Rotring Isograph pens

[Compound2632]

I've had a Rotring Isograph pen for many years. I've successfully used it with Rotring inks for lettering wagons and some lining, using nib sizes down to 0.35 mm. I've never had any success with the smaller nib sizes I have - 0.20 mm, 0.18 mm, 0.13 mm. I recently bought a new 0.20 mm nib but still no joy. Any suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong? 

[Kingzance]

6 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

I've had a Rotring Isograph pen for many years. I've successfully used it with Rotring inks for lettering wagons and some lining, using nib sizes down to 0.35 mm. I've never had any success with the smaller nib sizes I have - 0.20 mm, 0.18 mm, 0.13 mm. I recently bought a new 0.20 mm nib but still no joy. Any suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong? 

These always were excellent drafting tools but worked best with very fresh ink. I therefore suggest that the cause could be a change in ink ingredients by the manufacturer with coarser pigment particles? Can Rotring help?

[Compound2632]

Just now, Kingzance said:

These always were excellent drafting tools but worked best with very fresh ink. I therefore suggest that the cause could be a change in ink ingredients by the manufacturer with coarser pigment particles? Can Rotring help?

 

The ink is sold for use in the same pens, so that ought not to be an issue. I can see that old ink might form particles big enough to clog the finer nibs. I did buy a new thingy (for want of a better word) of ink about a year ago but I can't be certain that was the one I used most recently. But I can't recall having any success with the finer nibs even when my original Rotring set was new.

[Dave Hunt]

I have recently had the same thing happen - bought a brand new .2 mm Rotring nib that when I tried it for lining a locomotive seemed to be no good. Then I bought some new Rotring ink and problem solved. When I decanted the old ink it was full (well, not really full but you know what I mean) of blobs and gunk.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Dave

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

for lining a locomotive 

 

I'm interested that a master such as yourself is using the Rotring for locomotive lining - I'd always seen it as part of my bow pen avoidance strategy. May I ask what you do for the straw/yellow?

[Dave Hunt]

44 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I'm interested that a master such as yourself is using the Rotring for locomotive lining - I'd always seen it as part of my bow pen avoidance strategy. May I ask what you do for the straw/yellow?

 

For the straw I use Humbrol Matt enamel (No. 71 I think) applied with a bow pen or fine brush for the curved bits and masked off with thin strips of sellotape for the straights. When it is completely dry I use the Rotring .2 mm pen for the edges of the black then fill in with black paint. Once everything is dry - usually at least four or five days - I then go over all the lining very carefully with a fine brush and clear gloss varnish. Boiler bands are ruled onto tracing paper that is then cut out with a scalpel and stuck onto the boiler with a tiny dot of Evostick or similar at the ends. I then carefully paint the bands with thin gloss varnish that is allowed to seep under the edges and completes the sticking down. A bit unconventional I know but  I've been doing it this way for forty years and so far none has come unstuck.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Dave

 

[michl080]

Morning,

 

it might help to sonicate the ink for some time to break up agglomerates.

 

Michael

[Kingzance]

33 minutes ago, michl080 said:

Morning,

 

it might help to sonicate the ink for some time to break up agglomerates.

 

Michael

That’s a good idea but can you provide details on how please? The same technique could be applied to mixing paints I guess.

[michl080]

I am using a simple, cheap ultrasonic bath for that purpose. Just drop the plastic container with the ink into the bath filled with cold water. Sonicate it for 10 minutes and all agglomerates should be gone.

I cleaned my 30 year old Rotring pens recently in the ultrasonic bath. They look like new. All sticky residues inside the pens were coming out easily. I cleaned them with hot water without any additive.  You wouldn't believe how long black clouds were emerging from the pens.

I am also using it to prepare paint before spraying it in my airbrush. In this case, I am aslo using hot water to warm up the paint. I think the surface will be smoother then.

 

I am just using a cheap 30€ ultrasonic bath.

 

Michael

[Compound2632]

Even if it's out of my hearing range, that sounds like a worthwhile addition to one's modelling equipment.

[Compound2632]

On 23/04/2019 at 16:50, michl080 said:

You wouldn't believe how long black clouds were emerging from the pens.

 

 

I've bought an ultrasonic cleaner; it arrived just now and I'm testing it out. I didn't see much difference on a nearly-complete brass wagon kit - but I had already cleaned that using dilute Cif and an old toothbrush. But the 0.2 mm Rotring nib, which I thought I'd cleaned thoroughly using the prescribed technique, is turning the bathwater black even on the third 3 min cycle.

 

It may be a few days before I have time to try an ultrasonically cleaned nib with ultrasonically shaken ink on some actual lining but watch this space.

[Alex TM]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm old enough to have had to learn to draw with pencil, pen and ink.  the Rotring pens were great however the sizes below 0.35 did have a habit of jamming or clogging.  Glad to see that someone may now have found one of the causes, and a potential remedy.  Most of our office eventually gave us and went over to Faber-Castell pens.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

An apposite thread because I have just bought an unused boxed set of 0.50, 0.35 & 0.25 pens, propelling pencil, ink and rubber from our local flea market for 10 euros!

I have dismissed the ink for the above reasons and have ordered a kosher Rotring cleaning fluid, which has actually cost twice as much as the set did!

 

Mike.

 

[K14]

Adding a couple of drops (literally) of Household Ammonia to the inks seems to help prevent settling & clotting.

 

A 50/50 mix with water works well as a cleaning fluid unless everything has gone abdolutely solid.

 

Pete S.

Edited May 6, 2019 by K14
Clarification