Was Bakelite now Restore Black Hard Rubber items (Sorry Long)

[Syd and Judi Saperstein]

I received an order for PMBHRPPNo9 (Pensbury Manor Black hard Rubber Pen Potion No9) Black hard rubber dye that I came up with to restore fountain pens (yet another hobby) from Gene Wescott addressed to Pensbury Manor (the name of my vintage fountain pen business) and was surprised to see his name on the envelope, check and letter. Because it is a very few number of folks that knew about the stuff. So I asked Terry Sanders who has worked with the stuff to restore his facia knobs if he was responsible, and he told me it was Rick Storms who posted a message about the tuff on this list. I have not promoted it shameless or not to this list as I was focused on the pen collector groups, but it works on Black Hard Rubber and most Vinyls and some plastics found in our cars. The material that most of the old dash knobs and other black items on our cards is made of IS NOT BAKELITE. The only Bakelite items I am aware of on the TC are the dizzy cover and rotor. The rest of the Black items that are not metal are made of black hard rubber. Hard rubber is made with a lot more sulfur in the mix that during vulcanization results in a much harder substance...one that can be machined, drilled, tapped, and threaded. Black Hard Rubber (BHR) was very common it was used on lots of things before what we call plastic. The history of fountain pens parallels the history of cars in that they were born and developed during the same time frame, and the materials available to build pens and cars out of were techologically out of the same supply streams...machined metal parts, electro plating and filling, wood, and yes BHR. Anyway, many of the items people call Bakelite are not bakelite, they are often hard rubber. When the BHR was made, the latex rubber was mixed with a number of things to give the physical properties needed for the industrial use intended. The DAY Rubber Company was a manufacturer of BHR rod stock for the pen industry, for example. Colorants were also used RHR (Red Hard Rubber) was used to make pens and it was made by adding iron oxide, or cadmium red to the rubber becore curing and vulcanizing. BHR was made with Carbon Black. Over the years the carbon black fades and the UV rays lighten the old rubber to a brown to khaki color. The PMBHRPPNo9 is made with a vehicle (water diluted Ammonia and a wetter, smoother, leveler -Poyethylene butyl) to carry very fine particles (under 35 microns) into and onto the surface of the faded BHR items. When dry and cured (a few hours) it can be buffed to a nice shine with a dry cloth. It is impervious or at least has been for the past 6 years to UV, wateretc. It can be removed with ammonia or other harsh chemicals like those found in simichrome for example, so treated items need to be kept away from those chemicals, but otherwise, it is very durable. For more info visit http://www.pensburymanor.com/ or http://www.pensburymanor.com/PMBHRPPNo9.html Syd