your average aunty's kitchen knife sharpening service in the back alley). Superfine 1micron grades used by optical lens makers.

 

You want a good polishing compound? Ask a jeweller! They'll have several grades of rouge.

[siamackz]

I order pen repair materials from pendragons in the UK. Shipping from the U.K. is much easier than the US, and cheaper too! They have all the stuff you need, including water based abrasives like Micro Gloss (gentler than Simichrome).

Alternatively, for micro mesh, you can buy a nail filer which has two types of grit on one side and one type on the other. You will notice the difference in grit by touching the pad. The side with one type of grit is usually 12000.

All the best!

[mitto]

Beg to differ, perhaps you've been misguided & looking in the wrong places! These supplies aren't made only for FPnutters, they're used in many different industries.

You want fine sandpaper? Go ask a car panelbeater who does high end vehicles & can repaint black to a mirror/piano shine - he'll have super fine grit wet&dry of 2400-3000grit.

Mylar abrasives are widely used for proper honing of knives & instruments (ok not your average aunty's kitchen knife sharpening service in the back alley). Superfine 1micron grades used by optical lens makers.

You want a good polishing compound? Ask a jeweller! They'll have several grades of rouge.

Expecting one to roam around finding places for days and perhaps months to acqauire goodies, spending perhaps unbearables sums (at least for us [south] Asians) in order to 'shine' just one P51 cap? Is it reasonable?

Edited June 25, 2017 by mitto

[PaulS]

I just hate seeing the word sandpaper, although appreciate it's being used only in the colloquial sense, and what is really meant is 'wet and dry' or carborundum paper

Is real sandpaper still made?? - of course it probably hasn't contained sand for a long time - the other vernacular name was 'glass paper' - presumably since it was coated in glass particles.

 

I've tried cerium oxide and aluminium oxide with success - the aluminium sort leaves a white deposit in the barrel imprint, which depending on your point of view may or may not look attractive.

[Flounder]

I like to see crisp imprints, so they're masked off if I'm doing any polishing.

[FPIndian12]

I just hate seeing the word sandpaper, although appreciate it's being used only in the colloquial sense, and what is really meant is 'wet and dry' or carborundum paper

Is real sandpaper still made?? - of course it probably hasn't contained sand for a long time - the other vernacular name was 'glass paper' - presumably since it was coated in glass particles.

 

I've tried cerium oxide and aluminium oxide with success - the aluminium sort leaves a white deposit in the barrel imprint, which depending on your point of view may or may not look attractive.

Yep, it is wet and dry paper.

[FPIndian12]

Expecting one to roam around finding places for days and perhaps months to acqauire goodies, spending perhaps unbearables sums (at least for us [south] Asians) in order to 'shine' just one P51 cap? Is it reasonable?

I found simichrome from india mart website and bought a nail buffer.I can now finally be able to polish that .Btw what kind of wax should be used as an alternative to Renaissance wax?

 

P.S- Congrats your team won and also Eid mubarakh.

Edited June 26, 2017 by FPIndian12

[Sasha Royale]

It's a vintage fountain pen, obviously not of mint condition. How does it write ? I have many such vintage pens. That which most call "imperfections", I call "character". Why not love the "ugly puppy" as posterity has made it ?

[Ron Z]

It's a vintage fountain pen, obviously not of mint condition. How does it write ? I have many such vintage pens. That which most call "imperfections", I call "character". Why not love the "ugly puppy" as posterity has made it ?

 

I respect the position. But from the expectations and comments from my clients (both repair and those who buy pens), the "no polish" position is a distinct minority. One client who was a staunch supporter of the position had me polish a pen as part of the restoratoin I did a when he found out that not polishing didn't reduce the price. I consider that a no charge "add on".

[pen lady]

Glad you found a nail buffer. I'd forget about waxing the pen. If you've buffed and Simichromed, I'd stop there.

[mitto]

I found simichrome from india mart website and bought a nail buffer.I can now finally be able to polish that .Btw what kind of wax should be used as an alternative to Renaissance wax?

P.S- Congrats your team won and also Eid mubarakh.

I am sorry I couldn't see/read the edited post of yours whereby you congratulated me on our team's win and the EID MUBARK. Thank you, FPIndian12. Same to you, though belatedly.

[PaulS]

despite the noise from FPN members here who appear to want to leave untouched the distressing and wear as marks of genuine age and character - Ron's point that most collectors who purchase from professionals don't share this approach, is very true. Well known sellers around the globe are very keen to promote words like ......... mint, un-inked, NOS, no apparent wear ........ so there's a lot of folk out there somewhere who seem to disagree with us.

I wouldn't go to extremes to remove all signs of age, and micro scratches do not detract from appearance, but being a collector does imply some wish that a pen should look as good as is reasonably possible ................ perhaps it's only the writers who are not bothered by appearance

Edited July 5, 2017 by PaulS

[siamackz]

despite the noise from FPN members here who appear to want to leave untouched the distressing and wear as marks of genuine age and character - Ron's point that most collectors who purchase from professionals don't share this approach, is very true. Well known sellers around the globe are very keen to promote words like ......... mint, un-inked, NOS, no apparent wear ........ so there's a lot of folk out there somewhere who seem to disagree with us.

I wouldn't go to extremes to remove all signs of age, and micro scratches do not detract from appearance, but being a collector does imply some wish that a pen should look as good as is reasonably possible ................ perhaps it's only the writers who are not bothered by appearance

I'm a writer, but I like my pens to look at good as possible without altering their durability or putting them through risk of damage.