Rubbing Alcohol Reacts With Vulcanite?

[Patrick_Green]

Just got an old pipe in the mail. Seemed to have some plaque on the stem. Tried rubbing alchohol and the stem turned a whitish yellow and smelled like it was burning. Definitely some kind of chemical reaction. Have I just ruined the stem? Idk if I want to put that in my mouth now... How do I clean old vulcanite? This doesn't seem to happen with newer stems.

 

[trubka2]

I doubt you ruined it, but it's hard to say what you're dealing with there without pics. Make sure you use either 90+% isopropyl alcohol or booze (Everclear preferred) on your pipe, and only on the insides. "Rubbing alcohol" could be nasty stuff, so you gotta be careful.

 

[Patrick_Green]

The coloration has gone away. Now its just this almost sulfur like smell that remains

 

[craiginthecorn]

How to get it back to black, by our own georged:

 

[Patrick_Green]

That video will be useful for future restorations. For now I think this pipe will be alright. Im just concerned by the sulfur smell. My wife ran it under cold water for a bit and dried it both inside and out. The color os back to normal. Heres the pipe. It was just 6 bucks and shipping on ebay. Nothing special. Anybody heard of webco?

 

[cshubhra]

Is it vulcanite or acrylic?

 

[Patrick_Green]

Im quite sure its vulcanite, but Im not positive. From what Ive read these older pipes are typically vulcanite. And this probably from the 50s from what I can tell. Hard to find much on webco though. How would I know the difference between acrylic and vulcanite?

 

[geo4]

That's a vulcanite stem. Vulcanite is just a form of vulcanized rubber, which is made through a process involving the treatment of rubber with sulfur. That likely accounts for the scent of sulfur that you are smelling. Acrylic is a type of plastic. Vulcanite is softer and duller than acrylic, and oxidizes over time, forming that plaque-like coating that you are trying to remove. Acrylic is hard and glossy, and does not oxidize.

 

[craiginthecorn]

If it smells like sulfur, it's vulcanite. Sulfur is added to rubber to harden it. If you can smell it, there's a good bit of oxidation that has resulted in sulphur being brought to the surface. And even if the cold water helped, I will bet you can taste the bitterness of the sulphur if you put the pipe in your mouth. You need to use abrasive to remove that outer layer of oxidized rubber in order to get to fresh, black material. All sorts of abrasives will work, some faster than others. George's method is the best, but not everyone has a buffer.

There are myriad threads on this topic which discuss many methods, most of which I've tried. One that works pretty well is using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, followed by some form of polish. The magic eraser will leave the stem looking rather dull, so it will take a fair bit of patience to get it looking shiny with just polish. Many like using a series of increasingly fine Micromesh brand sanding pads. Lots of ways to skin a cat.

 

[cshubhra]

After seeing the pic I am fairly sure it is vulcanite. The reason I asked, some Willard pipes from 60s-70s have some weird stem material (acrylic / plastic family) which reacts spectacularly with alcohol.

my simple stem restoring regimen

1. Wash it with something (Oxyclean) to loosen the oxidation
2. Buff it with micromesh till it is shiny
3. Rub some pipe stem oil and then finish with a tissue

The following stems were all done as above

 

[Chasing Embers]

Oxidation removal needn't be complicated, I did this with Magic Erasers, Barkeeper's Friend, and toothpaste.

 

[cshubhra]

What is barkeepers friend?

Oxidation removal needn't be complicated, I did this with Magic Erasers, Barkeeper's Friend, and toothpaste.

View attachment 4691

 

[Chasing Embers]

What is barkeepers friend?

A micro-fine powdered abrasive cleaner. I usually just use a lighter, a wet paper towel, and toothpaste now though.

 

[Patrick_Green]

A micro-fine powdered abrasive cleaner. I usually just use a lighter, a wet paper towel, and toothpaste now though.

You burn it?

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

@Chachingembers, Do You mix the Barkeeper powder with Toothpaste or how?

 

[Patrick_Green]

@Chachingembers, Do You mix the Barkeeper powder with Toothpaste or how?

I was literally about to PM him this question lol. Do you just rub the powder on the pipe? Or do you have to dilute it in water/toothpaste?

 

[Chasing Embers]

You burn it?

A BIC lighter and Oxidation - https://rebornpipes.com/2012/06/14/a-bic-lighter-and-oxidation/

@Chasingembers, Do You mix the Barkeeper powder with Toothpaste or how?

I was literally about to PM him this question lol. Do you just rub the powder on the pipe? Or do you have to dilute it in water/toothpaste?

I add water to it to make a paste, apply it to the stem and allow it to dry, then thumb buff it until gone.

 

[seanv]

Very gentle and indirect heat will raise the oxidation

 

[Chasing Embers]

Very gentle and indirect heat will raise the oxidation

Exactly. I use a lighter for this and wipe with a wet paper towel. I follow with Barkeeper's and toothpaste for a mirror finish.

 

[jttnk]

Patrick, follow the advice above and watch some videos on pipe cleaning. Reborn Pipes is a great resource for step by step. It is very satisfying to take a yucky, yellowed, brown, oxidized stem and turn it to clean, shiny, black. Cheap therapy!