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You might be eager to use your dab nail immediately however before you melt any of that fucking sweet shatter into your lungs, you gotta get your dab nail ready. If you've purchased a glass or ceramic nail they'll be ready for use after they are carefully hand-washed with a little soapy water. If you have a titanium or quartz nail and decide to skip the "seasoning" step it will greatly affect the taste of your wax and will make your dab nail more susceptible to damage. Without seasoning your brand-new titanium nail your smoke is going to have a heavy titanium flavor that will go away over time but why ruin your expensive AF concentrate flavor and your smoking experience if you don't have too. If you are using quartz you'll have to season your nail 4 times more before the taste dissipates.
The seasoning material will seep into the pores of the metal protecting it from damage forming a protective layer on your nail. This layer will prevent oxidation on your nail which takes place when an ionic chemical reaction occurs on a metal's surface while oxygen is present. If your dab nail has a reoccurring white power then it is most likely that your dab nail is oxidizing and needs to be seasoned. Inhaling oxidized metals can be toxic to humans so don't fucking smoke your powdery white shit covered dab nail or you'll get hella sick. This can also be reduced by dropping your dab onto the hot nail as opposed to scraping the legal herb concentrates on the titanium or quartz nail. The scraping of the titanium or glass dabber on the titanium or quartz nail can cause premature oxidation.
A high-quality oil like coconut oil or a concentrated legal oil can be used to season your dab nail. However, get creative with your seasoning materials, some smokers may prefer the flavors from a salt seasoning or vegetable oil as their seasoning depending on the strains of their legal concentrated waxes. Whatever you choose do not use water to season your dab nail as water will support oxidation.
After dropping a dab on your heated nail (about 300 - 400F) you should see the concentrate pool and dissolve into the nail. You do not want to see your precious concentrates scorching and leaving ash on the top of the nail. Do not heat your nail to the scorching glowing red color, it only looks pretty it doesn't provide a quality hit of concentrates.
How to Season Your Dab Nail Using the Blow Torch Method
Heat nail until red hot
Cool for 5 seconds or until the nail is about 500F
Spread your seasoning material around the top of your dab nail
If the temperature was correct the seasoning will melt into the pours of the dab nail
Allow to cool to room temperature
Repeat if necessary & as needed
*Quartz should appear cloudy & Titanium will appear to have a gloss
How to Season Your Dab Nail Using the Oven Method
Heat oven to 400F
Place seasoning material on titanium or quartz nail
Place nail in oven for 20 minutes
Do not forget about your dab nail
Allow nail to cool to room temperature
The benefit of this method is that you should not have to repeat this process so long as you used enough seasoning material in step 2.
Try both methods or a multitude of materials to season your dab nail and let us know how your dab nail seasoning is working out best for you! We would love to hear your methods!