Gelly Roll Pen clogged? Hack that works to get it FLOWING! Cheap and EASY

[@ChristinaNelson_Xenographicx]

I was sitting here fuming... and dipped them briefly into the alcohol. Put the covers on and just let them sit facing down a couple minutes. Wiped off the ends with the paper towels and omg it worked!!!! Thank you so much.

[@Jay-ql4gp]

I've been fighting them too. I was convinced they were junk. Thanks Rich!!!

[@RichardFriendartist]

Jay101 I agree I thought maybe some worked but most would clog and be unusable...like it was a flawed concept to begin with. Apparently not!

[@mjrteach]

This really works! Thanks!

[@JoanneGrant_Art]

Wow!!! I have so many gelly roll pens that just never worked. I then buy another thinking I got a bad one, so I now have a ton of these pens in my stash. Always the optimist, I buy another and try again with the same results. I think that is the definition of crazy. hahah. Again today, I got one out and it was brand new, and it just didn't want to write. I found your youtube video and I tried your suggestion. It's working now!!! They all are!!! Thank you so much!

[@LittleDaisyBug]

So wonderful to know! I just bought a 3 pack of the .05, .08, & .10, and was just about to toss them when I found your video!! Thanks so much!!

[@_catulus]

I didn't have access to rubbing alcohol, so I used hand sanitizer. It got my metallic pen flowing nicely.

[@melissawarrell8821]

I put mine in hot water and let them sit for a few minutes. Now they’re working perfectly! I tried the alcohol, but it didn’t work for me. (A few of them started working, but the hot water worked immediately after it sat for a few minutes before I tried it.) I had to do a couple of them a few times before they started working, but now they’re flowing. I absolutely LOVE these pens! ❤️

[@nekrozma]

did you remove the nib or put the whole pen in hot water

[@zeldaplinte]

Boiling water?

[@ThePiones]

Thank you. 50ºC water for a minute worked wonders!

[@megbrett9750]

I just want to thank you for making my pens work again!! It was such a pain having to shake the pen every few strokes but now it works perfectly and I'm so happy!! :)

[@petemarquez8759]

I've got six of those exact same pens and they worked the first time I used them but I didn't throw them away only because I'm kind of a pack rat! Thanks for this hack man!

[@christinecox9625]

Hey ya'll! I've had success with the white gelly roll pens. Most other brands I have found to clog and dry out quickly. I tried this alcohol method, and it semi works for the pens I have. I learned that you have to remove the nib of a pen shaft from the supply and use alcohol to dilute and declog the nib. BTW, I now store my gel pens flat. Blessings and happy crafting. 😊

[@melissawarrell8821]

I read that laying them flat is the best way to store them, too, and mine have been flowing beautifully since I got them working with hot water. I love these pens!

[@ColbyZcom]

haha, I keep a bottle of alcohol beside my white gel pens and never thought to try this. It really worked!

[@RichardFriendartist]

ColbyZcom so weird right. Lol. So simple almost obvious, but just not considered!

[@margowoody4293]

Just tried it, it worked perfectly! I wont be throwing away my Gelly Roll Pens any more! Thank you, you're a genuis!

[@Bluesunday2689]

I was bummed that my new pack was dry, but I tried this and it actually worked! I never comment, but I had to because I’m so stoked. Thank you!

[@debilvsunable]

This is the best idea ! Thank you. I have 30 of them I’ve been saving because I paid a lot for them and hoped to rescue them one day.

[@lurklingX]

Thanks, that helped. I’ll try storing them with the nib downwards also. See if that helps. It always frustrated me that people say how awesome these pens are, and I have always had clogging issues with them. On rare occasions I would have one or two good ones, love those. But these are just prone to issues! And it’s like nobody ever talks about it.

