SWIM is trying to find different ways in cleaning a pipe and has needs help with 2 methods that have been suggested.
First...
SWIM was told to use a magic eraser to clean the bottom of the bowl after smoking. How does SWIM actually use it to clean the pipe?
SWIM doesn't want to clean the whole thing. Just the little bit of black that is left after a bowl is smoked.
Next...
SWIM heard about a method where one puts the pipe in the freezer and then blows through the neck for all the resin to move down to the bowl. Does this actually work and if so how long does it need to be in the freezer?
The best way to clean a spot on the bottom of a bowl is using a q-tip. With a dab of water on the q-tip,insert q-tip and kneed it against the bottom of the bowl(imagine trying to start a fire with a stick) while the bowl is on a flat surface. You can also flip the bowl upside-down to do this, giving you a better view of the residue removal. If the stain is especially hard to clean you may want to try create more pressure from the q-tip by using your leg or another surface as an anchor for the other end of the q-tip; simultaneously apply pressure and knead the q-tip. You can also heat the bowl from the bottom a bit(remove q-tip obviously) and then continue doing this if the stain still proves persistent.
I have a picture in one of my albums on here depicting the typical tools The Flaming Rainbow he cleans his bowls with, it's in the Meth Tools album.
Jayhal added 2 Minutes and 17 Seconds later...
One thing I forgot to stress is to be careful, especially when upside-down, to not apply so much pressure as to risk breaking the glass.
I know that's slightly retarded to bring up, but I just thought I'd throw it up here anyways.
Jayhal added 236 Minutes and 53 Seconds later...
Another addition: I'm very curious about the freezer thing. I'm not sure how that would work... First, would blowing into the pipe create sufficient temperatures for the koNaenae to liquify and move down the pipe? Second, why the freezing? Does it somehow allow the slightly heated drip to cool down between movements and collect together so as to better slide down the pipe or..?
Where did you hear about that particular method?
Last edited by Jayhal; 09-11-2010 at 17:26.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
SWIM knows how to clean her pipe with a Q-tip and what not. Just wondering mainly about the magic eraser. Thanks though..
But AFOAF explained the freezing method. A pretty reliable source too, so it probably does work. Just need to know the amount of time and if theres any other steps SWIM doesn't know about.
Sorry, can't shed any light on the original method inquired about (magic eraser) but here is what Monkey has always done:
Monkey uses oil burners (meth pipes) mainly for smoking hash oil, which leaves them quite, quite dirty after a few grams. At first when it would get too thick to use monkey would just throw them out and go buy another one for less than the days lunch money. Eventually he came across a really cool, thicker, hand blown & color swirled oil burner, and when this one clogged up he wanted to clean it to perfection somehow... behold, the propane torch! (seriously) (and not the little ones, a full size brazing torch). It works great, he uses it on every oil burner now, just turns the torch to about half-strength and lets pipe get red hot one section at a time, anything on the surface will promptly be blasted/melted into oblivion. Literally, this makes meth pipes legal again. 100% clear.
Whether SWIY has a propane torch laying around is another question
I'm curious what source you heard about the freezer method from, The Flaming Rainbow tells me he's very interested. I'll give him the link if you PM it to me. He's got several ball pipes with a decent amount of residue in each, and he said he'll try it out.
He's thinking of starting with 5 minutes in the freezer?
Jayhal added 30 Minutes and 57 Seconds later...
I did a quick search.... Are you sure you don't mean heating the pipe, blowing the melted residue down the pipe, THEN putting it in the freezer for a bit to solidify for removal?
Last edited by Jayhal; 10-11-2010 at 06:30.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
I had a pet gold fish that used several different methods to clean.
Baking soda – Baking soda, little bit of water from his fish bowl and some q-tips, once satisfied with his clean up, rinse the pipe out to be sure all the baking soda is gone.
Toothpaste- Same as above, however, my pet gold fish did say to spend extra time rinsing as colgate tastes like shit.
However, the most favorite and worked the best for my pet gold fish was winks, again he said he can’t stress enough to take extra time rinsing as winks is harsher than any cut he has ever tasted!
I also asked my pet gold fish about the magic eraser theory and he stated he has seen his best friend’s cat cut a small piece off the magic eraser and insert it in the bowl, utilizing a q-tip and water , cleaned the pipe.
The "Mr. Clean Magic Eraser" (and to some degree, generic versions thereof) do a superb job of removing even the worst scuff marks & such.
I assume we're talking about the outside of an oil burner, that might still have marks on it, even after it's been washed clean of any potential "carbon residues"?
I don't know HOW the Magic Eraser does its magic, but using it just like any other sponge, or placing the Eraser on the table and rubbing the oil burner against it should do the job of cleaning VERY nicely. And even though it just looks like a white sponge, it's WAAAAY more than that! It's highly recommended for cleaning anything & everything.
^Yup, we call em magic sponge here. Nothing cleans like those things aye. You can buy them already cut into small squares, or just cut them yourself. They really are magic.
This is an old thread but I'll post my link to the real way to clean you hardware.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sassyspy
Lots of my pet duck's friends swear by the bleach method, but it takes too long for her to wait! She says there's product known as "Whinks" in grocery stores, sold as a rust remover! of all things! but a couple swipes with a soaked cotton bud and its clean, can be washed and dried easily at that point.
