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Frustration! A full pen of ink and can't get them to work. They are stored horizontal, so what am I doing wrong that I can't get them to work after a couple of months?
I figured I wasn't the only one with this problem. but didn't find a post for it.
My daughter (who has infinitely more patience with this type of thing than I) spent most of an afternoon soaking the tips of all of her gel pens (mine, too, bless her) in nail polish remover, then scribbling until they worked again. It was mostly successful - only a handful of stubborn ones that got tossed...
Another tip I've seen but haven't tried is opening the end (not the tip - the other end) of the barrel and cutting a piece of white eraser into a little rectangular "wedge" and shoving it in there, then closing it back up. I guess it forces air pressure down the tube or something and pushes the ink out.
Once you get them writing again, another tip I saw recently is to NOT wipe the tip after you're done - let the ink dry there to form a protective cap on the tip, then pull it off next time you go to use the pen. I suppose it's the same idea as those little ball tips that come on the pens when you buy them...
__________________ ~ Sue Happy for no reason...
Last edited by gregzgurl; 11-26-2016 at 03:22 PM..
Reason: additional info
I saw a video on you tube about useing Stazon cleaner to fix your gel pens I found this qith achol swabs too. And I saw one that had you take the end off and stick an ereashe (cut small) down the barrel to "push" the ink down.
I'm going to put an alcohol swab in with my pens just to remind me. So far ive not had any trouble but just when I forget this tip, that's when mine would clog.
Someone mentioned StazOn stamp cleaner. IT WORKS! I spray "a puddle" of it onto a piece of paper and scribble my pen around and around in it. My pens now work better than they did when I bought them! Please try this before you toss your pens.
Staz on probably works because it is a solvent cleaner. I haven't had the need to try it, but good to know what works if I need to do something with mine. I store mine horizontally in a drawer. Also, my pens have a little ball in the cap that is the color of the ink and the tip of my pen pushes into a small indent in that little ball. That may help somewhat.
Hand-sanitizer squirted on a bit of cardboard, then circles got my gold gelly roll to work again. But that didn't work for my long uncapped black ones.
If your pens come with that little tip you have to remove, save it if you can and put it back on when you're finished. That's why the pens write so well when we first get them.
If you weren't able to save the tip, a teeny tiny ball of polymer clay will work!
I've had my Sakura Gelly Roll pens for years and never had a problem; it's been a while since I bought any, so I wonder if they've changed the ink formulation.
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
I use this on my old (and new) dried Sakura Gelly Roll, Signo White Gel, Pentel metallic and Sakura Star Dust Glitter pens - Just soak the tip briefly for most of my pens. I sometimes may need to do it again after a bit, but so far it has worked for me on at least 95% of my stopped up pens:
I too have tried soaking the tips and was pleasantly surprised some actually started working again. I'd say it was about a 50% success rate but then my pens were really old. The ones I had to tossed may have sat too long to be salvageable.
btw: I have been using an old very nubby rag to swipe my gel pens across occasionally when they get gunky and won't cooperate. It seems to work better than scribbling on paper.
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Oh my gosh!!! I've been wanting to ask this question! I have a whole pencil pouch full of these and adore them. I use them to color in coloring books and they are a dream to color with.
I for sure noticed they dry out if a cap is not put on tight. I'm so careful now.
I've considered taking off the flat cap on the opposite end of the tip.
When I was a kid we'd take off the flat cap on the end opposite the tip and blow the ink so it would start to flow again after it was pushed downward.
I've considered this but the cap end seems so tight! As kids we used our teeth! Yikes!!
Thanks for asking this. I love my pens, especially the glitter pens. They flow so well for quite a long time! Such a joy to use. Couldn't believe the stated to have problems! ��
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
I read this somewhere and was surprised at how well it works. Never scribble with your pens. Hold your pen straight up and down. Lightly tap your pen on the paper. It's kind of like tapping your stamp on the ink pad. This won't work on a dried up pen but it does great on a pen that's being stubborn and wants to write lightly.
Sakura states the pens can be stored upright or horizontally Mine are upright and close by in a pencil cup holder, and when I think of it - monthly-ish? - I grab one and scribble with it to keep it flowing. But I only have a few.
Nib pointing down (the direction the ink flows when you use them).
“Gelly Roll can be stored horizontally or vertically because of the properties of gel ink. But if you store vertically, just be sure that you don't drop them into whatever pen holder (like a pencil cup) you're using.”
Sakura Gelly Roll pens - drying out
