I have some ink that has suddenly become sticky or slimy. It's Scheaffer Red and I use it quite regularly. I tried cleaning out the pen and shaking the bottle and refilling it, but it's still sticky. Is this something that happens? What causes it? Is there any way to fix it?
Posted Jan 10, 2016, 12:52 AM UTC
Sounds like it might have mold or something. I wouldn't put it in your pen anymore if I were you; if you really like the ink, just buy another bottle.
Do you have any pics of what it looks like inside the bottle?
I'll see if I can take one tomorrow, but it's sort of viscous and slimy, although the colour is normal.
Huh... That doesn't sound good. I've never personally had it happen to me so I don't think I can help you much as far as fixing it goes. Good luck with it, I guess!
Time to throw it out and sterilize any pens it's been used in. You've got some sort of mold growing, and if you're not careful it can contaminate other pens and inks.
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It looks similar to the ink in the photo here https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/2ay404/what_is_wrong_with_this_ink_details_in_comments/
It's called SITB. You should toss that, and then really do a thorough cleaning on the pen (or pens) that might be affected. This might be a good case for either a mild ammonia flush (10:1 water/ammonia) or pick up one of the commercial pen flushs. You don't want a contaminated pen dipping into other inks and ruining them.
What is SITB?
Slime in the bottle
Shit in the Bottle. Believe it or not, a common term among many pen users to describe the situation of ink going moldy, which can be anything from thickening or stringy to actual big, ugly gobs of goop.
I really don't want to experience this. Ever. Are some brands more prone to having this happen than others?