I’m not happy unless I can see a reflection of my goofy face in my stems. I’ve been refurbishing pipes for five years, so I’m relatively new to it, but my process is to sand, then buff with white compound, then finish with carnauba (a ten dollar buffing kit from Home Depot, attached to my hand drill, unsafely held upright between my knees 8O ). None of my stems over these five years have ever oxidized again, and have required no “touch-ups” or any further attention. I do admit to being a very pipe-friendly smoker, and I don’t even like chatter on my stems, and I’m guessing that also has something to do with my stems holding up so nicely?
