Boron Treating

[PetrusQuber]

Anyone here done it? I know @A2Cubed has at least. I’m thinking of experimenting with it over the summer. If you have, could you tell me:
1. Is it worth it?
2. There’s nothing unique about the Tengyun V2 that might be bad for treating right?
3. How did you do it, exactly?
4. What cube did you use?
5. General tips?
6. Thinking of following

. I have a stickerless cube, but I can remove caps, and magnets I think are sealed in (plus I can remove the edge magnet system). Anything wrong with that?

And general thoughts on this?

 

[xyzzy]

Something I posted in another "boron treatment" thread two years ago:

THF is the only active ingredient for this tutorial, which makes the name "boron treatment" extremely misleading. The chemical needed for hydroboration is borane, not boric acid.

(also also also I need to stress this: practise lab safety, kids. Don't be like the OP and handle the chemicals with your bare hands.)

You can probably skip the boric acid and replace it with just water or something. It doesn't do anything—or even if it does something, it's definitely not doing hydroboration.

 

[Sub1Hour]

Anyone here done it? I know @A2Cubed has at least. I’m thinking of experimenting with it over the summer. If you have, could you tell me:
1. Is it worth it?
2. There’s nothing unique about the Tengyun V2 that might be bad for treating right?
3. How did you do it, exactly?
4. What cube did you use?
5. General tips?
6. Thinking of following

. I have a stickerless cube, but I can remove caps, and magnets I think are sealed in (plus I can remove the edge magnet system). Anything wrong with that?

And general thoughts on this?

I don't think that the tengyun would work very well for boron treatment for a few reasons

1. Exposed magnets. The chemicals can have an adverse effect on the magnets and could also cause the plastic that holds them to melt and make it impossible to change them
2. It's a dayan puzzle. Did you know that Boron treatment was actually first thought up of to make the plastic soft like on dayan cubes? Well, if you already have a dayan cube, then you already accomplished the goal. The boron treatment could possibly make the plastic too soft if that makes sense, and I also dont think it would be a good idea to do it on primary pieces with caps since the chemicals can melt the plastic and disform where the caps are/will go and make it illegal

 

[Cubing5life]

Nah, Fire treated is the best!

 

[Etotheipi]

Nah, Fire treated is the best!

Nah, you got to take a fire treated cube and soak it in diluted nuclear waste, then PVC coat it, then do the Boron thingy then, optionally, throw it into the sun or a black hole if available.

 

[PetrusQuber]

I don't think that the tengyun would work very well for boron treatment for a few reasons

1. Exposed magnets. The chemicals can have an adverse effect on the magnets and could also cause the plastic that holds them to melt and make it impossible to change them
2. It's a dayan puzzle. Did you know that Boron treatment was actually first thought up of to make the plastic soft like on dayan cubes? Well, if you already have a dayan cube, then you already accomplished the goal. The boron treatment could possibly make the plastic too soft if that makes sense, and I also dont think it would be a good idea to do it on primary pieces with caps since the chemicals can melt the plastic and disform where the caps are/will go and make it illegal

1. Erm... The magnets are not exposed in any way, they are sealed in plastic, at least on the contact side. Boron treating won’t do much to metal, the only problem is that it might melt the superglue - but the Tengyun’s magnets might not even be glued, with the capsules, and they are sealed/protected. The magnet system might fuse with the main piece, but so what? I keep my magnet setting on 1, and have done so for some time. I can’t think of a reason why I should be changing my magnets frequently, and I can boron treat the magnet system and edge separately to prevent fusing if I want.
2. Yes I know. But that’s talking about the old OP plastic found on early models. This is their newest cube, which I assume doesn’t have the old plastic formula (I think). Just because it’s Dayan doesn’t mean it’s old plastic (they stopped using it for a reason after all, why would they bring it back?). I’m going to try this on one of my previous mains for safety first, if done correctly the plastic won’t deform, or the treatment wouldn’t be viable. And if I see any problems with the old cube, I just won’t do it on my main.

