Shoutout to the guy at the Tacoma studio who told me to try a quick water dip for my punty seals

I was struggling with punties sticking and cracking my pieces for months, but after he suggested a quick dip in room temp water right before attaching, my breakage rate dropped from like 30% to almost nothing.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_william2mo ago

That water dip trick works because it cools the punty's surface just enough to create a thermal shock barrier. It's the same reason some old-school workers would lick the punty rod (gross, I know). The thin steam layer it makes stops the seal from fusing too deep into the piece.

smith.anna2mo ago

Wait, people actually used to lick the hot punty rod? That's so much worse than just dipping it in water. I can't even imagine the smell or the taste, it must have been awful. How did that not become a huge safety issue with burns or something. I guess the old ways were just built different, and maybe a little bit crazy.

faith_king2mo ago

Seriously, it's just a punty seal. People act like it's some huge scientific breakthrough. @smith.anna is right, the old licking thing is nasty, but it's not magic. It's just a bit of water. My studio's super dry and I just breathe on the rod tip sometimes. Works fine. Not everything needs a whole new step.