Cleaning a new fountain pen.

[InfernoOrangeSS]

I am very new to fountain pens and would like some advice as to what the experts use to clean a new fountain pen. The reason I ask is that I have recently purchased several Chinese fountain pens that are on their way to me. I have heard that some pens still have gunk in the system and should be cleaned out before filling with ink. Is there a "best" way to clean a FP, or are there just several ways and YMMV?
Thank you for any help you can offer.

 

[the_edski]

I will let Brian Goulet take this one...

 

[The Nid Hog]

I'd flush it with a water/ammonia solution. Mix at 1 part of ammonia: 9 parts water. On the advice of some of the pen gurus here, I add a drop or two of liquid detergent to it too. Rinse with clean water after that. Don't use Windex, bleach, Brasso, Scrubbing Bubbles or any other stuff like that. If you don't feel like mixing it up yourself, I think that Richard Binder sells a pen flush that is essentially the same thing.

 

[Jut]

I'd flush it with a water/ammonia solution. Mix at 1 part of ammonia: 9 parts water. On the advice of some of the pen gurus here, I add a drop or two of liquid detergent to it too. Rinse with clean water after that. Don't use Windex, bleach, Brasso, Scrubbing Bubbles or any other stuff like that. If you don't feel like mixing it up yourself, I think that Richard Binder sells a pen flush that is essentially the same thing.

+1 and lots of plain water

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

Many thanks!

 

[drathgeb]

Cant go wrong with copious amounts of clean water. A bulb syringe is a real time saver.

 

[andrew98]

Two Jinhaos arrived here from China about a week ago. If you worked the converter, you could see the light coating of oil inside it. All I do is put a couple drops of liquid dish soap in a mug, fill the mug with warm water, then work the soapy water in and out of the converter. In fact, you can just suck suds through the pen and up into the converter if you put the nib and feed in just the suds and work the converter up and down. Then just flush with clean water to remove the soap. That took care of all the oil as best as I can tell. Dish soap is a great degreaser. It won't hurt the pen, either.

-Andy

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

Two Jinhaos arrived here from China about a week ago. If you worked the converter, you could see the light coating of oil inside it. All I do is put a couple drops of liquid dish soap in a mug, fill the mug with warm water, then work the soapy water in and out of the converter. In fact, you can just suck suds through the pen and up into the converter if you put the nib and feed in just the suds and work the converter up and down. Then just flush with clean water to remove the soap. That took care of all the oil as best as I can tell. Dish soap is a great degreaser. It won't hurt the pen, either.

-Andy

Thank you! Sounds very simple and easy to do.
2 of the pens are aerometric fillers. Will that make a difference? I will definitely try it on the converter models.

 

[nosedog]

An old cartridge and a syringe is much more effective than a snot sucker (sorry, bulb syringe). Puncture the other end of the cartridge so a syringe can (just) get in, then you can blast water through the pen easily and without mess. A snot sucker gets water everywhere (except through the feed

Got the tip on the net somewhere. Best thing ever.

 

[andrew98]

Thank you! Sounds very simple and easy to do.
2 of the pens are aerometric fillers. Will that make a difference? I will definitely try it on the converter models.

Nah. You can use dish soap with any of them. I like Meyer's or Ecover because I reckon they're pretty gentle soaps. Just flush them really well with clean water afterward. It will take a while to get the soap out of an aerometric, though. With converters, after I'm sure I've got the oil out, I removed the converter from the pen, shake out the suds, then flush it in a mug of clean water. Shaking water out of the converter removes the suds quicker than twisting the converter nob back and forth for an age.

-Andy