 

[PetrusQuber]

Something I posted in another "boron treatment" thread two years ago:


You can probably skip the boric acid and replace it with just water or something. It doesn't do anything—or even if it does something, it's definitely not doing hydroboration.

Wait... So what should I be doing? How does hydroboration affect things? Do I need borane then?

 

[Sub1Hour]

1. Erm... The magnets are not exposed in any way, they are sealed in plastic, at least on the contact side. Boron treating won’t do much to metal, the only problem is that it might melt the superglue - but the Tengyun’s magnets might not even be glued, with the capsules, and they are sealed/protected. The magnet system might fuse with the main piece, but so what? I keep my magnet setting on 1, and have done so for some time. I can’t think of a reason why I should be changing my magnets frequently, and I can boron treat the magnet system and edge separately to prevent fusing if I want.
2. Yes I know. But that’s talking about the old OP plastic found on early models. This is their newest cube, which I assume doesn’t have the old plastic formula (I think). Just because it’s Dayan doesn’t mean it’s old plastic (they stopped using it for a reason after all, why would they bring it back?). I’m going to try this on one of my previous mains for safety first, if done correctly the plastic won’t deform, or the treatment wouldn’t be viable. And if I see any problems with the old cube, I just won’t do it on my main

I was meaning to say that plastic could be different and it might have an adverse reaction to the boron treatment that causes it to melt or fuse causing the magnets to either fall out or lose their adjustable qualities. Dayan plastic still tends to be incredibly soft on my original tengyun compared to the rest of my puzzles. I'm just concerned about it since no one has tried it on a dayan puzzle or a puzzle with primary internals to my knowledge, so if you are willing to potentially sacrifice your tengyun, go for it, but I would advise against it, especially since boron treatment only affects the feeling and not the actual performance.

 

[PetrusQuber]

Primary plastic is normal plastic undyed. And why would having different plastic types matter that much? Does Dayan even have a different plastic type at the moment? Maybe I’ll do one edge and see the effects, and if it goes well, I’ll do the rest. If it goes wrong, I’ll get a replacement.


Plus I’m not even sure if my parents are keen on me experimenting with dangerous chemicals lol.

 

[Sub1Hour]

Primary plastic is normal plastic undyed. And why would having different plastic types matter that much? Does Dayan even have a different plastic type at the moment? Maybe I’ll do one edge and see the effects, and if it goes well, I’ll do the rest. If it goes wrong, I’ll get a replacement.


Plus I’m not even sure if my parents are keen on me experimenting with dangerous chemicals lol.

Well, different plastics have a different chemical composition. The GTS2 and Gan Air had the best plastic to use and the Valk plastic didn't react very well according to the testers that got the original boron cubes. I also think that dayan does have different plastic from other manufacturers since it feels much different from any other cube I have.


Yeah, that's something to consider. Make sure you use gloves and safety glasses, also im sure you have a mask or too lying around so use that as well, you can never be too cautious when it comes to dangerous chemicals like the ones used for boron treatment. If it can melt plastic, it can melt your skin so please be careful with it if you end up giving it a try.

 

[PetrusQuber]

Mmm, I guess. If my parents allow me I guess I’ll do the edge thing.
I will be careful, heard lots of stories about chemistry lessons going wrong because an idiot made a stupid move or didn't follow precautions. But just because it can melt one substance doesn’t necessarily mean it can melt another . It is dangerous though

 

[Sub1Hour]

But just because it can melt one substance doesn’t necessarily mean it can melt another . It is dangerous though

Well, maybe I did exaggerate a little bit, but exposure to Acetone can be harmful if it's on your skin for a while, not to mention its extremely flammable under all circumstances.

stay safe my guy

 

[I'm A Cuber]

Acetone can be harmful if it's on your skin for a while, not to mention its extremely flammable under all circumstances.

Take a bath in it then light it on fire