To make sprayed Delta 8 sprayed flower requires special equipment which we will cover in this blog post. It will also require CBD or CBG kief. And you should know- the whole process is incredibly messy and requires a space that can get dirty. The distillate is very sticky and aerosolizing it into a wispy particulate means it’s everywhere by the time you get done. For this reason, many people will cover their space in plastic or work outdoors. The most ideal environment is a spray booth like those used to paint cars.
In addition to Delta 8 flower many people are also making Delta 8 Moonrocks which is a different process and product but made from the same materials. Making Delta 8 Moonrocks is messy and time consuming too but can be easier to control the mess of since it isn’t being sprayed and misting in the air to stick to all surfaces.
Let’s start with a quick understanding of why we are spraying Delta 8 onto CBD flower in case it needs to be said. Delta 8 is a psychotropic compound with effects similar to Delta 9 THC. The compound is found naturally in both cannabis and hemp plants but only in trace amounts. It can also be synthesized through a conversion process that outputs higher potencies than plant-derived. It has risen in popularity over the past few years since it is a legal psychotropic alternative to Delta 9 which is not legalized in all states.
The process of applying Delta 8 distillate to the flower makes CBD flower that would normally be very mildly psychotropic, much more potent, and psychotropic. This is done because some people do not have access to cannabis and want a safe alternative to black-market cannabis which often is covered in cancerous pesticides. Another reason is that many people have adverse experiences with Delta 9 where it’s caused paranoia and find Delta 8 is an alternative that does not have that effect.
In this blog post we will cover what sprayed flower is as well as commonly used methods for production although many people prefer sourcing Delta 8 flower to avoid the mess and hassle.
WHAT IS Delta 8 SPRAYED FLOWER?
Sprayed flower is a less potent Moonrocks in essence. It is made by taking CBD flower and coating it in a thin layer of Delta 8 distillate and then coating the flower in keif. Spraying the CBD flower allows people to get high when they smoke it since Delta 8 is a psychotropic compound like Delta 9 THC. Spraying the flower also gives it a frostier appearance that resembles cannabis more than raw CBD flower.
While Delta 8 is still the most popular type of sprayed flower many companies have started treating CBD flower with other alt cannabinoids like THCo, HHC, THCp, Delta 10, and others. We would highly recommend not doing that as many of these compounds are not well researched and acetates can be potentially harmful when combusted like they are in flower, vape, and disposables products. Creating a psychotropic but safe product should be the goal and we will teach you how to do that.
WHAT’S NEEDED TO MAKE DELTA 8 SPRAYED HEMP FLOWER
- Raw CBD or CBG Flower
- Delta 8 Distillate
- CBD or CBG Kief
- Hemp or Botanical Terpenes (optional)
- Spray Gun for Painting
- Rotating Mixer
- Patience
- Lots of alcohol for clean up
THE IMPORTANT VARIABLES FOR GETTING IT RIGHT
There are certain things you’ll want to consider to make the best looking Delta 8 sprayed flower as not all options will lead to the same end result. The main variables which seem obvious but let’s say them are: flower and kief since that makes up most of what the sprayed flower is.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT FLOWER
- Density
- Color
- Moisture content
Density is going to be important because if your flower is larfy it’ll break into pieces when you’re getting rough with it and tossing it around. Big pockets of emptiness on flower also means more places to soak up distillate and drive up the cost of treating the flower.
Next let’s talk about the starting color of the flower which is arguably one of the most impactful variables in this process next to kief selection. Everyone wants the lightest green-colored bud. Can we rant for 2 seconds and ask everyone to do their part in ending this trend? It’s silly. The flower being darker green or purple does not in any way affect the experience. We need to get off that and it requires the business side of the industry to inform customers to start focusing on the right things like the flower’s cannabinoid potency and other phytochemistry.
I digress- the lighter the starting flower is the lighter it’ll end up when finished spraying. For this reason, we recommend CBG flower which is the lightest flower you’ll find anywhere. We also like CBG flower because most people report it feeling more indica-like (I say that loosely but between CBD and CBG, CBG seems to be heavier). If you don’t use CBG flower find some CBD flower that’s the lightest green you can find.
