Advice on dislodging piece of "plant material" in matrix perc

Mr. Dabs

Mr. Dabs

Active Member
Guys, I've got a problem.

My Mobius Matrix Nano perc has a piece of what appears to be a charred plant material lodged in it. It appears it may even be an immature seed. Unfortunately, this occured back when I was still combusting. It's very black and combusted. But also it appears to be stuck in there pretty good. Iso and salt do nothing. I've tried letting it bake out in the sun and have even put it in the freezer. No go.

I have contemplated putting the piece in the microwave, but I don't know if that plant material might explode and destroy the perc or what.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to put something in there to dissolve that little piece of plant material.

Grunge Off? Kush Clean? Acetone? Suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Mr. Dabs,
redglassgallery

redglassgallery

JHANPIXEL
Glass Blower
i would take the piece ( if it is free from any cracks or chips )
place the pc in your oven ( @ room temp )
set your oven to self clean mode ( usually goes up to 500F )
and let it raise and cook and lower to room temp ( do not open oven door when hot )
and this will cook out any stains / grime or buildup left on the glass


we use this method on our prototypes after R&D sessions to clean em up.
 
Mr. Dabs

Mr. Dabs

Active Member
redglassgallery said:
i would take the piece ( if it is free from any cracks or chips )
place the pc in your oven ( @ room temp )
set your oven to self clean mode ( usually goes up to 500F )
and let it raise and cook and lower to room temp ( do not open oven door when hot )
and this will cook out any stains / grime or buildup left on the glass


we use this method on our prototypes after R&D sessions to clean em up.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will try this next if my current soak overnight produces no results.
 
Mr. Dabs,
Adobewan

Adobewan

Well-Known Member
Perhaps a pipe cleaner?
I had a wax smear caught in the slit of the Matrix, couldn't ISO, IOS+salt, PBW, it out.
I then tried a (long)pipe cleaner, trimmed some fibers free of the end of it, bend the end, and worked the exposed wire on the end of the pipe cleaner right into the groove. Sure enough, it was some plant matter within some wax which popped right out with minimal effort.
Good luck!
 
Adobewan,
TheHerbalReview

TheHerbalReview

@TheHerbalReview
Pour a TON of salt in the piece; followed by enough 91 percent alcohol to make a "sluge" type consistency. Work the sluge into the matrix perc and shake away for about 5min. I cleaned a VERY gunked up Nano in about 5 min to look brand new. The Matrix perc looked awful when I got it...
 
TheHerbalReview,
Fully Melted

Fully Melted

It's OK to enjoy your medicine.
If all else fails........ DRAINO! Yes, drain cleaning lye. A couple hour soak and that seed will break down so a strong flow of water will dislodge the mushy remains.

BEWARE! Draino is very caustic and will eat labels but it's likely your piece has sandblasted logo's so no worries.
 
Fully Melted,
Mr. Dabs

Mr. Dabs

Active Member
Soaked over night in Grunge Off. Bong is clean...EXCEPT for that damn little seed! So next up, the oven.

If the oven fails, I'll try sludgy salt and if that fails, draino.
 
Mr. Dabs

Mr. Dabs

Active Member
OK, oven process has been attempted with that mofo is STILL lodged in there tighter than ever. I tried blasting water (after cooling, of course) in there still to no avail.

With the design of this piece, it would be extremely difficult without very specialized tools (perhaps a medical endoscope type device would work) to get to the offending material mechanically.

Just from visual inspection, I doubt that sloshing more salt and iso around in the matrix chamber will do anything other than waste time.

Hence, I have decided to pour in just enough Drano Max Gel to cover the particle.

... half hour later ...

OK, I did so and I think this might, just might, do the trick! The reason I believe so is I can actually see amber waves of dissolving particulate matter in suspension starting to come off the offending particle as well as a little bit of heat in the matrix chamber.

I will leave this in there until the particle is sufficiently dissolved. Thank you, Fully Melted.
 
Mr. Dabs,
redglassgallery

redglassgallery

JHANPIXEL
Glass Blower
Mr. Dabs said:
OK, oven process has been attempted with that mofo is STILL lodged in there tighter than ever. I tried blasting water (after cooling, of course) in there still to no avail.

With the design of this piece, it would be extremely difficult without very specialized tools (perhaps a medical endoscope type device would work) to get to the offending material mechanically.

Just from visual inspection, I doubt that sloshing more salt and iso around in the matrix chamber will do anything other than waste time.

Hence, I have decided to pour in just enough Drano Max Gel to cover the particle.

... half hour later ...

OK, I did so and I think this might, just might, do the trick! The reason I believe so is I can actually see amber waves of dissolving particulate matter in suspension starting to come off the offending particle as well as a little bit of heat in the matrix chamber.

