Cleaning The Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph Technical Pen:
These pens are a pain in the butt to clean... Big time! I'm going to warn you now, if you do decide to do a complete cleaning of your pen, and you've never taken it apart before, be extra super duper careful with what you do because there's a really important piece inside the pen, and if you break it, then you have to buy a whole new tip which can run at about $12can or so depending on where you get it. Remember, you take your pens apart to clean at your own risk. I will not assume any responsibility if you follow this tutorial and break your pen. Capice? Good, let's begin.

You will need the following:
-Q-Tips (about 3 for each pen)
-Paper Towels
-Latex Gloves
-Newspaper
-Rubbing Alcohol (or pen cleaner)


Step 1:
When you first take the tip out of the base, this is what your pen will look like. You should have seen at least this part before because this is how you refill your pen.


Step 2:
The next step is to unscrew part G. Then you can pull the ink chamber (F) off. Just rinse it under some water, and use a Q-Tip to clean out and gunked up ink inside the chamber (part F).


Step 3:
Here's where things get tricky. Parts B to E all fit inside each other. Part C is the most important. If you break that little tiny piece of metal sticking out of the end then you might as well just throw the pen away because it'll be garbage. That little piece of metal prevents the ink from just pouring out similar in the way a ball point pen works. The top piece (B) unscrews using your little tool that should come with your kit. When you pull that out, parts C and D will be inside B, and E is just one piece. Part E is easy to clean. Just use a little rubbing alcohol on a Q-Tip and clean out the inside part.

Step 4:
Cleaning the parts B to D isn't all that bad as long as your careful. D is just a little round piece of plastic. Easy. Just don't lose it because it is really small. B is easy as well. Use some rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip to clean the inside. Cleaning part C is fairly simple. Normally what I do is I put a small amount of rubbing alcohol in a small glass, and I drop the piece in there. Then i pick it out and roll it gently back and forth on a paper towel to get the dried ink off, and that's it. Immediately afterwards, I stick C into B and then put the cap D on the end. It's smooth sailing from there, and just screw everything back together. And that's it! You're done.

Helpful Hints:
-If you can get some rubber latex gloves, try to do so because the ink is hard to get off once your hands are dyed with it.
-Make sure you have lots of Q-Tips. I probably use 2 or 3 for each pen, and I have 7.
-Papertowels and newspaper are important as well. Do all your work on the newspaper, and use the paper towels to dry everything.
-If you need to use your pens right away, then scribble on a piece of paper for a few minutes with each pen beforehand. The rubbing alcohol that hasn't dried will dillute the ink and it will come out grey. If you can, wait at least a day or two so that everything inside the pens dries.
-Be super careful! These pens are expensive, and I will not be held responsible if you rush it and ruin your pens.
-DO NOT use nail polish remover! I don't care what any art salesperson says it will melt your pens. My roommate last year tried to use that after being informed that he should and all the plastic began to melt and dissolve.
-Take good care of your pens, and they'll last a long longer and give you nicer and cleaner results.





Copyright 2001 Captain Meth