Last it’s important to have buds that won’t break into small pieces during the spraying process which means you’ll want flower that isn’t dried out and crispy. On the other end of that spectrum, if you spray flower that is too moist it will cause the flower to soak through the kief faster and in our experience makes the flower turn darker sooner (which it inevitably will do but here it’s likely to happen in a week or two versus longer)(on this note DO NOT put humidity packs in sprayed flower or Moonrocks it will ruin the product).
WHICH DISTILLATE SHOULD YOU USE?
- Delta 8 distillate
- CBD distillate
- Live Resin distillate
- Alt cannabinoid distillates (D10, THCo, THCp, HHC)
Delta 8 distillate is most commonly used although we think spraying unique ratios would make a nice product that doesn’t currently exist as you could do a 1:1 or different blends for people wanting a lighter or more sativa-like experience. Also consider adding Live Resin distillate to the flower to make an option solid for medical use consumers that want smokable products (adding Live Resin makes the flower even richer in cannabinoids and other photochemistry). You can also target sativa, hybrid, and indica effects by using our effect blend Live Resin Delta 8 distillates.
Another thing to consider when buying distillate is that the person you are sourcing it from is making safe distillate that is free of potential toxins. There are many people selling Delta 8 that don’t batch test every time to ensure a safe final product as we do. Let’s make money and still sleep at night by not putting people at risk by cutting corners (please skip trying to make THCo and D10 flower).
CHOOSING THE BEST KEIF
- CBD or CBG
- Screening and purity
- Moisture content
With kief, the main consideration is getting the color you want and making sure it’s compliant on Delta 9 levels. You can use either CBD or CBG kief but whichever you choose you’ll want to make sure it’s thoroughly screened to remove the plant material dust mixed in with the trichomes (which happens when the flower is being trimmed and the kief is collected).
Some vendors have heavily screened kief but you’ll pay a lot more for this service. You can also easily buy screens on amazon to screen it down further. One thing to consider here is how much you’ll be getting for the flower and then decide if adding time and labor to fine-sift the kief further makes sense, for most it doesn’t.
Using CBG kief means you won’t have to worry about Delta 9 compliance of the kief as much as you will CBD kief. Many people prefer to use CBG kief because of it’s blonder color. But that being said many people like CBD kief because of it’s greener color. You may have guessed ahead here but we would recommend a mixture of both CBD and CBG kief to get the most natural look.
With too much CBG kief the flower can end up looking like a dirty sandy color but with on CBD kief it can make the flower look naturally green. In the end it also depends how much kief you put on and how natural you want it to look or whether you are just going for highest potency instead. But ultimately a 1:1 looks best in our opinion.
CHOOSING THE BEST TERPENE
- Hemp or Botanical?
- Aroma Profiles
Many people don’t add terpenes at all but if you decide you want to, know you don’t want to put too much in the distillate or it can be dangerous to smoke. We would do 5-8% or less. Also, know that some terpenes are more oxidative than others (from what we were told after speaking with several terpenes companies). So consider which will be less degradative to the flower.
Some of the most popular profiles for aroma continue to be cookie doughy smells, gas and diesel profiles, skunky cheese, and fruit. Shop around on terpenes to make sure you get the best option. We sell hemp terpenes and recommend those for a more natural option that’s closer to cannabis because it’s hard to do with the botanical options as they aren’t able to reproduce all the smells found naturally in cannabis and hemp plants.
SPRAY GUN VARIABLES
- Particulate size
On your spray gun choice you’ll want to make sure to find a gun that won’t clog with the viscosity of the distillate. You’ll also want to ensure it’ll allow you to make a fine enough mist to spray the flower properly. Most people use guns made for spraying paint and that is the best in our opinion. Between the gun options you’ll want to find one that has good control over the mist and particulate size to get the best results.
We recommend buying heat tape to tape the gun line and any parts of the gun that don’t stay warmed where distillate will flow through (so it doesn’t clog the gun). Many people will also keep a heat gun near to hot blast the gun tip or line when needed to keep the distillate free flowing. The key is keeping the distillate warm enough so it can flow.
