"john hamilton" wrote in message
...
I thought Parker ball pens were not supposed to leak, mine has even though
it's not been stored upside down.

It's very sticky inside. Is there any good way to clean it out? Thanks
for advice.

Whilst not wishing to spoil the enthusiastic discussion of the properties
and prices of IPA - which is less flammable than meths, and to me used to be
cheaper than chips as I used to pump it into 25L drums, as a general cleaner
in the print trade - I should point out that, as ballpoint ink is *oil
based*, readers probably already have a cheaper cleaner in their cupboard
already: white spirit. I think the preference for IPA in 'the trade' is as
much for its quick evaporation as anything. It does dissolve both polar and
non polar substances, but I doubt if it is as effective, for an oil based
(non-polar) ink, as a non polar solvent (white spirit, paraffin, petrol etc)
would be. As I've noted before, every DIYer should keep a selection of the
various types of solvent to hand, so you can always find the right 'tool'
for the job.

S