[@ravenofthewild]

Thank you...I knew about cleaning with alcohol but didn't realize was pushing way too hard. Gentle touch and squeezing a bit has helped so much. Mine are probably 6 or more years old and had clogged almost immediately and forgot about them. Was too cheap to throw away and now glad I kept them!🎉

[@NIKAtheWORM]

I had newly bought Gelly Rolls but haven't used them until after a week or two just to see them "dried up" but looks like this was just the fix to it! I'm really glad that my purchase was not a waste. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@cassandracasserole]

Thank you so much! I thought I was doing something wrong with these pens all these years. Glad I kept them for the past 3 years because they’re working perfectly fine now (with the occasional clog that can easily be fixed by wiping onto a napkin with a little bit of rubbing alcohol applied to it).

[@StephanieLaning]

Pppp

[@joangarrity8513]

Thanks so much! I just bought two sets of Sakura white Jelly Roll pens based on a different video - they were supposed to be great - but I couldn't get mine go. Thanks to your suggestion I found a disinfectant wipe in my utility room and rubbed the pen points with it and - success!!! Thanks again!!!

[@nicholeb2746]

Thank you! Gel pens always clog, and I FINALLY know what to do. I have been sitting here using my lighter, water, hot water, tried putting them in the microwave 😅 geeze. It takes a little work, but I have got 2 out 5 working thanks to u! So thanks 😊

[@brrjohnson8131]

I used a lighter on a gel pen a few years ago & it blew the roller ball out like a gunshot across the room. I heard it hit the wall. Made a pretty loud pop when it blew up the pen. (Only maybe 5 seconds on the tip, like an old bic) it was my all time favorite lime green pearl gel. That's how someone loses an eye! Scared me straight for a few years.

[@polaroidsmiles]

I know your video is several years old by now, but - have you discovered Uniball's white pen? It's a thicker tip, Uniball Gel Impact. They come in gold, silver, and white and the thickness of the white is better than the GellyRoll, and they don't get clogged nearly as easily! I still love my GellyRoll pens though, and thank you so much for this video!! I've saved 4 already!!

[@kimwood5239]

My hubby bought a big pack of these about four five years ago, I was looking on line to see how to revive them. Excited thank you.

[@ZsuzsaKarolySmith]

This has actually worked! I have a few Sakura Gelly Roll pens (Souffle and Glaze) that I haven't used in almost 10 years and now they came back to life! I soaked the nibs in pure alcohol (99.9% isopropyl) upside down for a few minutes and apart from two of them, they all seem to be working again! I'll soak the other two longer to see what happens - got nothing to lose. Thanks for taking the time to upload this video 5 years ago - it still helps lots of people, I'm sure!

[@lisawhittington4]

I had some gel clicker pens that were stuck and I blew into the opposite end of the pen after wiping down with alcohol and it worked. You gave me the idea after you mentioned their was pressure back in your pen. They must lose pressure like a tire. :) ty again.

[@whoandwhatisalice]

Thanks I have several that are clogged going to try this. I love these pens but they are sooo frustrating.

[@BlueMarivity]

I just bought the pens today. The 0.5 one is completely not working. I tried putting rubbing alcohol on it still doesn’t work. Do you know if there is another way to get the clog out of the pen?

[@anicegoose489]

I also have a 0.5 and tried out the rubbing alcohol and it worked perfectly fine. Maybe check what sort of rubbing alcohol that you are using.

[@shonuff4323]

Same here

[@patherron9547]

Try acetone (nail polish remover) that does the trick for me.

[@toasto]

I found that I have to draw at the perfect angle with the pen for it to flow. Straight up-down vertical on the paper makes it stop flowing.

[@nielgarzon3412]

Put it in warm water for 15 minutes or heat the tip of pen in hair dryer for 30 seconds

[@artsibird6784]

Thank you so much I had the same problem with the line in the middle!

[@arsvita6709]

Yay! My pen is working after the cap was left off. Thanks soooo much!!

[@DarrellHeath_rowe]

Well we'll well...I am not alone. Thank for the tips. I have tossed so many over the past few years.

[@Aetium]

thank you very much for this, it kept me from throwing some of them out and resorting to buying new ones, very helpful video

[@tuershen4441]

Dude! Thank you! It saved me from buying another pen.

