March 23, 2009

Reader Tip

Comic Tools reader Hugo Sleestak writes:

Several years ago, a group of editorial cartoonists I was associated with introduced me to Pitt brush markers. Now, brush markers will never replace real brushes for me, but they're convenient and portable, so they have their value. ANYWAY, eventually my batch dried up, as markers will do.

I hate waste (plus, I'm CHEAP), so I thought I'd "recycle" these markers by refilling them. I busted the cap off of the back of the barrel and poured in a small amount of Rapidograph technical pen ink very slowly. Voila! The marker was as good as new! You can refill them like this repeatedly. I've been doing this with some markers for five years or more. The foam "brush" part mushes down after awhile as it wears out, but they still work for broad strokes or for black fills.

Thanks again for the cool blog.

And thank YOU, Hugo!


3 comments:

Jonas said...

I'd like to point out that the brush tip is actually a brush on both ends. Once it "mushes down" all you have to do is pull it out with some tweezers, flip it around, and reinsert it. When you factor in refilling the ink, you've now quadrupled the life of these things!

B2-kun said...

For the other Pitt pen nib sizes, my problem is that I tend to wear them down and damage them before I can use up the original ink load. Has anybody verified if the brush nib flipping trick also works with the Big Pitt brush pens yet?

Angie said...

Old topic...but this tip also works with pentel pocket brush pens, as well!

You just have to pour into the cartridge...very...very very slowly and carefully.

It's a bit nerve-wracking.