Part II of the Pilot Frixion Erasable Color-Pencil-Like Gel Pen

Pilot Frixion Erasable Color-Pencil-Like Gel Pen 

Last week, I wrote a review about the Pilot FriXion Erasable Color-Pencil-Like Gel Pen. Please check it out for specs and to learn more about these pens. You also read further with Part III.

Friday, I ended up spending 3 1/2 hours at a laundromat (my dryer is dead), fighting washers and dryers that wouldn't work.  Did you know you get very wet transferring loads of sopping wet clothes from one washer to another?  Thank heavens I had many quarters.

Not that my laundromat nightmare is relevant, except that in between laundry moves I had time to draw.  This time around I used the FriXions in my Stilman & Birn Delta Series notepad, and there were quite a few differences in performance from my experience on the smooth Clairefontaine paper.

The Delta has a rough surface, which has enough tooth for light watercolor washes and is great for color pencil.

The resistence I mentioned in my previous review was gone. The colors still turned a little muddy if layered too heavily, but not as quickly.  

The ink doesn't erase as well, but neither does it smear as easily. In my previous review I spoke about gel inks and how layering wet ink over ink that is still wet on the page, causes the ink to streak and actually lift away in some cases.  That still happens on this paper but not to the same extent.

All of this makes sense.  The Stillman & Birn Delta paperhas a moderate tooth, so some fibers are deeper than others.  Some ink settles allowing some to dry faster--less smearing, harder to erase the settled ink.

Conclusion

The Pilot Frixion Erasable Color-Pencil-Like Gel Pen colors have a chalky texture that is perfect if you want a chalkboard effect, carnival colors or a graffiti look.

For writing, I think a smoother paper such as found in the Rhodia dotWebbie is the choice for this pen.  For drawing, I recommend a toothier paper, though I wouldn't go with watercolor paper.  Paper designed for...wait for it... colored pencils...would be perfect!