I never clinch - but then I was driving with a small Dunhill and put a light chatter mark on the stem just above the button. Very light. Would an emery board be a bad idea? I've never tinkered with a stem before. Thx
emery board a stem?
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I use 2000 or finer sand paper on badly chattered stems, emery paper might do as well, if its not that bad try micromesh or a magic eraser, takes a while and elbow grease but you don't want to take off to much
Zack is right on with his advice. Some sanding will be required but I don't recommend using an emery board, it's way too aggressive. Depending on how glossy you want the rejuvenated bit to be will dictate how fine a paper you use. Micro mesh pads are relatively inexpensive and a good investment for this kind of work. They're available on Ebay for short money.
Thank you Zack, that was excellent advice. The mark was very light - a one time thing (I bought some softy pipe bits that day!). No sanding and just a bit of heat over a gas stove burner - the smallest one. Felt with my hands to find the hot spot and gauge the distance. Came right out. I didn't realize how soft the stems are. Sorry - no pics. I don't think most people would have done anything it was so small, pics would have been really boring!
That is the noted difference between a dent, where material gets pushed in but not removed . . . and a scratch, where material is removed and leaves the groove.
For dents, always default to the heat method! Although you may lose some luster, it is much easier to reobtain luster than it ever will be to reobtain material!
For dents, always default to the heat method! Although you may lose some luster, it is much easier to reobtain luster than it ever will be to reobtain material!
I'd also recommend against an old fashioned emery board. They're very coarse. Simple chatter should come out with 400 sandpaper followed by 600. Or, you can get some foam nail boards at Walgreens in various grits, some very fine. Don't use any abrasive unless you have a buffing wheel to remove the scratches and restore the shine to the stem.
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