Celluloid Cap Lip Repair

 

As always, I am going to show some repair techniques that I use: that does not mean that they are the best ones or even the only ones that can be employed: they are simply the ones that I can use with my skill level and my tools.

It is well known that celluloid is soluble in acetone. Acetone can easily be purchased here in Italy. It is important not to use acetone that is used as nail polish remover: it contains additives that make it unsuitable for celluloid repairs! The acetone we must use can be found  from paint retailers and solvents resellers.

There is a solvent that is even better for our purposes: Ethyl Acetate. This solvent is less volatile and it is slower in melting the celluloid and takes longer than acetone to dry up. This may sound like a drawback, but it is not : the remanufactured celluloid parts turn out better and are less likely to contain air bubbles.

Celluloid can be dissolved with the above mentioned solvents and it can be turned into a liquid of various densities that can be laid in different layers with a small brush, until the desired thickness is obtained. Celluloid is normally gathered from donor pens, broken and beyond repair. I keep shreds of celluloid of various colors in order to repair a wide range of celluloid patterns. The celluloid should be cut into thin shavings: the thinner they are, the quicker they dissolve. Ensure that all celluloid is clean and free of impurities. I often discard the shavings from the outer surface of the donor material.

Bits of shredded celluloid

 

Dissolving the celluloid shreds in acetone

Prepared melted celluloid of various colors

It is a good idea to brush some of the solvent over the part that must receive the new material: this will make it easier to obtain a good fusion of the material. It is also a good idea, especially if acetone is used as the solvent, to use a fairly liquid compound and to use multiple layers: a dense material may seem to require less time to achieve the desired results, but in fact it takes a much longer time to dry and very often it is filled by numerous tiny bubbles that prevent a satisfactory repair.

Applying the celluloid with a small brush (this is a different cap, with a cigarette burn)

Once the celluloid dissolves, any color differences in the material will blend together and you will have a compound of a single color. To recreate the patterns of the celluloid of the receiving pen, you will have to work with compounds of different colors. We are talking about very small surface areas: the mother-of-pearl effect of many celluloids cannot really be reproduced with this technique. Still, with a bit of practice and a lot of patience one can get some very satisfactory results.

The most frequent type of repair involves a cap with a broken lip. In this case, you will have to provide a support over which you will lay the celluloid. As a support, a broken barrel or similar piece can be inserted into the cap, after covering it with teflon tape that will keep the celluloid from adhering to the insert. Another method uses tissue paper: this is practical and offers several advantages. One must cut a piece of tissue paper or craft paper a little larger than the area that needs to be repaired and lay on it a layer of CA adhesive: the paper will absorb the super glue and can be placed, with a little care, inside the cap, forming a suitable support. If it is too large, it can be cut to size at a later stage. This paper layer has the added advantage of providing strength to the repaired area: it is very thin, but remarkably strong.

After completing the repair one has the option of leaving the paper in place or removing it by carefully scarping it off. If left in place, the paper is quite transparent and almost invisible and, as already mentioned, it does provide additional strength to the repaired area. The paper is on the inside of the cap, therefore hardly visible; however, if the repair is done properly, it is OK to remove it altogether.

The rebuilt cap lip

 

The pictures show the preparation of the celluloid, the application with a brush and the before and after pictures of a recently repaired cap.

 

 The end result!

 

 © 2014 Marcello Carli - all rights reserved