5 Advanced Dabbing Techniques You Should Be Using

Just like anything else in life, there are different ways of consuming cannabis that can be fine-tuned to the individual. There are many methods – like dabbing techniques – that can be taken when consuming both cannabis flower and cannabis concentrate to make your experience smoother, more potent, and tastier too.

5 Advanced Dabbing Techniques

Some of these dabbing techniques can be developed over time as you figure out what works best for you. However, why wait to figure it out for yourself when you could get ahead of the curve and implement these 5 techniques to change your dabbing process and technique for the better.

Temp Gun/Checker

There are a few devices made that can check the temperature of your dab nail before you take a dab. It is important to stay within a lower temperature range for dabbing as to not combust the concentrate. Using an infrared temperature gun dabbers can avoid combustion of their wax and make sure that they are only vaping their concentrates. Also, vaporization is much better on the airway than combustion and induces less coughing and a better flavor.

Another way an infrared thermometer can help dabbers is to help time their heat up and cool down times. Use the thermometer to see how many seconds have passed before you reach the right dabbing temperature for your weed. Once you have used the thermometer to correlate the time passed to a proper dabbing temperature there is no real need for the temperature gun as long as you heat up your nail for the same amount of time every time. However, using a temperature gun and no timer is also a great method.

If you’re looking to cut the timer out of your dabbing process an infrared thermometer can take over the job all by itself. Heat up your nail and use the infrared thermometer pointed at the bottom of the nail to check your temperature.

When the temperature drops below 450 degrees Fahrenheit the nail is ready to receive the concentrate without combusting. Thermometers for your dab nail greatly increase the convenience of finding the right temperature to dab at. As well as ensuring that each dab is vaporized with the best flavor possible.

Terp Pearl/Spinner Cap

Another great addition to any dabbers set up is some terp pearls and a spinner cap for your quartz nail. Terp pearls are made in a variety of materials, as well as styles and sizes. The most common materials for terps pearls are borosilicate glass, quartz, sapphire, and ruby. These materials vary in their quality and heat retention with boro glass on the lower end and lab-grown gemstones like sapphire and ruby on the upper end of the scale. Terp pearls can be used one, two, or three at a time. It all comes down to preference on how many you choose to put in your banger.

Coupled with your terp pearls a spinner cap will use the natural airflow created when breathing in through your dab rig to spin the pearls allowing for lower temperature dabs with less wasted concentrate left in the bottom of your nail. These caps vary again in price and design and can be bought at prices from 15$ all the way up to and over 200$. When it comes to function some of the cheaper caps can have trouble spinning pearls. Ask your favorite smoke shop if you can test the cap before purchasing.

Terp pearls and a spinner cap are a sure way to improve your dabbing experience. These two accessories to your dab rig setup will help with lower temperature dabs. The spinning pearls act as a secondary heat source vaporizing concentrate that would normally be left behind. If you don’t have a spinner cap and pearls I would highly recommend giving them a try. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and we all have to start somewhere.

Applying Dab Properly

Applying a dab is one of those things where there’s not really a wrong way. However, you do want to make sure when applying your dab to the nail that you’re getting all of your dabs off the tool. The method that I use and have found to be the best is super simple. It also helps to ensure that your entire dab melts off the tool leaving little to no residue left behind on your tool. This method works best with thin paddle-shaped tools like the Skillet Tools Dr. Dabber.

All you have to do is dab up your wax on one side of your tool. Next, when your nail has cooled down, place the side of the tool without any concentrate on it flat against the wall of the nail with your dab facing the center of the nail. This will allow the heat from your nail to transfer to the tool cleanly melting off your dab.

Q-tip Technique

Q-tipping your nail is the most important thing you can do to increase the longevity of your quartz banger. There are a few things you should take into consideration when properly cleaning your banger. The first thing you should do is buy q-tips with a wooden shaft instead of the normal paper or plastic. These can be found at smoke shops and on Amazon.

Next, after your dab wait a bit for your nail to cool down. Thirty seconds to a minute is a perfect amount of time. Then dip one end of the q-tip in the highest percentage of rubbing alcohol you can find. Begin to swab away the excess concentrate. The rubbing alcohol will help to break up any stuck-on residue leaving your nail cleaner than it would be without.

Make sure you swab the entire inner surface of your nail paying attention to the corners and the walls of your banger. Finally, dip the other end of the q-tip in rubbing alcohol and repeat the careful swabbing of your nail.

Consistent Heat Up & Cool-Down Time

Timing your heat up and cool down times are essential. If you aren’t using an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of your nail it’s a must. Timing your heat up and cool down times will allow for a consistent dab. When using a stopwatch to time dabs you will also avoid taking dabs that are too hot and burn your throat.

The easiest way to go about timing your dab is to time the entire process. First, start your time when you begin to heat up your nail. A good amount of time to heat a nail for is about 30 seconds give or take preference.  Stop heating up at 30 seconds, but let the stopwatch continue to run. Most nails need twice the amount of cool-down time as they do heat-up time. Keep in mind this is just a starting point ratio and you will dial it in more precisely from there. Once your stopwatch reaches around one minute and 30 seconds you’ll want to start thinking about going.

The 1:2 ratio is a great place to start, but it most likely won’t be your ending point. All nails are different, and if you use terp pearls as suggested above the cool-down time can be longer. I have a Quave tessellated flat top banger and I heat my nail for 30 seconds and go at 1:45 – 1:55 depending on the size of the dab.

That means I heated up for 30 seconds and let my nail cool for a minute and 15 seconds to a minute and 25 seconds. Don’t forget to take the heat-up time into consideration if you leave your stopwatch running after torching your nail.