Bleaching a Stem?

Bleaching a stem is a common method of cleaning the oxidation off a pipe. There have been quite a few posts about this of late, so you might want to search the forums. I'll give a quick synopsis
a. Split the bleach. You can go 1 part bleach to three parts water, 1:4, 1:2, etc; put Vaseline on the tenon and any stem stamps to protect them. Run a pipe cleaner through the stem and hook it over the side of your vessel for easy removal. When finished, run under cold water to halt the chemical reaction and remove any excess bleach. Sand smooth using increasingly higher grits. Polish.
b. Benefits: very fast, effective, kills some bacterial bodies
c. Downsides: Requires sanding to remove roughness caused by the de-oxidation process; may cause pitting in the vulcanite.
Many here use bleach. I do not. I prefer an hour long Oxyclean dip for a pre-soak and good ole' elbow grease with wet and dry sanding. Each has their preference; some methods work better for others. I guess it comes down to the method that is best/easiest for you. Do some searching around, you'll find plenty of answers, especially in recent threads.

c. Downsides: Requires sanding to remove roughness caused by the de-oxidation process; may cause pitting in the vulcanite.
Many here use bleach. I do not. I prefer an hour long Oxyclean dip for a pre-soak and good ole' elbow grease with wet and dry sanding. Each has their preference; some methods work better for others. I guess it comes down to the method that is best/easiest for you. Do some searching around, you'll find plenty of answers, especially in recent threads.

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Exactly this wizbang.

The OxyClean soak is a great way to prepare for cleaning the oxidation. REALLY bad stems I've let soak overnight. The few times I tried bleach I ended up with a very rough surface to deal.

Also, bleach will raise hell with any metal rondeles or such where the Oxy will not.
Here's a recent active thread addressing this topic.

Excellent question Wizbang...
Cajunguy, OTD... Great posts!
:clap:

I've used bleach for 60-90 minutes and then let finish in Everclear for a day or so.
Yes very rough finish after its done but if you've got a buffing wheel setup, it's easy to polish right back up. If you go this route definitely follow Cajunguy's note on the Vaseline.

You might like to read Pipe Novelist's blog post:
From Stem to Stern: Pipe Stem Restoration
He gives a nice step by step guide.

Philip: That post is indeed worth it's writing in gold ;-)
Wizbang: I've followed that process religiously, all the way until the micro-mesh. The stems weren't perfect, but absolutely smoke-able and clean. I just ordered the micro-mesh (and a good reamer) since by now I've collected a whole box of estates to clean-up and I'm getting more serious about it.