So, I finally got some stuff for cleaning the stems with. Bought a good motor for $10, buffing wheels, etc... took a while for the arbour to show up, and still no sign of the wax and micro-mesh pads just shipped.
I have the white diamond and started on a few stems and it's doing a decent job removing the oxidation off the old vulcanite stems, but wondered if a better method.
I soaked the stems in oxiclean which did a great job of bringing the oxidation/sulpher/etc to the surface, but then had to wait a few weeks for parts to show up so they dried out. I was going to buy another buff wheel and some brown tripoli, and use it before the white diamond on the heavily coated stems.
Before I did however, I thought, maybe I should resoak them for a short while (hour) and try the white diamond on them while the oxidation is still soft? or is it better to simply sand the stuff off? when wet or dry? Will buffing when the surface is soft cause issues?
Seen a lot of articles, but never noticed a mention if people remove the layer when it's still wet or when it's dry so, thought I'd see what methods you guys use first before spending more money.
So far though I'm liking the results using what I've learned off the site. Few pipes are coming out really nice... sadly the one pipe I wanted for myself, the stem popped off when buffing and after 3h I still haven't located where it went... go figure.
I have the white diamond and started on a few stems and it's doing a decent job removing the oxidation off the old vulcanite stems, but wondered if a better method.
I soaked the stems in oxiclean which did a great job of bringing the oxidation/sulpher/etc to the surface, but then had to wait a few weeks for parts to show up so they dried out. I was going to buy another buff wheel and some brown tripoli, and use it before the white diamond on the heavily coated stems.
Before I did however, I thought, maybe I should resoak them for a short while (hour) and try the white diamond on them while the oxidation is still soft? or is it better to simply sand the stuff off? when wet or dry? Will buffing when the surface is soft cause issues?
Seen a lot of articles, but never noticed a mention if people remove the layer when it's still wet or when it's dry so, thought I'd see what methods you guys use first before spending more money.
So far though I'm liking the results using what I've learned off the site. Few pipes are coming out really nice... sadly the one pipe I wanted for myself, the stem popped off when buffing and after 3h I still haven't located where it went... go figure.