You are absolutely correct about the product, how this is not the set in stone method is beyond me and why more people don't know about this today is another shocker since that it has been a vital part of our recreational tools for over 12 years now.
Here's some information and a few tips for the purpose of educating those that know nothing of what it is and to avoid embarrassment or that "look at this tweaker" look you may get if you have no idea what you are looking for other than a name and they ask you what's it for. Ahh duhhh "Fer my oil burner what else" A lot of places are hip to what it's used for as I'll explain below.
The manufacturers and brand name is "Whink" no "s" but I'm sure you would find this out eventually.
The products actual name as written on the label is "Rust Stain Remover"
The container is a brown plastic bottle, with a white cap, check their website for a gander at it before you go on your journey.
Where you may find it, in grocery stores it's located primarily on the laundry detergent aisle or with the cleaning products if you shop at Wally World. In hardware stores it's usually where the cleaning products are located.
What's it used for? "quickly and easily removes rust stains from white sinks & white toilet bowls as well as colorfast fabrics & carpets."
I say may find it because it is becoming harder to locate in major US cities any way and no longer available at every single grocery store and drug store like it used to be 10 years ago. One of the primary reasons is because it's linked to meth users and ironically started to disappeared around the same time Red Devil Lye fell off the shelves even though it's not used in manufacturing it's part of the element and also often boosted by none other than "the element".
This may or may not be useful to some of you but those that actually "care" about their tools and hardware usual appreciate this info.
What is the active ingredient?"Hydrofluoric acid"
WTF is that?"a compound of hydrogen and fluorine dissolved in water to produce an extremely corrosive acid traditionally used to etch glassand it isthe only acid that will dissolve glass. It is neat and leaves a clear finish"
How do I use it sounds dangerous because it's a highly corrosive acid?"If you have super sensitive skin you may want to wear gloves, personally it has never burned the users I know skin, but always practice safety, but understand although it will dissolve glass remember it's used for stains on clothes and doesn't burn holes in the clothes like muriatic or sulfuric acid does"
OK I'm sold how do I use it?"The above quoted method mentions being faster than the bleach method by using a Qtip and wiping around and rinsing. You can do that if you want if you want to take the long route and shorten the life of your pipe by thinning your bowl out.
OK smarty pants whats the faster and better for my piece way then what is already really fast with the Qtip?"Based on over 12 years experience with the goods do the following if you really care about your hardware and want the best results invest in a gallon of distilled water, if you are a cheap skate use pure tap which you'll need anyway and still works but you'll see why I mention distilled. Get your piece no matter how wrecked it is and if you are a Bic user (shame on you, I'll cover that in lighters 101 someday) and have black shit all over the outside which we'll get also in a second pour enough product down your stem to fill a little less than half your bowl with the acid and hit the bowl with a torch lighter or hold it over the stove for about 5 seconds, swirl the product in the bowl and you should see your entire stains are lifted off instantly, pour the crap out down the stem and run tap water down the neck through the bowl for about 10 seconds, follow that with a pipe full of distilled water shake it around dump it and you are done. If you have a shit ton of stains on the outside pour some on a paper towel and wipe the stains off. Distilled water leaves NO water spots which are minerals in the water and a gallon is about a dollar should last at least a month if you are only final rinsing. To dry use a old t-shirt cut off a piece so it looks like a shoe lace when you roll it up and feed it down the neck of your pipe. The best is a slice of Sham-WOW or the Absorber. The whole process takes less than one minute once you get it down. NOTHING can match this method as far as being safe for the glass and turn around time period.
In addition after some time goes by and you feel rough or pitted glass on the bottom of your bowl then follow up with this after you have cleansed your piece again add some acid to your bowl and this time use a QTip and gently rub around the bottom of the bowl area on the inside and outside of the bowl. This conditions the bowl and smooths out the pinholes or pits that eventually start to consume your gear after a while. You can actually feels the roughness on the bottom of the pipe bowl, this will get smoothed out doing this method. Some may have to do this more often some less depending on how often you do your hobby.
I've heard of people going through up to 10 pipes a week because of neglect or clumsy or whatever but the hardware in service today was purchased in November 2010 and is still as good as new and it gets used daily. That's 100% true no BS. But good care leads to that but I'm extreme when it comes to good hardware and gear. But there's no reason anyone shouldn't be able to get more than a month out of a piece.
One more thing this also works for 420 bongs and glass pieces that are fucnked up with resin. Only you have to soak them a longer but leaves them like brand new and kills any product sold at head shops for over $20.
Last edited by iNFRiNGE; 07-05-2011 at 20:10.
Reason: Added technique
I learned this in caring for antique radio tubes (valves).
A rub of the wool on the bottle removes soot, dust, grease,
and does not remove the tube markings.
I don't smoke meth...but I suppose the steel wool, a remedy from decades ago,
will serve to remove stains from pipes if not souls.
OK...
Now how do you reckon you get that there steel wool on the inside of the pipe to clean it out? More than likely if some kitty or a chimp is cleaning the outside of the vessel they are gonna clean the inside too unless there's still gear left in it. In which case steel wool would be out of the question as debris and particles of the steel wool are likely to fall into the bowl and taint the gear.
If somebodies pet is not careful and does it anyway, I'm ain't no rocket scientist but I'm pretty sure that inhaling dust from steel wool doesn't reduce the health risks associated with their recreation by very much.
