Maratac AAA Cu tarnish progression

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Ordered one yesterday when I found out there was someone shipping internationally🙂
Can't wait to pee on it. haha.
To remove the tarnish, just dunk it in a cup of coca-cola or ketchup over night and it should look bling again. Used to do that with old copper coins when i was young, and it works without any scrubbing/polishing.
 
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time for more pictures!!!
its raining, so i left it outside under the patio cover, and its tarnishing pretty quickly!

IMAG0451.jpg


compared to day 1

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A quick question to you owners. My understanding is that anodized aluminum and oxidized copper (tarnished) are not as good conductors as would be ideal. Wondering how my black ITP AAA conducts through its threaded section, I unscrewed it , looked at the top, and realized it's not the threads that conduct, but rather the very top, flat surface of the main body's barrel, which is a small ring that isn't anodized black, and instead is a shiny aluminum (or at least that color) surface which when screwed down tightly touches the bottom of the head's pill's outer ring electrical surface, (also a bare metal surface).

Here's my question: Is that top surface of a tarnished body Maratac AAA shiny copper? silver metal? or tarnished copper? [Bonus points to anyone with a picture 🙂 ]

Thanks.
 
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[Sorry, I realized that last post was poorly worded and had spelling errors. Please re-read it now that I have edited it. Thanks.[
 
mzil said:
A quick question to you owners. My understanding is that anodized aluminum and oxidized copper (tarnished) are not as good conductors as would be ideal. Wondering how my black ITP AAA conducts through its threaded section, I unscrewed it , looked at the top, and realized it's not the threads that conduct, but rather the very top, flat surface of the main body's barrel, which is a small ring that isn't anodized black, and instead is a shiny aluminum (or at least that color) surface which when screwed down tightly touches the bottom of the head's pill's outer ring electrical surface, (also a bare metal surface).

Here's my question: Is that top surface of a tarnished body Maratac AAA shiny copper? silver metal? or tarnished copper? [Bonus points to anyone with a picture 🙂 ]

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Mine hasn't tarnished any in that area, and the threads are still shiny and pinkish too. I keep all the threads well lubricated, so oxygen doesn't have that much time to attack it anyway. I'll try to snag a picture for you later.
 
jake royston said:
Please post some pictures of the copper embassy pen when it gets there. I've always wanted to see one.
Click to expand...

It finally came today, courtesy of my parents (graduation gift 🙂).

This thing is HEAVY, and I absolutely love it. It's the heaviest of the four Embassy pens, even heavier than the stainless steel model. The copper model's cap alone is noticeably heavier than the AAA Cu without a battery.

Sorry for the poor lighting, the first shot with the Maratac was an afterthought.

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Lucky number 229…

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mhphoto said:
It finally came today, courtesy of my parents (graduation gift 🙂).

This thing is HEAVY, and I absolutely love it. It's the heaviest of the four Embassy pens, even heavier than the stainless steel model. The copper model's cap alone is noticeably heavier than the AAA Cu without a battery.

Sorry for the poor lighting, the first shot with the Maratac was an afterthought.

Lucky number 229
Click to expand...

that looks awesome!!
amazing pictures too!!!


mzil said:
A quick question to you owners. My understanding is that anodized aluminum and oxidized copper (tarnished) are not as good conductors as would be ideal. Wondering how my black ITP AAA conducts through its threaded section, I unscrewed it , looked at the top, and realized it's not the threads that conduct, but rather the very top, flat surface of the main body's barrel, which is a small ring that isn't anodized black, and instead is a shiny aluminum (or at least that color) surface which when screwed down tightly touches the bottom of the head's pill's outer ring electrical surface, (also a bare metal surface).

Here's my question: Is that top surface of a tarnished body Maratac AAA shiny copper? silver metal? or tarnished copper? [Bonus points to anyone with a picture 🙂 ]

Thanks.
Click to expand...

the threads and the inside of the body tube on mine are still shiny.

IMAG0455.jpg


IMAG0453.jpg
 
jake royston said:
that looks awesome!!
amazing pictures too!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I did a little work with my digital scale.

The Maratac AAA Cu weighs 25 grams without a battery.

The cap of the pen alone weighs 34 grams, and the entire thing weighs 120 grams. If you want a good representation, grab an incan AA MiniMag with NiMHs, which weigh in at 119 grams, and then imagine that weight in a much smaller package…
 
WOW, that pen looks awesome! I'd love to get one, but the price puts it out of my reach. :shakehead

Awesome macro shots BTW! 😱oo:
 
jake royston said:
the threads and the inside of the body tube on mine are still shiny.
Click to expand...
From my analysis of my black anodized ITP AAA, it's not the threads which conduct the electricity, but rather the top ring which smooshes against a similar ring under the pill when turned on. This ring looks quite shiny on yours, as seen in the second photo.

Do you grease your threads or are they factory condition only?

If all of the interior, including the inside of the barrel (you obviously never grease) looks shiny, then I suspect they treat it to stay that way or the sealed lack of oxygen and humidity (and pee :sssh: ) keeps it sparkly and untarnished.


Thanks for the pics.
 
jake royston said:
had to have a fresh start. has anyone else noticed that the color of the patina will change to a pink color the more you play with it?

IMAG0471.jpg
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Nice! I love that washed out pink color on about days 2-4 after you polish it. What did you use to shine yours up? I made the mistake of sing Barkeep's Friend on mine, so it's not as polished (although it got that tarnish off quick).
 
I'm not an expert, but just a heads up to those of you who use polish. It is meant for metal, not rubber or silicon, so if I were doing it I would be careful not to get any on the gaskets, such as the front one that holds the front "glass" in place. It could eat through or pit the rubber which would compromise the water tight seal. Just a thought.
 
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