Oxidation Removel

I've had great success soaking mine in oxiclean for a few hours. Then I buff by hand with micromesh, working my way through the coarser ones to the finer ones.
I just cleaned a very well-used estate this way. The stem went into the oxiclean bath and immediately the water turned brown and the stem came out nearly white. Polishing brisky with micromesh turned it into a beautiful black.
Then a coat of obsidian oil made it like new.

+1 on oxyclean. I used it for the first time on a really old, nasty estate pipe, and it came out very clean (but matte/dull). Followed by Brebbia pipe polish, lots of hard rubbing, and Obsidian oil, it's good as new.

I had been using various techniques to remove oxidation. I was not satisfied. So, I spoke with my FIL who has a shop full of stuff(we call it G-Mart for Gary Mart). He had a 1850 max rpm motor and we made a buffer out of it. Works really well.

Jason

I use bar keepers friend and a wet rag

Before you spend money on kits and supplies, put a dub off toothpaste on the stem and use clean cotton cloth to clean it off. At first the cloth will not want to "slide" on the stem - work it till it is smooth and the cloth glides up and down the stem. Works like a charm and cost you nothing since you already have the toothpaste anyway. Good luck.

Seriously bar keepers friend, in cleaning aisle. Its like 2 bucks a can

Great tips here. thanks to all and thanks eazye77 for opening the discussion.

The fastest (and most efficient) method that I use is Oxyclean plus #0000 steel wool, which is the finest grade; you can use it to clean rust off of rims and not get a scratch in the finish. Depending on the level of oxidation, I'll soak for anywhere between three and twelve hours. When the stem is super slimy to the touch, remove and wet down a wool pad slightly. Scrub back and forth along the length of the stem, occasionally drying with a towel to remove the oxidation from the equation.
The actual oxidation removal takes me about two minutes once I remove it from the solution. This helps, considering I do about 15-20 stems a day.
This of course will dull the finish. I use a buffer to put the shine back on, using a mixture of tripoli and white diamond. Most people don't have a buffer. So... you can buff with the micro-mesh sanding sheets and/or use a liquid carnuba wax. Yep, that's right, same stuff you use on automobiles. All it takes is a bit of elbow grease. Keep a cleaner in the stem, however, and give the stem a nice wipe-down with alcohol when you're finished to sanitize the exterior post-buffing.
It's a fairly inexpensive method, works perfectly, and forgoes the need to buy a bunch of specialty products. Before I got serious about pipe restoration and bought a bunch of equipment, this was the method I used on every one of the estates I bought and smoked.
Hope this helps.

Where do you buy the steel wool?

Where do you buy the steel wool?

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You can get it from Home Depot, Lowe's, and Wal-mart. Most of the time, I find it at Wal-mart when my hardware haunts are out of the stuff. Just make sure its the #0000 (Super-fine). It's not uncommon, I just find that people normally don't go that fine for their work.
If memory serves, Lowe's sells the same numerical grade in their store brand as well.
- Tom

I will have to give it a try sounds lots easier than the way I've been doing it and I've seen your work so I know it must be a good method.

put a dub off toothpaste on the stem and use clean cotton cloth to clean it off

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I've been using this method for years. It works really well and is cheap.
Just remember to cover up logos and markings first.

I will have to give it a try sounds lots easier than the way I've been doing it

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The steel wool works wonders. I know the idea of using this material seems crazy, but the #0000 stuff is amazingly gentle--just strong enough to take off what you need. I first started using it when my truck got soaked during Katrina. During the clean up job, I had accumulated a lot of rust on my chrome wheels. The #0000 got it off and didn't scratch the finish.
Of course, you need to be careful around stampings but that's true with any cleaner. Just remember to keep the wool slightly moist as you rub and keep wiping away the gunk with a cloth. Oxidation is gone in no time and you can move on to making it shine bright!

Warm water, and starting with 1000 grit wet paper, then 1500 grit, then 3000 grit, then micromesh, works wonders. Finally finishing off with Stem repair kit from Walker Briar's and you have a "like new" stem. Process takes 2-3 hours, just a good way to watch a movie mate.

If you soak the stem on oxiclean, will it take the stem marking off? Or is it best to cover the markings with a dab of vaseline before you do the oxi soak?

Pipe Novelist covered it well here.