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Well today the pipes I got from Ebay finally got here. They were worse than what they described on their but I think I cleaned them pretty good. Here are some pics of how they came in.
And here are pictures of the bowl cleaned up I still need to do the salt and alcohol treatment.
My question is how do I clean up the stems? Can anyone give me some advise.
Do the research before you start.
Also, olive oil gets it shiny, but doesn't last very long at all, so it will require another cleaning process soon. And it can spoil and taste horrible. Many use it, I avoid it.
Walker Briar Works sells a 2-part kit to clean then polish/seal rubber stems for $20 - ships free, enough to restore 50+ stems: http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/html/stem_restore_kit.html
Or, you can order just the Walker cleaner for $11 - also ships free, which is what I got. I didn't need the polish/sealer as I use Obsidian Pipe Oil found here: http://pipesandcigars.com/obpistoil15b.html#.UKwxy4fLcxE
Good luck!
I found a link on you tube, use oxyclean and a magic eraser, then a little mineral oil, mine turned but great. Now if I could just post the damp pics I'd be happy
Thanks Roth, do you guys know if its bad to clean with rubbing alcohol??
If you use 90%+ isopropyl alcohol it's fine. Many puffers use that. I use Bacardi 151 Rum. Some use Everclear (190 proof, almost pure alcohol).
High proof/percent alcohol is hugely important.
Lower proof alcohol does not evaporate as quickly and, IMO, does not work as efficiently (most whiskies, vodka, etc are only 80 proof or 40% alcohol).
I'd stay away from 70% or so "Rubbing" alcohol because it usually has some additives and those smells can be absorbed by your pipe. Besides, the 90%+ isopropyl alcohol is like $2-$3 -- ask you pharmacist if you don't see it on the shelf.
Also, I hope you read those links as the info they provide might not be included in the video. If you're planning on doing more pipes, I'd bookmark 'em, especially the first article.
No sure if any of 'em cover this, but if you want to protect the logo on a stem, cover it with petroleum jelly (such as Vasoline) prior to soaking.
Alcohol will super-oxidize vulcanite stems -- very bad thing. Chlorine bleach will eat away the stinger.
Alcohol is an effective solvent for the tars and resins that accumulate in the bowl and shank of the pipe.
Interesting. I haven't ever "soaked" my vulcanite stems in alcohol, but I have been using a pipe cleaner dipped in a little bit of 151 for the stem's air way in my periodical thorough cleanings for years without issues. Of course, I follow it up quickly with a clean dry pipe cleaner.
I do see some professional restorer comments about bleach being bad (makes total sense to me)... and apparently even plain water soaking can be harmful, especially if very hot (intriguing).
Thanks for all the great advice guys. Last night I started up cleaning these girls and I think they came out real nice just need to put some polish to them and they are ready. I did try some alcohol in the stems and let me tell you no bueno, they started smelling like I had a tire burnout going in them. Need to get some oxyclean today and finish them up.
Nice work on that pipe!
Obsidian Pipe Oil
+1
I put off buying this for a long time, but I finally got some after picking up my Dunhill estate. So glad I did. It is well worth the money - so far superior to olive oil. A tiny drop coats an entire stem - making it look like new.
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