[@astrinymris9953]

What climate zone do you live in? Because I live in a Köppen Cfa Humid subtropical climate, and I've never had much trouble with the Gelly Rolls. They're one of the more reliable brands when it comes to opaque gel pens. However, I usually get mine from Jet Pens. There are some art supplies that it's better to buy online than at a brick-and-mortar store. Just sayin'.

[@VictorRodriguezArt]

How I never thought about using rubbing alcohol on a gelly roll pen is beyond me. So many of these that I threw away... Mind blown.

[@ixd7ev254]

I actually THOUGHT of it and never tried till now. DUH!

[@TheHonest50s]

Thank you, just revived my signo gel pen. They are hard to get here so it was a life saver. Just a note, I used oxigenated water cause its what I founf first and worked equally well.

[@peterhz6]

good tip

[@lkv2021]

Thank you! I have the same 08 Gelly Roll and same problem. My other 3 colors are fine. Your trick unclogged it in no time.

[@melirvine]

Thanks so much for this video. I had just bought a pack of gellrolls and they stopped working within about 2 minutes of use. Now they are fine. Took a bit of persistence but all flowing perfectly after steeping in the alcohol. Also thanks for the tip on not pressing too hard. I've been quite savage with my pressure until now.

[@farrahwahida1352]

Thank you for the tips,it works!! I would prefer uniball signo white over gelly roll,as that one is much better and less clogging issues

[@lynnekohler8299]

Hey, thanks so much! I just tried it and got good success with the 91% rubbing alcohol. I even pour a little into the tip of the pen!

[@egsiio]

Thanks for making this video! Gonna try this now Edit: Wow it actually works!!! Although I didn't use my pen for almost 2 years 😂 btw I used alcohol 70%

[@HeatherEvenson]

THANK YOU! I thought I had bought a bad batch or something. So glad I didn’t toss them! 👌🏻

[@ewwwobbie]

Thank you. I was looking for a cure for my white pens and this worked! Thank you so much!

[@lyndak7485]

Best method to date! So glad I've found your video... Thanks for sharing:)

[@beccawilliams8494]

Thank you! I got a pack recently that were all clogged up. I didn't have any rubbing alcohol but nail varnish remover has worked a treat!

[@cathygenereux2656]

Thank you!! This works great!! Now if only I hadn't been throwing them away in the past.

[@annabanana0810]

Wow that's incredible, thanks for the info Richard!!!

[@audreycoggins1652]

Thank you! Now I regret chucking out two recently in a fit! I just tried it one a couple more and it worked! I didn't have isopropyl alcohol on hand but we had ethanol and it worked a treat too.

[@susannelson1279]

Can’t wait to try your fix. I’ve have no luck with white pens. So frustrating

[@jignajoshi4433]

my pen still refused to work

[@ZuraKyousuke]

THX BROOO, This worked for me. When I ordered it online and it came, I opened it right up new, and was happy to use it, and 05 08 wasnt working but 10 was normally working fine. Did some research alot of people were having issues and then found your vid and did it now its not clogged. Once Again Thx for this Tip Hacks :) 💯

[@Sillyvllc]

ThAnks so much, I was about to give up of them.

[@dddot8597]

It works! Thank you, even no little gap in the middle 😅

[@UkeMom1]

Great idea. I actually love these pens. They flow great at first. They just dry too quickly. I am so glad to see that they can be rejuvinated.

[@alexagreen9863]

wow, amazing method I love clogged pens!

[@ellariel7457]

Great hack, thanks! Also, FWIW ... Gelly Roll makes their white gel pens in 3 nib sizes.: 05, 08, and 10. They can be purchased open stock, as well as a carded set of all three. While my 05 nibs have always clogged immediately, the 10s almost never do, with the 08s somewhere in between. And if course, there is the giant white Uni-ball, but I've found I have to order these from Japan, The ones from US distributors clog as well, in my experience.

