It was surprising to find such an excellent result while reviving my old brush pens. This drawing is done with brush markers and colored pencils for a commissioned portrait.
First of all, replace the cap to your markers as soon as you lift the pen off the paper. Do not let the cap stay off the marker while you draw with another marker. Also when you replace the cap, add pressure until it “clicks”.
Revive Old Brush Marker Pens Like This:
Soak them in water over night. Two tricks to this:
- Do not let the tip touch the bottom of whatever vessel you are using ( I use recycled glass jars ), because it will cause a permanent deformity.
- You must have the cap to the pen in question.
How to Keep the Tips from Getting Deformed:
- Use rubber bands in several directions across the mouth of the jar, and another rubber band around them all to keep them in place.
- Use washi tape.
- Use plastic wrap across the top of the jar and a rubber band to hold it in place. Poke the plastic wrap with a knife and make a tiny hole, then put the pen through the tiny hole.
- Lay the pens flat in a shallow container; submerge the entire pen in water.
Methods to Revive Old Pens:
After it soaks in the water for 6 hours or so, the pen will be juicy, but the pigment won’t be in the tip. This is the one of the best parts for me. Use the pen in a back and forth motion and keep going even though there may be no color. The color comes back gradually so you can make tones you would not normally be able to achieve any other way. It is wonderful on so many levels:
- you’re saving money
- the pen sometimes becomes a lighter shade than it was new, and that is something hard to find at the store
- the pen color gradually returns to the tip all the time making a softer shade
Revive Old Pens that are Alcohol Based Too:
This trick also works on alcohol based markers like Sharpies. The difference is that you soak them in alcohol overnight. Use a glass jar for this for sure. I have tried both methods; both work like a charm.
On my lunch hour I used to go to the local big box craft store and walk around for inspiration. These lunch trips created a ridiculous collection of various brands of brush markers.
- Tombow brush pens
- Marvy LePlume
- Steadlater brush pens
It has been years since I used them, so all of them are at various stages of dried out. I have been reviving them in batches according to hue.
Be Sure to Separate Each Hue During Soaking:
I started with the greens. Then the purples. Funny those are my favorite colors in that order. After I revived all the dark green pens together in the same jar, I threw the water out. But something told me to keep the purple water.
The result is FABULOUS! I put a sponge brush in it and created some washes with the revival water and the tone is so even and velvety that I had to share.
Now I am going to fill the entire sketchbook with washes from each batch of revival water. (This is a complement to the method of going ahead in your sketchbook and making backgrounds before you are ready to draw.)
thanks for the tip, i have some dry tombow brush pens that need help…
sweet! glad i could help! also the water that you soaked the pens in makes an awesome even toned wash if you are careful to keep like hues together.
I have quite a few Marvy brush markers that have dried out. I threw a few of them away thinking they were a lost cause. Luckily I kept my favorite colors (purple and green too!) So will try the soaking method as well as keep the used water to try out the washes for my handlettering projects. Thank you covid for reviving my creative spirit. *said in jest, of course* lol
i hope it works out for you even better than it worked for me!
Great tip! How do you suspend the pen above the bottom of the jar?
Wow that is such a good question. Wrap several rubber-bands around the mouth of the jar, then use those rubber-bands to secure another set of rubber-bands to go across the top of the jar in a somewhat grid pattern. This will suspend the pens above the water.
I was wondering the same thing & thought of using some twine, ribbons or even the tons of washi tape I have in my supplies to create a grid, like what I’ve done for floral vases.
i think the washi tape is a good idea! maybe even some saran wrap could work.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS; REVIVING OLD PENS HAS BEEN A MISSION OF MINE RECENTLY AND I APPRECIATE FINDING GREAT POSTS LIKE THIS. ONE POINT OF FRUSTRATION WE FIND IS THERE ARE QUITE A FEW METHODS, BUT EACH IS SPECIFIC TO COMBINATION OF BRAND/NIB/INK FORMULA, AS WELL AS THE REASON FOR POOR INK FLOW LIKE NIB/BALL/BRUSH DEFORMATION, CLOGGED TIP OR “VENT”, CONTAMINATION (MIXED MEDIA) OR DRYNESS. IT TOOK SOME TIME FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND THIS VARIETY OF CAUSES, SO I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE THIS BREADCRUMB FOR OTHERS WHO FIND YOUR POST AS THEY INVESTIGATE THEIR OWN SITUATION, MAYBE NOT YET KNOWING WHAT QUESTIONS TO ASK.
I ALSO WANTED TO EXPAND YOUR SOLUTION WITH ONE I USE WITH BRUSH TIPS THAT ARE NOT QUITE DRY, BUT NOT GREAT. THOSE TACKY-TO-GOOEY BRUSH STROKES. FOR THESE I USE A (DROPPER, SYRINGE, IRRIGATOR) TO FILL THE CAP HALFWAY. AFTER CLOSING THE CAP TO SEAL I LEAVE THEN BRUSH TO SOAK A FEW HOURS. I HAVE BETTER RESULTS WITH DISTILLED WATER OR 91% ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL (FOR WATER COLOR OR ALCOHOL INKS RESPECTIVELY), AS OPPOSED TO TAP WATER OR CHEAPER 70% OPTIONS. SADLY, THIS DOES NOT YEILD GREAT WASHES OR REVIVAL WATER, BUT MAY BE JUST ENOUGH FOR THOSE ONLY-ALMOST-DRY BRUSHES AND THOSE WITH A “HUE OF THEIR OWN”. I HAVE A SITE IN THE MAKING (TOMTELLA.COM) WHERE I INTEND TO SHARE MORE FINDINGS SOME DAY SOON, THOUGH AS I WRITE IT IS NOT AVAILABLE. HOPEFULLY FUTURE READERS WILL BENEFIT AS I TOO ATTEMPT TO PAY FORWARD THE COLLECTION OF INSIGHTS I HAVE ACCUMULATED OVER THE YEARS.
THANKS AGAIN REBECCA!
It is surely a sign of aging to think it is the website By design that makes you Reply in all CAPs, only To reAlize after submitting the that you actually have caps lock Turned on.
Another sign is RepLying to to your oWn reply just in case its not obvious that you are oLd and not yelling in caps. -Respect
And now that i have removed the caps lock and see my reply remains loud-looking, and receiveD my usual late night tech support from my soN to conFirm, I will prove my age by posting again anyWay. Finally i can put my abicus aWay. -T
blessings to your son who is on the case! thank you for pointing this out to all the people who don’t believe it! and thank you for TWO comments now instead of just one which is quite lovely for a neglected website/blog.
Thank YOU Tom!!!! Your idea to put a few drops of distilled water in the cap is a capital idea. If you don’t mind I will add this idea to the post and give you the credit. Thoughtful comments are GOLD! Even in all caps. I hope you stop by again to visit and know that I would love to see your artwork.
Thank you!! I was able to revive several discontinued brush pens!!
That is awesome to hear! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Wow your cat is gorgeous! Thanks for the tips! Though im not too old, for some reason my ipad types in all caps amd i can’t correct it. Ah well. 😃
Hi Calej! – It seems the all caps issue worked itself out. Thank you for the compliment on my cat; he is quite a character. I am glad you found value in this article.