cleaning/lubricating/maintaining your mech mod

[Ndizzle07]

what products do you use to clean and lubricate your mod?

I have a stinray x black and Ive noticed that copper takes a lot more maintence. Ive been using vinager and salt to clean the copper parts and it works suprisingly well. I also purchased some simichrome. I havent used it yet but im a lil worried that it might take off the black coat on top of the SS. has anyone used simichrome before? is simichrome good for cleaning the contacts?

Ive havent lubricated it yet but ive read that people use petroleum jelly or this stuff called noalox. when you lubricate the switch, i assume you take it apart but what parts exactly are you lubricating?

how often do you clean your contacts vs switch vs exterior?

any help would be greatly appreciated. i briefly seached the forum and didnt really find too much info.

 

[wonkeypickle]

run, don't walk, from noalox. user buzzkilla advised me to use some petroleum jelly on the switch post, buttery smooth now. if the contacts are silver plated a pencil eraser works best, anything else will take the plating off. exterior i clean when i get sick of the dirtiness, switch gets cleaned as often as possible. i consider the switch and contacts to be more or less the same, so they get cleaned at the same time. mod just gets toothbrush and dishsoap, then rubbed down with alcohol pads.

 

[wrath186]

what products do you use to clean and lubricate your mod?

I have a stinray x black and Ive noticed that copper takes a lot more maintence. Ive been using vinager and salt to clean the copper parts and it works suprisingly well. I also purchased some simichrome. I havent used it yet but im a lil worried that it might take off the black coat on top of the SS. has anyone used simichrome before? is simichrome good for cleaning the contacts?

Ive havent lubricated it yet but ive read that people use petroleum jelly or this stuff called noalox. when you lubricate the switch, i assume you take it apart but what parts exactly are you lubricating?

how often do you clean your contacts vs switch vs exterior?

any help would be greatly appreciated. i briefly seached the forum and didnt really find too much info.

Don't use the Simichrome. While it is absolutely amazing for chrome it also believe it has a slight abrasive quality, to buff out imperfections. I wouldn't use it on a matte finish or coated finished mod.

 

[Ndizzle07]

what a bummer i just ordered both simichrome and noalox. At least I havent used it yet.

ok so alcohol wipes/soap and water the exterior. use some vinegar/salt for the copper parts. then use petroleum jelly for the switch/contacts? how do you apply the jelly? i figured that would attact dirt. do you rub it on then wipe it off so there is a light coat?

 

[Rat2chat2]

Texas Pete works well on copper too. That stuff makes an old penny look new again.

 

[8dragon9]

I am probably wrong in this but I will post my two cents anyway. I have stainless mechs (or aluminum) and when I get to the need to clean point I just let them sit for 20 minutes in a 50/50 warm water, distilled white vinager solution. than let the warm water run through the bowl in the sink for 20 minutes or so, and leave it dissasembled on a towel for a while until dry.

 

[AzPlumber]

Noalox won't do any damage to copper. In fact it is made for aluminum to aluminum connections and aluminum to copper connections. It may not be the best for elec. conductivity on copper to copper but the lubrication it provides is good. Copper is a soft metal and threaded connection will easily seize without a lubricant. Best bet is to use a copper based anti oxidant grease.

However there are some concerns about the zinc in noalox pitting stainless steel, so I would avoid it on those mods.

 

[VapingTurtle]

... than let the warm water run through the bowl in the sink for 20 minutes or so...

Oh, so you're the guy causing the water shortage.

 

[8dragon9]

Oh, so you're the guy causing the water shortage.

No shortage of water in my neck of the woods.

 

[Ndizzle07]

i googled noalox after reading everybodies comments and found an ECF thread in the first few hits.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cloud-9-vaping/170171-noalox-why-we-use-mechanical-mods.html

I really dont want to mess up my new pricey mod so its going straight into the drawer after UPS drops it off.