[@thatoneartsykid8417]

My 10s, which I just got yesterday have been giving me so many issues

[@ellariel7457]

@@thatoneartsykid8417 I’m sure you’re already doing this, but it helps to wipe the tip fairly often - a damp paper towel works well. Hope this helps.

[@creativesolutionsart-h3o]

Thanks! This is good to know, because I really love these pens!

[@creativesolutionsart-h3o]

LOL never mind you just answered me about the storage in the upright position with the point down! Thanks

[@himbosuplex]

With a lot of gel pens you can let it sit in hot water to just loosen things up, but I tried this with some that just would not cooperate (likely because of pigment or shimmer clogs) and this worked like a charm.

[@UARELOVE1010]

I tried writing and it would keep skipping then stopped. I was fed up and was going to trash it. Your video helped. Thanks a lot!! It worked. I am glad you have the tip to use alcohol swabs!

[@Adriannotadmer]

I use nail polish remover on my 0.8 and it worked! It still don't work awesome, but i can finally use it and make a single line without waiting 5min.

[@A7Xdookie]

I brought these cause of people on you tube saying they are great... the worst pen I have ever used they clog like crazy and are just pure shit that don't do their job... can't believe I thought they would be better than posca :( had such high hopes for them I'll give this a try... thanks for the tips dude

[@viviennehannah7702]

IM VERY THANKFUL FOR THIS HACK JUST BECAUSE MY GELLYROLL DOSENT REALY WORK AND I ACTUALLY TRIED A BUNCH OF TUTORIALS TO HELP ME BUT NOTHING WORK BUT THIS THANK YOU⭐

[@justusshakur]

mine didn’t work & i’m so irritated.

[@TheNightPainter]

thank you for this video! i've been struggling with mine for quite some time now.

[@naksan656]

My white gelly rolls are not opaque and they don't work if I add the slightest pressure Is this normal?

[@lastrayer9004]

Seems like Sakura should package these with alcohol wipes! They are so dreamy when they work, but they are consistently problematic.

[@greekveteran2715]

Mine was clogged new out of the box. It never worked, no matter what I did. I checked the paint from the back and it was not hard, but fresh. Any other tricks that could make it work? Thanks in advance

[@learaymond]

None of my Sakura metallic jelly pens would work properly but I’m going to try this! Thanks. Figured I’d subscribe & check out your other stuff. Cheers!

[@RichardFriendartist]

thank you!!

[@cowlufoo2]

Went ahead and did this on all of mine and they're all great! Except it turns out the metallic gold one just straight up sucks.

[@airinbone]

If the pen is too old any fix is only momentary. The gel sets up rubbery like paint. You may get a few words worth out of them still, vut not much more.

[@victoriaaltun7425]

Mine is maybe four years old. This didn’t help unfortunately. My pen didn’t work from the beginning from what I remember.

[@fangchick93]

I love the moonlight ones, they have a great inkflow. The classic are less smooth

[@DeVstatrOmga]

Was thinking of using an old medicine cup, fill it with rubbing alcohol up to the height of the pen’s tip and leave it dipped inside for 5 minutes to clear it up.

[@rkneegordon6316]

WHAAAAAAT! Thanks My Jelly is working again!!! WOOHOO!!

[@vidbox44]

Yep - alcohol pad and light pressure. You're my hero!

[@influentialolive]

Thank You For Sharing! I bought a 3 pack,.05, .08, 1.0 ... and, Only the .05, Kind Of writes. Takes double lines, to get it down... very irritating in Any Drawing I do.

[@ssp1der]

could you do this with micro pens ? I used my pens on wet paint and I dunno if I can fix it or not?

[@tiwantiwaabibiman2603]

THANX!!! Never tried the alcohol technique and I tons of 91% and 99% alcohol in my studio. Can't wait to try thus when I go over to my studio. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾 🖊 🖋 🖊 Also try try shaking the pens really freakin rigorously to get out that last stubborn clog. Definitely trying the alcohol on the tip. There was also a video tip of setting thecentire pens (caps on) in a bowl of really warm water. Haven't tried that one either - yet...

