Newb wants help on serious cleaning and restoration

I start with the stem.

1: Soak in either Oxyclean or Simple green to remove as much surface and interior crud as possible.

2: Give the exterior of the stem a going over with 0000 steel wool.

3: Polish with the buffer if you have one or Flitz if you don't

4 Scrub out the interior with bristle cleaners and high proof alcohol.

Next start work on the bowl (or work on the bowl while the stem soaks)
1:Scrub the shank thoroughly with a shank brush or bristle cleaners

2: Ream the bowl back as far as needed to get a thin smooth cake

3: Ream the shank if needed using either the gazinta( the thing that looks like a drill bit) from a senior reamer or a hand held drill bit of the proper size.

4: Clean the exterior of bowl and shank with either a damp cloth(if not too dirty) or with Murphy's oil soap full strength (if pretty cruddy)

5: Pack the bowl with cotton balls and soak them in alcohol . Let set over night.

6: reassemble the pipe once it had completely dried and buff or polish with a good wax.

That covers my method for basic refurb of an estate.
Minor dents in the stem can be raised with careful application of heat. Where there is actual wear sometimes you can carefully take it out with needle files and fine sand paper before buffing.

I'm glad someone posted this today, bec I need to sanitize my stem of my pipe

Welcome Scruff.
You mentioned you like to use "cheap vodka".

You might try sweetnin' your pipes with a decent bourbon.

I like to use Ezra Brooks, and when it's dry firing up a bowl of Lane Ltd's 1-Q.

Now that's a good smoke.
Glad to have you in the fraternity.

Scruff,
There's also pipe retorting to sanitize. Check it out at:
http://www.seattlepipeclub.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=969877&module_id=16774
It's an involved and messy affair. Your local pipe shop may have this service available. It's about $20 to $25 per pipe.
And then there's The Professor's Pipe-Sweetening Treatment
http://www.pipes.org/Articles/PipeSweet.html
I was told at the last pipe show (Vegas, '10), by a vendor, that this method is prone to cracking the bowl!
Regards

Lawrence -- How do you use bourbon to sweeten your pipes, and how often? I would like to do this also. -- Thanks.

Forsooth, I dip a q-tip into my favorite alcohol and rub it around the bowl and into the shank! I do this after every smoke and then I let it sit for 1 or 2 days.

Hey Forsooth,
I do it in the same manner as the cotton ball and Everclear method.
One must be careful not to get the liquor on the finish of your pipe.

I will clean the pipe as usual, pipe cleaners and smooth out the cake with a "screwed in paper towel", turning sufficiently to smooth out the cake. (note the pipe must be a little warm NOT HOT when you smooth the cake. Let the pipe cool down and clean the stem with your bourbon soaked pipe-cleaner. Then take a Q-tip soaked (of course) to the mortice, (careful about the finish).
At this point one must have genuine Teddy Bear Balls, not some cheap synthetic excuse for a cotton ball. (The structure of the fibers in "real" Teddy Bear Balls is conducive to a wicking action that synthetics cannot match.)

Put the stem back in and put a clean pipe-cleaner in the stem to the bowl. Put Teddy Bear Balls in the bowl of your pipe (not too tight) (Be sure pipe can sit so that the alcohol will not pour out of the stem or the bowl.) carefully pour bourbon into the bowl... (redundant... careful about the finish). I like to use an eye-dropper to prevent any accidents.

I let the pipe soak for about an hour. Remove the alcohol and Teddy Bear balls carefully. Using a screwed in paper towel carefully remove excess liquid. Remove the pipe cleaner from the stem then let it dry for at least a couple of hours before you smoke some 1Q in it. Mmmmmmmmm!
Hope that wasn't too confusing... But, that's how I do it.

I was once concerned that Teddy Bears would go extinct, but they no longer breed in the wild but are bread in factories.

So, no worries. ::

Scruff , I use only block carnauba. I apply it with a buffer and rub it out the same way. It is readily avilable on ebay. There are also a number of excellent pipe waxes available from some of our fine sponsors.

What Author said... No disrespect intended to anyone but Author and Chuck have forgotten more than most of us will ever need to know when it comes to the care and cleaning of a pipe.
My buddy Lawrence is a pretty sharp guy as well, even though he prefers to keep his clear liquors for internal consumption… shaken not stirred!

Thank you, Lawrence and Bubba. I'm on it. I had never heard of Teddy Bear Balls before, but will pick some up.
I have one more question. I have the bourbon, but I was wondering about liqueur -- particularly coffee liqueur. What is your recommendation on that as a substitue for bourbon?

I would experiment with a basket pipe for the liqueurs. I have only used Ezra Brooks.

I don't know what the higher sugar content of the liqueurs would do.

The flavoring is very temporary. It won't flavor your pipe for more than one or two bowls. That isn't it's purpose. The purpose of "sweetening" your pipe is to remove any unpleasant tastes that may develop.

I would experiment with a basket pipe for the liqueurs.

Click to expand...

Someone try Bols Banana liqueur!
:puffpipe:
/s

Hey Scruff,

Good question. In many B&M's there may be a basket literally sitting on the counter. It will have inexpensive pipes in it. generally under $20. Many will have shellac or varnish finishes. However; around here (anyway) I think the term has taken on a meaning of just an inexpensive/cheap pipe, one that wouldn't be considered any big loss if something happened to it.

One side note: I purchased three "basket" pipes circa 20 years ago. To which I added churchwarden stems. They have proven to be trusted old friends. So, the moral to the story: Don't judge a pipe by it's moniker or price.

151 rum works fairly well I am told. I have not used it myself so I have no personal experience. Everclear is pretty potent stuff and should also work.