Flourish Forum
General Categories => Tools & Supplies => Topic started by: Bianca M on December 29, 2019, 03:53:23 PM
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I have had past bottles of Dr. Ph Martin's Bleedproof White form crystals toward the opening of the bottle before, but never anything this drastic and so quickly formed - it has not been very long since I last opened this bottle. The ink underneath is still viscous, so the bottle has not dried out, but obviously interaction with air has somehow caused these crystals to form. Has anyone else had this happen?
I was thinking of adding in a little bit of distilled water and mixing it up, hoping the crystals would dissolve, but I'm probably better off opening a new bottle. Regardless, I am curious if anyone else has experienced this.
Also, you might notice a touch of green around the rim. I suspect mold, even though it isn't a very "moldy" color.
edit: I am realizing now that, despite my efforts to use clean tools, it might have been contaminated by whatever tool I used to scoop out the ink - not just air.
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Wow - that is pretty drastic. I have had that happen to the rim - it crystalizes around the rim where the cover goes on. But not in the jar. I am really careless with the water I use, too (just tap water), but I never double dip into the actual bottle. I always transfer to a dinky dip and then mix in there for that reason.
That's a bummer and such a waste. :-\
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@Bianca M
For the first couple of years using ink, I would dilute it when needed with distilled water, but over time, the ink would become moldy, and I ended up throwing a lot of ink away. Then I switched to tap water, which here in Atlanta, is chlorinated. Result--no more mold. I've had a bottle of Dr. Martin's Bleedproof white ink for at least 4-5 years, dip my pens right into it, and have had no mold problem at all. Maybe try tap water?
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@Erica McPhee @AnasaziWrites Thanks for your sharing your experiences with this! I actually don't use BPW in the jar - I scoop it out and into a dinky dip, like you do, Erica. Maybe I just had a dirty scooping tool and didn't realize it, so this happened. Bummer!
Oddly, now that I'm thinking about it, I have never had mold or crystals grow in the dinky dip when it's diluted, and I've used both tap and distilled water. At least I have that going for me! ;)
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@Bianca M you are not alone! I was actually talking with a friend about this pretty recently. I don't necessarily have advice, but know that it's not just you! Haha. I've had mostly crystallization near the lid as Erica mentioned.
Did you try reconstituting with water? Curious as to whether that fixed the issue.
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@ChristenAllocco What a coincidence! This is the first time I've had this happen deeper inside the bottle and to such an extent - sounds like it happening in the lid zone is not too unusual.
I actually did add a bit of water and the crystals seem to have dissolved. I am concerned about the top having what might be mold, so I'm not going to be adding it to my gouache (I like to use BPW when I mix custom inks in lieu of white gouache) but I think it might be ok to use on its own. Time will tell! :)
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@Bianca M update! My BPW is mostly empty now, so I've just been adding drops of water to the container. But alas, one day I opened it and the bottom was ALL crystallized. I added water and was able to reconstitute some of it, but some small crystals ended up on the page, particularly in the thick Copperplate strokes. When I erased my guides, those crystals swiped across my paper leaving little white streaks and small gaps in the strokes from where they crystals had been. For the post part, those streaks come off with an eraser but I'm going to have to go back in.
I had let the water/crystals sit for several days and still had some crystals. I'm gonna go ahead and say that if this happens to me again, I'm going to get a fresh pot. Just thought it was crazy that you had JUST posted about this!
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@ChristenAllocco AUGH! Well, at least it happened when your bottle was almost empty so it's not a huge waste. I am surprised the crystals didn't totally dissolve for you though! My bottle is totally good to go and I've been using it without issue. It's like nothing ever happened! *knock on wood*
Thanks for reporting in on your experience with this. :)
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@Bianca M I was in a workshop this week and my desk mate happened to mention she has had two bottles of Bleedproof white crystallize. She also said it never used to happen but has now happened with two bottles and they were bought from different places. :-\
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@Erica McPhee Seeing as this is an issue for multiple people now, I went ahead and emailed Dr. Martin's about it - will report back!
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@Erica McPhee Seeing as this is an issue for multiple people now, I went ahead and emailed Dr. Martin's about it - will report back!
Very interesting. I have an open bottle of it that is at least 2 years old to which I add water as needed and no sign of crystallization. I also have a back-up bottle that I've never opened until today which is 2-5 years old and although it's lost all it's water, thus is solid, there is no sign of crystals or mold. I wonder if they've changed the formula.
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I heard back from Aaron at Dr. Ph Martin's, and here is what he said:
"Bleedproof White is water based. If it becomes complete dehydrated, this is the result. It needs to be kept wet. You may need to add a few drops of water from time to time for extended storage in dry environments."
I then explained that my bottle had not dried out, and I had used it no more than a week prior to discovering the crystals, and he responded with:
"Sometimes just the surface can dry out. It helps to really mix in the water from time to time. We will have some new packaging in a couple weeks that will have a note on it with storage instructions to try and prevent this from happening so often, but we will always replace it when possible."
So, @AnasaziWrites, a bit of a mystery considering yours had totally dried out and did not develop crystals!
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So, @AnasaziWrites, a bit of a mystery considering yours had totally dried out and did not develop crystals!
Perhaps the speed it takes to dry out is a factor. It's pretty humid here and probably took a long time to dry out.
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First - bravo Bianca! Thank you for doing that on all of our behalf! Second - I'm not buying the explanation. I have been using it for years and never have had this happen. Actually, I've never had the top cake up like it does now either. And I have kept some bottles for a long time. Like Mike's they dry out a bit but not crystalized. Once I added water, back to normal consistency (which is like magic!). ;D
I bought a new bottle recently, I'm going to have to open it and see what's what. ;)
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@Erica McPhee I didn't totally buy it either, but I will be keeping it on the wet (wetter??) side just in case!
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Interesting. I have my bottle opened since years ago and no crystals ever. Pretty humid environment here too. I have had tiny containers that dried out totally and it was more like a smooth plastic surface, no crystals either. I have purchased a new bottle just because the old one has a gum-like consistency now, but it still closed and unused. Some added water keeps the old one like new.
Their explanation looks a little poor for me, too. And if you have never encountered the problem before I would be inclined for the changed formula issue. I’ll keep an eye on my new bottle!
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@Inked botanicals Thanks for sharing your experience, Alba! It is fairly humid here, too. I have had this happen before but only along the top of bottle - not totally encrusted within the bottle. It was just so extreme and I had just used the bottle within the week so... what gives???
I still love the stuff. It is by far my favorite white. :)
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@Inked botanicals Thanks for sharing your experience, Alba! It is fairly humid here, too. I have had this happen before but only along the top of bottle - not totally encrusted within the bottle. It was just so extreme and I had just used the bottle within the week so... what gives???
I still love the stuff. It is by far my favorite white. :)
Thanks for reaching out to them, @Bianca M. I'm with you–even with the pain of the crystals, I'll keep buying it haha!