I will leave this in there until the particle is sufficiently dissolved. Thank you, Fully Melted.
Click to expand...
wow its still there? it should have all been vaporized, how long did you leave the oven on for?

its enough to cook off all the grease inside ur oven it should be enough for some plant material
 
redglassgallery,
Buildozer

Buildozer

Baked & Fried
maybe try using a whole bunch of salt and filling the piece up to the top of the perc w/ it.. then add just a little water so its really thick.. slosh that around it seems like it could work?? if it's a lot more salt than liquid?? i thought the oven would kick ass.. i'm surprised to hear it didn't help.
 
Buildozer,
Mr. Dabs

Mr. Dabs

Active Member
Success! The Drano worked like a charm. The seed was dissolved, essentially, so I rinsed it out very well with water. I'm now resoaking the entire piece in Grunge Off, then I'll rinse it good with water in the morning and I should be good to go.

Thanks for the advice!
 
Mr. Dabs

Mr. Dabs

Active Member
Fenton Mewley said:
I meant longer grunge off exposure.
Click to expand...

To tell you the truth, I wondered about this myself. I think, given enough time, it is POSSIBLE that the Grunge Off alone MIGHT have eroded the little seed. But I think it would've had to sit in there for days or even weeks. The beauty of the Drano Gel is it worked super quick.

I also think it is possible that my oven didn't get hot enough and I didn't leave it in there long enough, either, but those little immature Cannabis seeds are VERY tough!

Anyway, I'm very glad I got my piece back and it looks absolutely gorgeous! The Grunge Off did work well in general and my piece is indistinguishable from brand-new.

Now, back to building my ultimate VaporBong setup :tup:
 
Mr. Dabs,
Gammy

Gammy

Gammy's getting upset!
I have some tough stains on my Snob piece that I just cant seem to get rid of.

I was wondering if filling it with salted water and putting it in a large pot full of salted water and bringing the whole thing to a boil would work?
 
Gammy,
Mr. Dabs

Mr. Dabs

Active Member
Gammy said:
I have some tough stains on my Snob piece that I just cant seem to get rid of.

I was wondering if filling it with salted water and putting it in a large pot full of salted water and bringing the whole thing to a boil would work?
Click to expand...

What have you used so far to try to remove the stains? I think you could easily break your piece by doing as you are suggesting, but I understand wanting to get your piece clean.
 
Mr. Dabs,
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Frederick McGuire

Frederick McGuire

Aggressively Loungey
Gammy said:
I have some tough stains on my Snob piece that I just cant seem to get rid of.

I was wondering if filling it with salted water and putting it in a large pot full of salted water and bringing the whole thing to a boil would work?
Click to expand...
The point of salt when cleaning a piece is to act as an abrasive afaik, so if by salted water you mean water where the salt is fully dissolved, I doubt it would help much.

I'd also avoid boiling a piece, I'm not sure what temperatures start affecting the structural integrity of the glass, but boiling is higher than I'd prefer to go.

Not sure why you'd add salt to the water you were planning to boil, the only point of the water in the pot would be to transfer heat into the piece.

What have you already tried to clean it?
My first suggestion would be PBW,
then 99% ISO + a bunch of salt

Those are the only 2 things I've needed to get any of my pieces sparkling clean.
 
Frederick McGuire,
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Gammy

Gammy

Gammy's getting upset!
Thanks Fred! i don't know why it worked this time but I put a bunch of salt with Iso, shaked and voilà, all clean! :)

Strange cause I must've tried that method like 20 times before and it never worked... I did use some baking soda and vinegar a few days ago, maybe it prepped the glass for the salt and iso.
 
Gammy,
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redglassgallery

redglassgallery

JHANPIXEL
Glass Blower
Frederick McGuire said:
The point of salt when cleaning a piece is to act as an abrasive afaik, so if by salted water you mean water where the salt is fully dissolved, I doubt it would help much.

I'd also avoid boiling a piece, I'm not sure what temperatures start affecting the structural integrity of the glass, but boiling is higher than I'd prefer to go.

Not sure why you'd add salt to the water you were planning to boil, the only point of the water in the pot would be to transfer heat into the piece.

What have you already tried to clean it?
My first suggestion would be PBW,
then 99% ISO + a bunch of salt

Those are the only 2 things I've needed to get any of my pieces sparkling clean.
Click to expand...

Pyrex is safe to boil or even broil . unless you have a high temp oven that can go over 1200 F you aren't going to change the integrity of the piece.

** unless the piece is cracked or chipped **
 
Frederick McGuire

Frederick McGuire

Aggressively Loungey
redglassgallery said:
Pyrex is safe to boil or even broil . unless you have a high temp oven that can go over 1200 F you aren't going to change the integrity of the piece.

** unless the piece is cracked or chipped **
Click to expand...
I seriously love having you around here :D
Dropping knowledge bombs about glassware.:tup:
 
Frederick McGuire,
PhotoRider

PhotoRider

Diagnosed with level 11 G.A.S.
Tried a shotgun, takes the piece a part every time in my experience. about 25 cents fix... Course then you need to fix the aftermath. Like when a hunting dog doesn't like birds, let him eat a couple, then you got to get him to stop eating them. Replace one thing with another :D
 
PhotoRider,
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