TRA oxidation cleaning?

[Papa_Lazarou]

Okay, fellow reonauts, I throw this question out to those of you with more maintenance skillz than I....

I have a LP TRA Grand that I love - nothing feels better to vape. I have noticed, however, that black (I believe) oxidation has built up where my fingers hold the mod - a kind of "shroud of Papa", if you will.

I have cleaned the unit regularly since I've had it, and most recently I let it sit in a bath of vinegar/hot water per instructions I got from the interwebs. I have also rubbed a cloth dampened with vinegar over the affected areas. Nada.

Does anyone know a good way to remove the black? Is my TRA grand having an allergic reaction to me? Do I have a Reo of Dorian Gray thing going on? Peeps gotta know.

 

[MamaTried]

Okay, fellow reonauts, I throw this question out to those of you with more maintenance skillz than I....

I have a LP TRA Grand that I love - nothing feels better to vape. I have noticed, however, that black (I believe) oxidation has built up where my fingers hold the mod - a kind of "shroud of Papa", if you will.

I have cleaned the unit regularly since I've had it, and most recently I let it sit in a bath of vinegar/hot water per instructions I got from the interwebs. I have also rubbed a cloth dampened with vinegar over the affected areas. Nada.

Does anyone know a good way to remove the black? Is my TRA grand having an allergic reaction to me? Do I have a Reo of Dorian Gray thing going on? Peeps gotta know.

the good news is that your avatar looks older than before...

 

[RiverNut]

if it's anodized I don't think it should be oxidizing, but give mothers mag polish a try. It's cheap and works great on all metals I've used it on.

 

[K31Scout]

Papa, have you tried brass or silver cleaner? Most are mildly abrasive but I think Flitz brand is less so.

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

Well, my experience with metal polishes is limited, but my worry would be that I'm not looking to shine the finish. I'm also hoping to avoid striations from abrasion.

 

[Filthy-Beast]

some of the dip in silver cleaner would be less likely to ship the Tumbled out.

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

I'm digging the dip option (effectively, that's what I did with the vinegar, I suppose).

My metallurgy knowledge is precisely nil. Are there chemistry considerations when thinking about products for silver, brass, etc.?

 

[bushmaster]

Okay, fellow reonauts, I throw this question out to those of you with more maintenance skillz than I....

I have a LP TRA Grand that I love - nothing feels better to vape. I have noticed, however, that black (I believe) oxidation has built up where my fingers hold the mod - a kind of "shroud of Papa", if you will.

I have cleaned the unit regularly since I've had it, and most recently I let it sit in a bath of vinegar/hot water per instructions I got from the interwebs. I have also rubbed a cloth dampened with vinegar over the affected areas. Nada.

Does anyone know a good way to remove the black? Is my TRA grand having an allergic reaction to me? Do I have a Reo of Dorian Gray thing going on? Peeps gotta know.

Do you know a good exorcist? I think I'd start there and work my way down.

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

Do you know a good exorcist? I think I'd start there and work my way down.

Well, I did catch it mumbling what I thought was "Asgar" and assumed that was the Odin atty talking, but in hindsight it might have been speaking Latin... backwards.

 

[Dougiestyle]

Here's a great trick for ya:

Use toothpaste (not gel) and a toothbrush. Seriously. Abrasive enough to remove crud, but not so abrasive to remove metal or jeopardize finish.

If ya don't have paste toothpaste, and it's not an expense you want to spring just for the cause, use baking soda on a damp toothbrush.

 

[bushmaster]

Well, I did catch it mumbling what I thought was "Asgar" and assumed that was the Odin atty talking, but in hindsight it might have been speaking Latin... backwards.

Uff-duh, I don't think an exorcism would be of any help with an Odin atty. Now the Norse fire god Loki could probably straighten this whole thing out but you probably know how hard it is to get touch with him/her(just covering my bases here).

 

[tobarger]

Flitz is very mildly abrasive
Its worth a try
Works beautiful on brass with hardly any rubbing
Just wipe it on and wipe it off

 

[Roscoe01]

Citric acid will take off oxidation but anything that removes oxidation from aluminum will also remove material from the surface so keep that in mind. Eventually you will loose the tra look. One trick to remove oxidation without polishing is to acid treat lightly with many light coats with short dwell times. If you leave on too long it will burn and turn white.

 

[Ian444]

Papa, I've owned a TRA since March and never had any oxidation. Wondering if its getting something from a holder in the car or similar to darken it, like a chemical from foam/vinyl/plastic or similar. The alloy is high grade and I wouldn't expect it to change color, and the more it gets used the less likely to tarnish from the skin on metal thing, I would think. But anything is possible, some people can't wear certain type rings due to interaction with metals.

If you want to get it clean, I would use Autosol chrome polish, just a quick rub maybe 20 seconds on each flat surface, or just long enough to clean it up, then wipe/polish it off. An old cotton t-shirt makes for a good cleaning rag, or some paper towel works well too. I have been using this on various aluminum parts for well over 20 years and know it well, I know of no downsides to this product.

I don't subscribe to the "TRA finish is more scratch resistant" story. The metal retains the same hardness/scratch resistance no matter how fine or coarse the finish. A quick rub with Autosol won't make it instant chrome, it will just clean up the TRA finish a bit which is what I think you want. You could trying doing the base first, just to see, I think you'll like the result

 

[MamaTried]

pee on it

i have this on good authority

 

[CaptSteve]

I second Ian's comments Papa. I haven't seen the TRA pick up any form of oxidation so far and I suspect what you have isn't oxidation at all. A pic may help if you could but I tend to agree that you probably need some sort of mild metal paste/polish to get it off. A word of caution however with using Flitz/Mother's/Autosol is that if you go too aggressive with them you'll end up having a polished area instead of a dark area. Remember they are metal polishes and that's exactly what they do.
Please post a pic if possible buddy

 

[MotherNatural]

This will work. Although it is non-abrasive you will get some polish from it. I've cleaned my TRA SL with it twice and it has a nice smooth finish. Not mirror and doesn't show fingerprints. It's also the best brass cleaner of all time. (my background is in sterling silver, pewter, and brass)
http://www.amazon.com/Simichrome-39...TF8&qid=1417087509&sr=8-1&keywords=simichrome

 

[Rule62]

I have the same dark smudges on my TRA, mostly where my fingers go. I've tried Mother's Mag Polish, Barkeeper's Friend, Jewelry cleaning pads, etc., and they're still visible. I guess I'm just gonna chalk it up to natural patina.

 

[Spydro]

I had a small area of "dark" on my Grand TRA Papa. Thought maybe it was started from e-liquid on my hands simply because i couldn't thinkiof anything else it might have come in contact with? Alky didn't touch it, neither did vinegar. But I took it off quite easily with my Cape Cod Polishing kit cloths and a special cleaning brush also sold by them that I actually bought to restore aluminum bronze APV's with. The cloths alone make them as good as new in a heartbeat. Nothing used is a polishing compound, so the TRA finish was left intact.

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

Okay, so thanks a ton, folks.

Lots and lots of options to try. I see that one or two other TRA owners have experienced what I'm seeing, despite the accepted understanding (which was mine, too) that the TRA's didn't blacken. To be clear, it's not a big deal for me - I still love the little beauty and I'll use it until it disintegrates (which would require I live to 120, I suspect). I'm just surprised at the resilience of the discolouration.

Looks like I'll source one or two of the compounds suggested above (no idea of Canadian availability - we're hit and miss that way) and give it a go.

Thanks again, all of you.