[@ConstellationOfBrokenDreams]

It worked!! Thank you so much!

[@mayamostafa5979]

My pen is not working i was about to give them the pen but i see your video like i want to tell u thanks 😊 really thank you ☺️

[@larryglatt2548]

I just figured out that these pens don't work over color pencils they get clogged , silly me, at least now you have shown me how to unclog. BIG THANK YOU.

[@Herfemininerage]

If you want to use white highlights for colored pencils might I suggest General's white charcoal pencils? I tend to use them over color pencils or watercolor art because gelly rolls tend to not behave with them :)

[@rashielspeedart4356]

Thanks bro, It really works, and it's better than before

[@kata1360]

Thanks for the tip I have to check if I can get my white gel pens working. I have tried so many different kinds and in KZbin videos they work like a dream for people but reality is more like screaming and tears.

[@keithharper5412]

It worked! Thanks

[@paulalvarez1758]

I used an alcohol pad and it worked! I thought I got a bad pen out of the packaging and this fixed it.

[@Dylbot2099]

I'll have to try that. At conventions I have a sketchbook with hard textured covers I usually scribble on them a bit and it gets the pens running again for a bit.

[@cindydo9006]

Thank you for the tips. I tried and it worked for the 08 Med tip but not the 05 fine tip. I guess l should stop buying the 05 ones 😅

[@creativesolutionsart-h3o]

Does it make a difference how you store them?

[@lurklingX]

Holding an alcohol-saturated paper towel around the nibs for many minutes gave me good results. I was multitasking, and it seems to help dissolve the blockage.

[@GrandaComics]

It works great, thanks Rich

[@RichardFriendartist]

Granda ComicFAN did you just try it? It's so simple. I almost feel silly sharing it. That said. I didn't know this would ever work and now I can actually USE these pens. Which before was always impossible!

[@GrandaComics]

Richard Friend Yeah, I finishing a book for SDCC (crazy stuff, the book goes to the printer on monday, and they just gave me two weeks to do the whole thing), just putting the last details on the inks and I was using a gelly roll just before I saw your video, but the space inside the line that I was leaving was making me crazy. So it was not a silly video to upload 😁

[@RichardFriendartist]

yeah I am telling you....we struck gold with this "hack" hahahaha good luck with your book!!!!!

[@jkgjr8219]

The uniball white gel pens are sooo much better than the jelly roll. I too have a handful that are all clogged. The uniball have a more opaque white with a finer point...awesome trick nonetheless Rich

[@cordovacolorado]

As a last resort I wrote on 1500 grit sanding paper. It works about half the time. Now these are pens that have gone thru every method I found and still wouldnt work. So I tried the samd paper and got about half of them to work

[@amberpressley2410]

It worked! Now all my pens are going to get the alcohol soak of death! 😈 or life. Mine started working a lot faster than it did for you. The only difference I can see is that I used a 50% alcohol. Not sure if that’s what made a difference or not.

[@elsagrace3893]

I soaked my pen tip in alcohol and it did nothing. Heating the tip didn’t work either. I think it’s got to go in the garbage. Also my red Sarasa. 🙁

[@bewitchedlakegirl1666]

The best for me is to take the whole point out and soak it in warm/hot water or dip in acetone to clear the clog

[@justagirlintn1]

Great info!! THANK YOU for sharing this!

[@rice_thecool9105]

Does Handsanitizer work?

[@TheCreativeChica]

I tried, but I think mine were too dry. Tossed them out.

[@aanya3248]

My pen wasn't working so I tried to disassemble it... now the top looks like it was attacked by a cat and the nib and ball are gone.

[@katefrancesdesigns]

So glad I found your vid before I threw mine out!

[@ElisabethFriday]

Thanks for the awesome tip!

[@vjakshin]

Outstanding. Thank you sir :)

[@Janelle-nu1ep]

NGL, i was a little doubtful if this was gonna work but after trying it out, safe to say that i wont need to spend money on new gel pens :)

[@erikjohnson3343]

Awesome, works great, thank you!