Vintage hard rubber doesn’t stay black forever. Years of light and air leave it faded and brown — and the same fate befalls pipe stems and saxophone and clarinet mouthpieces. “Not Just Deoxidizer” is a hard rubber deoxidizer that brings back the original rich black color. It’s a liquid, not a thick goop, so there’s no gooey residue to lodge in a barrel or under a lever: it pours right out, wipes right off, and what remains simply evaporates. Good on black hard rubber and mottled red-and-black alike — vulcanite, ebonite, call it what you like. Dr. G’s prescription for faded hard rubber: one good long soak.

How to use Dr. G’s “Not Just Deoxidizer”

• Soak. Drop the pen in whole — cap, barrel, and all. No need to plug the barrel or keep the solution out; it cleans the inside while it deoxidizes the outside. (Soak times below.)
• Wipe. After soaking, rub each part firmly with a shop towel. Friction and a firm hand do the real work — this is the step that carries off the loosened oxidation. A fluffy cloth won’t manage it.
• Repeat if needed. Stubborn pens can go back in for another few hours, or overnight for black hard rubber.
• Finish. Polish with your favorite pen polish — or better, Dr. G’s Clean & Shine — for the final luster.

How long to soak

It cleans, too
After all, it’s not just deoxidizer. Drop a cap in and the solution dissolves the old, dried ink inside while it works on the surface — after 30 to 60 minutes, a cotton swab wipes the inner cap clean. To spare the rest of your solution from the ink, pour a little into a separate container for inky caps and barrels, then return the clear solution to the bottle to reuse. Give celluloid and acrylic a quick rinse with water afterward. You’ve never seen a cleaner inner cap for so little effort.

Safe to use
Tested on our Premium Fountain Pen Replacement Sacs and a range of pen materials. It won’t harm sacs, celluloid, hard rubber, metal, or acrylic. One 10 oz. bottle per order — $38.25, and it’ll bring a great many pens back to life.