 

[Ndizzle07]

spend a solid 2 hours cleaning my mod today after work.
first i used dish soap and water.
then i wiped it w/ some baby wipes for good measure lol
then used vinegar, salt and cotton balls/qtips to clean up the copper
then wiped it down w/ some more baby wipes just incase
then i used to some peltroleum jelly i had left over from my last tattoo on the threads.
applied the jelly w/ qtips then wiped it off w/ a microfiber towel.
now my mod shines like never before and the threads are silky smooth

When i first saw that people said they actually liked the look of the petina I said what the heck are they thinking.. now i understand.. its not that the petina looks good. its just a pain in the .... to keep cleaning these things lol. i think im going to buy a nice stainless steel mod and leave the stingray x at home.

do titanium mods require alot of mantainence?

 

[wonkeypickle]

spend a solid 2 hours cleaning my mod today after work.
first i used dish soap and water.
then i wiped it w/ some baby wipes for good measure lol
then used vinegar, salt and cotton balls/qtips to clean up the copper
then wiped it down w/ some more baby wipes just incase
then i used to some peltroleum jelly i had left over from my last tattoo on the threads.
applied the jelly w/ qtips then wiped it off w/ a microfiber towel.
now my mod shines like never before and the threads are silky smooth

When i first saw that people said they actually liked the look of the petina I said what the heck are they thinking.. now i understand.. its not that the petina looks good. its just a pain in the .... to keep cleaning these things lol. i think im going to buy a nice stainless steel mod and leave the stingray x at home.

do titanium mods require alot of mantainence?

expertly done with the petroleum jelly application, you want just enough to be able to say the metal isn't dry.


having all brass mods, you learn to love the patina. on my nemesis it's true, on the phantom brass stingray that turns a bronzish color, not so much.


i also try to wipe everything off with 91 percent iso alcohol after washing, sometimes tap water can leave hard water deposits in certain areas if left to dry.

 

[Ndizzle07]

expertly done with the petroleum jelly application, you want just enough to be able to say the metal isn't dry.


having all brass mods, you learn to love the patina. on my nemesis it's true, on the phantom brass stingray that turns a bronzish color, not so much.


i also try to wipe everything off with 91 percent iso alcohol after washing, sometimes tap water can leave hard water deposits in certain areas if left to dry.

thanks for the tip just ordered some

 

[isademigod]

guys. I have a revolution for you. I was gonna start a thread but figured i'd post it here.
all you need is steel wool and graphite lubricant (hardware, hobby store) for metal to metal lube you cant beat that. if you have a solid metal mech mod, steel wool makes it so so shiny and cleans the threads immediately. (apply lacquer if you want it to stay shiny)
then, take the steel wool to the threads for 5 minutes and use a gratuitous amount of graphite lube. I can lock and unlock my nemesis with one touch now. petroleum jelly would make the threads smooth but not spinny. I will repeat: I can take the locking ring off my nemmy with one spin

 

[isademigod]

by the way, I have a forced blue patina on my nemesis. it looks pretty and I still use steel wool to get back to a smooth satin finish

 

[sedition]

My first mod (Nemesis clone) arrived in the mail today - so glad I came across this thread.

 

[Ndizzle07]

guys. I have a revolution for you. I was gonna start a thread but figured i'd post it here.
all you need is steel wool and graphite lubricant (hardware, hobby store) for metal to metal lube you cant beat that. if you have a solid metal mech mod, steel wool makes it so so shiny and cleans the threads immediately. (apply lacquer if you want it to stay shiny)
then, take the steel wool to the threads for 5 minutes and use a gratuitous amount of graphite lube. I can lock and unlock my nemesis with one touch now. petroleum jelly would make the threads smooth but not spinny. I will repeat: I can take the locking ring off my nemmy with one spin

steel wool seems too abbrasive. wouldnt that scratch your mod up?
ive heard of the graphite before. is it safe to use on copper?

 

[isademigod]

steel wool seems too abbrasive. wouldnt that scratch your mod up?
ive heard of the graphite before. is it safe to use on copper?

no, it is actually really smooth, i use hardware store pure steel wool. it leaves some scratches if you press too hard but they are shallow and you can buff them out easily.
i wouldnt recommend using it on anything that bears an electrical load. i use it only on the switches, but it might help with copper mods geting stuck like they tend to do, if you can deal with a very small voltage drop. (honestly its probably negligible but i dont have a problem with them getting stuck so i dont use it on load bearing threads)