TUMBLER VARIABLES
- Device type
With your tumbling device there’s a few directions you can go but the goal here is to agitate the flower while applying the kief. We have seen shaker tables like those used for concrete or tile, we have seen chocolate candy tumblers and concrete mixers all used. Whatever you choose, the gentlest tumbling motion is a priority. You don’t want the hemp flower broken into pieces during this part of the process but you also want it to be strong enough it actually moves the flower around.
HOW TO MAKE DELTA 8 FLOWER:
PREP YOURSELF AND THE AREA
Start by getting your area ready. You should be wearing a ventilated mask for your protection and not breathing in all the aerosolized Delta 8. Having a fan or venting out is recommended to move the Delta 8 as you’re spraying otherwise it can be hard to see. You don’t want it too strong that it doesn’t allow the distillate to hit the flower either though. You should wear a hazmat suit or clothes you don’t mind losing unless you are spraying downwind from yourself outdoors.
Cover the surfaces you don’t want to be coated in distillate. Have a heat gun and alcohol around for keeping things going. If you didn’t heat tape your gun on any parts that get cold where distillate will flow do that now. Being in a warmer room for this step can also be helpful in keeping the distillate warm. But be mindful of the room and distillate temp as heat destroys flower and will make it brown so do as little as whats needed.
GET THE FLOWER READY
The best way is to use something you can agitate the flower in while spraying. It has to be something you can clean though because it will get sticky and not be usable after some time as flower will start to stick to the surface. We have seen people use big plastic totes or you can a concrete or chocolate mixer. Don’t put too much flower in at a time as you don’t want to overcoat it (so smaller batches will be best).
HEAT THE DISTILLATE
If you’re adding terpenes you’ll need to get those in prior by heating the distillate and then putting it on a hot plate with a magnetic stirrer to mix the terpenes in in a ratio of 8% or less. Once they are fully homogenized you’ll want to add the distillate to the heat gun.
If you aren’t adding terpenes you just need to heat the distillate. If you don’t have a hot plate you can use a crockpot, rice cooker, or any method that has lower and less direct heat contact with the distillate container and heats it as evenly as possible.
Once the distillate is warm put it in the gun hopper. Don’t spill it all over the place, it’s not fun to clean up.
START TUMBLING THE FLOWER
Use a slow enough tumbling speed to evenly and carefully apply the distillate. If you don’t have a mechanical tumbler have someone shake a plastic tote to move the flower around while you spray.
COOL THE FLOWER
As you get done with the spraying process put flower into a tote or container in a cooler environment. Cooling the flower down will stop the flower from degrading more after having added the hot distillate. You’ll also want the flower cooler before applying the kief so the kief goes on smoother and more evenly.
APPLY KIEF TO THE FLOWER
Once the flower is cool you’ll want to agitate it again while dusting it with kief. We use a fine mesh screen to get clumps out of the kief when applying it and keep the flower moving to get the most even coat possible.
THATS IT
At this point you may be covered in distillate and kief and found making Delta 8 sprayed flower was a pain in the ass. Give us a call. We would love to provide you with finished Delta 8 flower so you can focus on growing your business and adding more products to your offerings.
If you aren’t selling dabs, gummies, vape carts or disposables for example, consider adding them to boost revenue. They are all top-selling products in most rec and non-rec markets. We have all those products available in bulk wholesale, whitelabel (with your brand), or retail-ready options. We are true experts in this industry and enjoy helping businesses find success with the right products and by being honest and transparent to help guide your decision process.
FUN FACT:
We were the first business to sell Delta 8 distillate and Delta 8 flower online. We were also the first to make Delta 8 Moonrocks. We have been at this a while and are well connected and knowledgeable. Hopefully you saw that and found value in this post.
We work with retailers, distributors, and some of the biggest brands in our industry and supply their gummies, disposables, and input distillates. We aren’t for everyone but if you value quality and working with a professional business founded on being a long-term partner then get in touch. We make the most cannabis-like compliant products on the market and would love to help grow your business.