HomeHOWHow Do U Remove Kief From Rubber Gloves

How Do U Remove Kief From Rubber Gloves

If you want to take your kief to the next level, you need to familiarize yourself with static tech. Although the name may evoke images of complex machinery, static tech actually requires nothing more than a paint roller, or a pair of rubber gloves and sift/LPI screens. The trick is mastering the technique involved. Do that, and there’s no limit to how amazing your sift can be.

What Is Static Tech?

In its simplest terms, static tech involves using static electricity to draw out unwanted plant material from a cannabis extract. This is one of the rarer post-processing techniques, but it’s definitely worth a closer look.

The rarity of static tech is one of its core advantages. Not a lot of professional processors are doing this, so there’s a real opportunity for savvy extractors who want to introduce unique, connoisseur-grade SKUs like full-melt sift.

When done correctly, this simple trichome collection process can turn a standard extract into top-shelf gold. And when you consider that consumer interest in solventless concentrates has skyrocketed by more than 1,000% over the past year, now is the perfect time to fine-tune your sift.

How Is Static Tech Done?

Though the basic science is universal (static electricity is used to attract loose biomass like a magnet), there are different techniques that can be used for static tech. For instance, some people will lay the sift along a thin line on a flat screen board and then spread it along the board using a tool wrapped in parchment paper.

There’s also the famous “DVD tech” method, where a sheet of parchment paper is wrapped tightly around a DVD case (silicone facing out). The dry sift is then spread out over a mesh screen, and the 90-degree edge of the DVD case is swept over the dry sift.

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Glove tech is also becoming extremely popular. For this, you would spread the material over a mesh screen as in the previous examples, and then put on a nitrile rubber glove (nitrile is important because it’s oil-resistant). Then gently sweep your hand in circular motions over the sift to collect the stray plant material.

Finally, there’s the paint roller method. This involves running the roller along a piece of fabric to generate the necessary static charge and then gliding it across the top of the sift. In this regard, the paint roller serves the same function as the rubber glove highlighted above

When using the paint roller or rubber glove method, don’t stick it or mash it into the kief, as you don’t want the trichomes sticking to the paint roller. The paint roller shouldn’t actually touch the sift at all. The goal is to get the debris and the particulates out of the sift without grabbing the trichomes. It’s a manual and tedious process (as you have to do numerous passes), but it’s worth it.

Tips for Static Tech

Like any post-processing technique, static tech requires a few best practices if you want to achieve optimal results. For instance:

  • Use static tech exclusively for dry sift. It won’t work on moisture-rich concentrates like bubble hash.
  • Static tech should always be done in a cold room if possible—not at room temperature.
  • Be patient. It can take more than a dozen passes to remove all traces of biomass from your extract.
  • Static tech works best if you have a high-quality sift to begin with. Start with a strain that’s known for large trichome heads, like one from the chem, cake, or pie line. Then use a professional-grade kief extraction tumbler like The Original Resinator to complete your extraction.

Most importantly, make sure to practice and hone your technique. Most of the pros are very guarded about their own techniques because they don’t want to share their secret sauce with the competition. By refining your process, you’ll be able to compete with the best of them.

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Why Use Static Tech?

The purpose of static tech is simple: To get higher-quality sift. Hash products (including sift) are graded on a 6-star scale.

  • The lowest-quality hash (1- to 2-star) is referred to as food-grade or cooking-grade because it’s loaded with plant matter and mostly useful for edibles and tinctures.
  • Mid-grade hash (3- to 4-star) is considered half-melt because it has enough resin for vaping or dabbing but still enough plant matter to burn the throat and compromise the overall flavor.
  • The best hash (5- to 6-star) is full-melt; there’s little to no plant matter—just a smooth experience with flawlessly melting resin. That’s what you ultimately want to achieve if you can.

The problem is that full-melt dry sift is notoriously hard to achieve. Most extractors don’t even bother trying because they can more reliably achieve full-melt with an ice water hash extraction. But bubble hash has pitfalls of its own: you have to deal with freeze dryers, ice, water, and tons of hash-washing equipment. Plus, ice water hash can take 6 or more washes to complete a cycle.

Static tech is the process that lets you “clean” your dry sift and bring the quality closer to what you’d expect with bubble hash. You’re manually removing the residual plant matter to create a more pleasing product.

Interested in learning more about what you can do with your sift? Make sure to take a look at our Micron Chart here to get some inspiration.

How Do You Know When the Static Tech Process Is Done?

One of the trickiest aspects of static tech is knowing when to stop. This is ultimately a judgment call. Professionals often use microscopes or magnifying glasses that allow them to inspect the extract on a micro level. But if you’re just observing your extract with the naked eye, you can usually tell if there are still bits of debris or plant matter left behind. You just have to examine it closely. With practice, you’ll develop an artisan’s eye for it over time. And of course, there’s nothing wrong with taking a sample dab and testing the merchandise for yourself!

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As you make static tech a part of your regular process, you’ll ultimately gain a feel for how long it takes to clean your product. This can vary depending on the strains, extraction tools, and mesh screens you use (we generally recommend 75- to 100-micron screens for premium sift), but if you’re consistent with your process, you’ll figure out the timing.

Do you want to learn what the right equipment and ideal process flow should be to make premium dry sift or sift rosin at your operation? Contact us today to talk to an expert so they can help your team figure out how best to make these popular products.

Discover the Benefits of Static Tech & The Original Resinator

Static tech allows you to make super high-quality extracts without the need for solvents or closed-loop systems. Its simplicity is its biggest asset. And when you combine static tech with The Original Resinator, you can create high-margin, connoisseur-grade products with minimal cost and effort.

The Resinator makes an excellent complement to your static tech because it allows you to process dry sift quickly and easily with minimal contamination compared to other dry sifting equipment. In addition, running sift can more than double the yield on an extraction run, giving you much more bang for your buck.

And thanks to the state-of-the-art design that utilizes liquid carbon dioxide for extraction and separation, you can even use freshly harvested cannabis as your starting material and create a live sift that retains the maximum terpenes and aromas. The CO2 doesn’t function as a solvent here; it’s simply used to induce detachment by flash-freezing the plant material. The process itself is 100% solventless.

Use the Resinator for both wet/uncured (aka live) and dry/cured extracts and even for trimming, and achieve quality like never before. Then, once you complete your static tech, you’ll be left with a product that’s sure to fly off the shelves—or you can further refine it using a rosin press and achieve a sift rosin that’s as good as hash rosin.

No matter what types of extracts you’re hoping to achieve, you can always count on premium quality.

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