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

[Mr. Dabs]

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.

 

[Kaptan]

Have you tried PBW?

 

[Mr. Dabs]

Have you tried PBW?

No, not yet. I can get some though.

Thanks.

 

[redglassgallery]

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]

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.

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

 

[Adobewan]

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!

 

[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...

 

[Fully Melted]

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.

 

[Mr. Dabs]

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.

 

[Fenton Mewley]

Try grunge off overnight?

 

[Kaptan]

Try grunge off overnight?

Did you not even bother to read the thread? He posted just above you that he tried that.

 

[Mr. Dabs]

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.

 

[redglassgallery]

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.

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

 

[Buildozer]

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.

 

[Mr. Dabs]

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!

 

[Fenton Mewley]

Did you not even bother to read the thread? He posted just above you that he tried that.

I meant longer grunge off exposure.

 

[Mr. Dabs]

I meant longer grunge off exposure.

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

 

[Gammy]

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?

 

[Mr. Dabs]

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?

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.

 

[NinjaMindTriks]

CLR does a good job at cleaning pieces and getting rid of stains.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

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?

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.

 

[Gammy]

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.

 

[redglassgallery]

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.

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]

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 **

I seriously love having you around here
Dropping knowledge bombs about glassware.

 

[PhotoRider]

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