Food safe sealant for Copper?

[Tasty Fog]

After not being happy with any of my search results, I decided to just post a question in hopes that someone has had experience with a product that fits my needs.

Here's the background info:

I recently purchased a sxk stingray x clone (stainless and Copper), it was a mess when I got it (corrosion was pretty bad in all the threads as well as all the other copper surfaces) it took me hours to clean off all the corrosion/metal shavings to my liking. I use eagle one nevr-dull for polishing (works great by the way, best metal polish I have ever used). I know this isn't supposed to be a product review, but I will add anyway: I am not thrilled with sxk after my experience with this mod, threading is kinda wonky between the tubes, it had a crunchy switch until I cleaned/sanded the inside surfaces smooth, I actually had to grind/sand down the inside of the three battery tubes just so that a battery would be able to fit in it. It works fine now, but I had to fix alot of stuff. If I had it to do over again I would order the hcigar clone or the infinite branded version hoping that the sxk/infinite versions have quality differences. The site I bought mine from listed the manufacturer as "sxk/infinite". In the pictures I have seen it looks like the infinite version is a bit better. I would probably buy the hcigar version as I would now be afraid that the infinite is the same as the sxk. The hcigar version looks great in all the pictures/reviews I have seen.

I also ordered a zenith v2 clone on ebay that came with a copper afc ring to match the stingray x's Copper features (not sure of who the manufacturer was, it came in a clear plastic case with black, stainless, copper, and brass afc rings and I believe it came with a drip tip as well but I don't use it, tool, gaskets, the normal bag of parts). I absolutely love the thing, I'd say it at the least equals my tohb 2.5 clone that I also love as far as vape quality. It has become my go-to rda as the stingray x has become my go-to mod and they just look so good together (imo).

I also purchased a stainless steel and Copper drip tip to keep the whole stainless/Copper theme going.

Anyway, here is my main issue. I find that I have to polish the drip tip and afc ring constantly as the oils from my skin cause the copper to tarnish really fast. The copper on the mod doesn't seem to tarnish as bad (probably because the copper is recessed behind the stainless steel) but it does tarnish.

My question is: does anyone know of a food safe sealant/protective coating that I can use on the copper areas to prevent the rapid tarnishing? The drip tip seems to tarnish the fastest (because it gets the most skin contact I guess). I have read about everbrite protectaclear, but I am concerned about putting it on the drip tip due to the fact that it gets direct contact with my mouth. I am also worried about any odor a product may still have when cured. I have read about using protectaclear on mods, but not rda parts/drip tips (sections that you put in your mouth or are in close proximity to e liquid or vapor) . Any advice/experiences/product recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Before polishing:

After polishing:

 

[Norrin]

Looks good when clean, but unfortunately I don't think you will have much luck finding a safe sealant or at least not at a price that would be worth it. Virtually everything you could put on will come off and I wouldn't be happy shoving it in my mouth. Maybe someone knows of something that will help though. An ultrasonic cleaner might at least take some of the cleaning pain away.

 

[Tasty Fog]

I thought about an ultrasonic cleaner, but was hoping that there would be a safe sealer/coating of some sort to slow down the rapid tarnishing. However, I didn't really look into an ultrasonic cleaner, only thought about it. but now that you mentioned it, I looked. I didn't realize that they only take a few minutes to clean something. I had it pictured as taking hours. I also didn't realize how cheap they are. I imagine they clean out all the recessed sections that are so hard to clean out by hand too. I'm definitely going to order one. Thanks for the suggestion, I don't think I would have actually looked into it if you wouldn't have mentioned it. I also imagine it would be great for thoroughly cleaning machining oil off of a new device too, I hate when I scrub the living daylights out of a new device and still taste machining oil. It would still be cool to be able to at least slow the tarnishing process though.

 

[nasca]

I wouldnt want to put my lips or heated e-liquid near copper, particularly copper of dubious quality. maybe just pick up a SS tip.

 

[rhelton]

Check youtube they are allot of video's about it, I think I have heard of using clear coat but who know's. I do know I like copper, and I do use copper drip tips and have one dripper.

My house has copper pipes too its all good.

 

[Dana A]

This wouldn't work for the drip tip but what about a clear Jwrap?

 

[Skunk!]

I seem to have the opposite problem. I like the look of mine when it gets tarnished, but my hands remove the patina.

 

[Rickajho]

Food safe silicone sealant? Yes. Gonna look good? Hell no.

 

[Tasty Fog]

A clear j wrap is an interesting idea for the exposed copper areas on the mod, but the drip tip and the afc ring might not work out too well. I was thinking of something more like a clear coat, I have heard of using lacquer to seal copper, but I haven't read anything about it being food safe, the drip tip being a concern due to direct contact with my mouth. The afc ring is also a concern due to the direct contact with e liquid that will be vaporized and inhaled, seems like it could end up being unsafe. I have used lacquer for woodworking projects and know I wouldn't want to end up inhaling vaporized lacquer should it end up dissolving into the e liquid. I have heard alot of the "copper is unsafe" stuff going around and personally think it's a bunch of malarkey, like rhelton said "my house has copper pipes" my house has copper pipes as well and I have been drinking the water that comes out of them since the day I was born and I'm still alive and well. I have eaten many meals that contained lots of various different ingredients that were cooked in copper cookware as well, on a stove at relatively high temperatures, I'm still no worse for wear. When I see something that is concrete evidence that copper is indeed unsafe I will gladly replace my various Copper vaping products with different ones. Until then I'm willing to take the risk. Rickajho, your comment really made me laugh, I recently used some silicone caulk in my shower and found the results weren't exactly attractive. I ended up scraping/peeling it all back off and used good old fashioned latex caulk instead. Silicone may be a great sealant, but in my experience, it is a pain in the .... to work with, and the end result never looks too good.

 

[drippaboi]

I use protectaclear on my copper drip tips and AFC rings and it works great. After 2 months my drip tips still look great and it's stopped that nasty green gunk from forming. It's colorless and odorless once cured. It comes with application instructions and the closer you follow them the better coating you will get. It even tells you how to speed up the curing process if you desire.

For AFC rings only apply to the outside.

 

[LucentShadow]

First, I'd like to say that I'm a bit surprised that these companies build these out of two such dissimilar metals, but I'm not surprised that form trumps function for many of these companies.

Stainless steel and copper, being dissimilar metals, will have a difference in electrical potential between them. Putting them in direct contact with each other will cause an electrical current to flow between them, unless they are electrically insulated from each other. Galvanic corrosion will cause the more anodic metal (copper, in this case) to corrode more quickly than normal.

It's probably not a huge issue with something like this, but generally a bad idea.

I'll toss the idea of using good old shellac to coat the tip with. I'm not sure if it would work well, but it's food safe, if you get the real stuff.

 

[Runamok3x]

Maybe a clear nail polish?
If I were to try nail polish I would go for this glow in the dark clear coat
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IAACKA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Lastmanstandn562]

I would stay away from brass and copper rdas and dt's, they form that green Lyme residue over time. I noticed it in my brass tobh I haven't used in a long time.